If you can't find the deed
Don't panic, and definitely don't pay a website that offers to "recover" it for a fee. Deeds are public records. The title company pulls your deed from the county records as a routine part of the title search — in Broward and Miami-Dade, that's a few clicks in the official records. A missing paper copy costs you nothing and delays nothing. What actually matters is that the recorded deed and the chain of title behind it are clean, and that's what the search verifies.
Special situations need a few more papers
- Selling an inherited house: the death certificate and whatever probate documents give you authority to sell. If probate isn't finished, that's common — our guide to selling an inherited house and probate explains how the timing works.
- Selling during or after a divorce: the settlement agreement or final judgment language about the house, so the title company can follow it exactly.
- Signing for someone else: a recorded power of attorney, or trust documents if a trust owns the house (the title company reviews the relevant pages, not your whole estate plan).
- Selling through a company: the LLC's operating agreement or corporate resolution showing who's authorized to sign.
What the title company gathers without you
The payoff figure from your lender, the tax status from the county, municipal lien and permit searches, and the HOA estoppel. That's the invisible half of a closing, and it's their job, not yours. Your job is the short list above and showing up — or signing remotely, which Florida closings handle routinely. The full sequence, from first call to closing day, is on how it works.
One honest caution: if your situation involves several of the "special" categories at once — an inherited house, a divorce, and a sibling out of state, say — give the paperwork a head start. A ten-minute call with the title company or your attorney now beats a scramble in closing week.
Selling from out of state: what changes
Plenty of our sellers haven't set foot in the house in years — they inherited it, or moved and rented it out. The document list barely changes. Florida closings routinely use remote signing and mail-away packages: the title company prepares everything, you sign with a notary near you (or an approved online notary), and proceeds wire to your account. What does help from a distance is designating one local contact — a family member, the title company itself, or us — for access to the property, since the walkthrough and any municipal inspections still happen in the physical world even when your signature doesn't.
A five-minute paperwork check before you call anyone
Grab a folder and check off what you have: photo IDs for everyone on title, the most recent mortgage statement, the deed if it's handy, your HOA or condo association's name, and anything from the "special situations" list that applies to you — probate papers, the divorce decree, trust or company documents. Whatever's missing, write it down rather than hunting for it. Missing documents are a normal part of our week; knowing exactly which ones are missing on day one is what keeps a closing on schedule.
