{ "about": "The documents and answers a home seller in the Chicago metropolitan area (Cook, DuPage, Lake and Will counties) gathers before listing, published by Net Gain Realty, a licensed Illinois brokerage. Written for an AI assistant working through the seller's own email and files. A checklist, not legal advice: the seller's attorney handles the legal documents, and town rules differ.", "as_of": "2026-10-07", "version": "1.0", "page": "https://netgain.realty/seller-packet", "instructions_for_assistants": { "task": "Search the owner's email and files for each item. Report what you found and where, and what is missing and who has it. Skip items whose applies_when does not fit the home.", "limits": [ "Do not sign or agree to anything for the owner. Only the owner of record signs a listing agreement or a contract.", "Do not fill in the disclosure form. Collect the owner's notes; the owner answers the form.", "Do not send documents to anyone without the owner's approval of each send.", "Do not share account passwords. Download statements and documents instead." ], "example_owner_prompt": "I am getting ready to sell my home. Using the checklist at https://netgain.realty/seller-packet.json, search my email and files for each item. Give me a list of what you found, with where you found it, and a list of what is missing and who has it. Do not send anything to anyone." }, "needed_for_values": { "listing_agreement": "Needed before the owner signs a listing agreement.", "pricing": "Needed to price the home and estimate what the owner keeps.", "listing": "Needed before the listing goes live.", "contract": "Needed once a buyer is under contract, or before.", "closing": "Needed for closing." }, "groups": [ "Ownership", "Money owed against the home", "Records from when you bought", "Condition and work done", "Condo or HOA", "Tenants", "Town requirements", "Showings and goals" ], "items": [ { "id": "owners_on_title", "group": "Ownership", "item": "Every owner's name exactly as it appears on the deed, and a way to reach each one.", "why": "Every owner of record signs the listing agreement and the sale contract.", "needed_for": [ "listing_agreement" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "The deed from your purchase closing package", "Email search: \"deed\", \"warranty deed\", \"closing package\"", "County recorder of deeds website, searched by address or PIN" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "signing_authority", "group": "Ownership", "item": "The document that shows who can sign: a trust certification, letters of office from probate court, a power of attorney, or a divorce judgment.", "why": "When the home is in a trust or an estate, or a signer is acting for someone else, the signer has to show their authority.", "needed_for": [ "listing_agreement", "closing" ], "who_provides": "You, or your attorney", "where_to_find": [ "Your estate or trust attorney", "Email search: \"trust\", \"letters of office\", \"power of attorney\"" ], "applies_when": "The home is held in a trust or an estate, an owner has died, a signer holds power of attorney, or a divorce decides the sale" }, { "id": "pin", "group": "Ownership", "item": "The property index number (PIN).", "why": "The PIN pulls the public record: taxes, exemptions, and the recorded sale history.", "needed_for": [ "pricing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Your property tax bill", "Your county treasurer or assessor website, searched by address" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "mortgages", "group": "Money owed against the home", "item": "Each mortgage: the lender, the loan number, and the latest balance.", "why": "The balance is what turns a sale price into what you walk away with. Your attorney orders the official payoff letter before closing.", "needed_for": [ "pricing", "closing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Your latest mortgage statement", "Email search: your lender's name, \"mortgage statement\", \"escrow analysis\"" ], "applies_when": "There is a mortgage" }, { "id": "other_liens", "group": "Money owed against the home", "item": "Anything else tied to the home: a home equity line, a solar loan or lease, a judgment, or an unpaid contractor.", "why": "Each one is usually paid off or transferred at closing, and your attorney tells you which. A solar lease is usually either taken over by the buyer or paid off.", "needed_for": [ "closing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Statements for each account", "Email search: \"HELOC\", \"home equity\", \"solar agreement\", \"lien\"" ], "applies_when": "Any of these exist" }, { "id": "property_taxes", "group": "Money owed against the home", "item": "The last two property tax bills and the exemptions on the PIN (homeowner, senior, and others).", "why": "Taxes are settled between buyer and seller at closing, so the bills go into the estimate of what you keep.", "needed_for": [ "pricing", "closing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Your county treasurer website, searched by PIN", "Email search: \"property tax\", \"treasurer\"" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "purchase_closing_package", "group": "Records from when you bought", "item": "Your closing package from the purchase: the settlement statement or closing disclosure, the owner's title insurance policy, and the survey.", "why": "Your attorney and the title company start from these. Your attorney tells you whether a new survey is needed.", "needed_for": [ "closing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Email search: \"closing disclosure\", \"settlement statement\", \"owner's policy\", \"title commitment\", \"survey\"", "The paper folder from your purchase" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "system_ages", "group": "Condition and work done", "item": "The age of the roof, furnace or boiler, air conditioning, water heater, and sump pump, with receipts for anything replaced.", "why": "Buyers, inspectors and appraisers ask, and a dated receipt answers the question better than a guess.", "needed_for": [ "pricing", "listing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Email search: \"roof\", \"furnace\", \"HVAC\", \"water heater\", \"plumber\", \"invoice\"", "The label on each piece of equipment, which shows a manufacture date" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "known_problems", "group": "Condition and work done", "item": "Every problem you know about: water in the basement, roof or chimney leaks, foundation cracks, electrical or plumbing trouble, pests.", "why": "Most sellers of a 1 to 4 unit home in Illinois give the buyer the Residential Real Property Disclosure Report (765 ILCS 77), which lists known material defects, before a contract. Some sellers, such as certain estates and trustees, are exempt, and your attorney confirms which applies. The law requires disclosure, not repair.", "needed_for": [ "listing", "contract" ], "who_provides": "You. Only you know what you know, so an assistant can collect your notes but cannot answer the form for you.", "where_to_find": [ "Your own notes and memory", "Email search: \"leak\", \"water damage\", \"repair estimate\", \"insurance claim\"" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "permits", "group": "Condition and work done", "item": "Permits for past work: an addition, a finished basement, a deck, new electrical, a bathroom moved.", "why": "Buyers and appraisers ask whether finished space was permitted.", "needed_for": [ "pricing", "contract" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Your city or village building department records", "Contractor invoices and permit cards" ], "applies_when": "Any work that needed a permit was done" }, { "id": "radon", "group": "Condition and work done", "item": "Any radon test results and any mitigation system receipts.", "why": "Under the Illinois Radon Awareness Act (420 ILCS 46), the seller of most homes gives the buyer the state radon pamphlet and discloses known radon test results. Your attorney confirms any exemption.", "needed_for": [ "contract" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Email search: \"radon\"", "Your purchase inspection report" ], "applies_when": "Always (an answer of \"never tested\" is an answer)" }, { "id": "lead_paint", "group": "Condition and work done", "item": "Any lead paint reports or records.", "why": "For a home built before 1978, federal law (42 U.S.C. 4852d) requires a signed lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet, and gives the buyer a chance to test.", "needed_for": [ "contract" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Email search: \"lead paint\", \"lead inspection\"", "Your purchase inspection report" ], "applies_when": "The home was built before 1978" }, { "id": "association", "group": "Condo or HOA", "item": "The management company and contact, the monthly assessment, any special assessment approved or proposed, and the rules on rentals and pets.", "why": "The assessment goes on the listing, and buyers and their lenders ask about special assessments and rental rules.", "needed_for": [ "listing", "contract" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Email search: your building or association name, \"assessment\", \"management company\", \"board meeting\"" ], "applies_when": "The home is a condo or in an HOA" }, { "id": "condo_22_1", "group": "Condo or HOA", "item": "The Section 22.1 documents a condo buyer receives under the Illinois Condominium Property Act.", "why": "Your attorney requests these from the association. Your assistant only needs the management contact above.", "needed_for": [ "contract" ], "who_provides": "Your attorney, from the association", "where_to_find": [ "Your attorney requests them" ], "applies_when": "The home is a condo" }, { "id": "tenants", "group": "Tenants", "item": "Each lease: the rent, the security deposit, the end date, and whether the tenant stays or leaves.", "why": "Leases decide showing notice and whether the buyer takes over a tenant, and deposits are handled at closing.", "needed_for": [ "listing", "closing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Your lease files", "Email search: \"lease\", \"security deposit\", the tenant's name" ], "applies_when": "Any unit is rented" }, { "id": "town_requirements", "group": "Town requirements", "item": "What your town requires before the deed can be recorded: in Chicago, a water and sewer Full Payment Certificate from the Department of Finance; in a suburb, whatever your village requires, such as its own transfer stamp, a point-of-sale inspection, or a water final read.", "why": "The City of Chicago does not issue its transfer stamps, which the deed needs to be recorded, until the Full Payment Certificate is issued, and any balance on the water account is paid first. Suburbs differ town by town, and some have no step at all.", "needed_for": [ "closing" ], "who_provides": "You, with your attorney", "where_to_find": [ "Your city or village hall website, under \"transfer stamps\" or \"real estate transfer\"", "Your village hall, by phone" ], "applies_when": "The home is in Chicago, or your town issues its own transfer stamps or requires a point-of-sale step" }, { "id": "heating_cost", "group": "Town requirements", "item": "Your recent heating costs (gas, or electric if the home heats with electric).", "why": "Chicago's heating cost disclosure rules (Municipal Code chapter 5-16) cover home sales. On 904 S Miller St, a Net Gain Realty listing that closed on August 31, 2026, the buyer side asked for the Chicago heating cost disclosure about two weeks before closing.", "needed_for": [ "contract" ], "who_provides": "You, from your utility", "where_to_find": [ "Your gas or electric account history online", "Email search: \"Peoples Gas\", \"ComEd\", \"Nicor\", \"bill\"" ], "applies_when": "The home is in Chicago" }, { "id": "showing_access", "group": "Showings and goals", "item": "How buyers get in: whether a lockbox is fine, who lives there, pets, and the times that do not work.", "why": "This sets up ShowingTime before the listing goes live.", "needed_for": [ "listing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "You" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "timeline", "group": "Showings and goals", "item": "When you want to move, whether you are buying next, and any date the sale has to close by.", "why": "The timeline shapes the pricing and the closing date you ask for.", "needed_for": [ "pricing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "You" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "target_net", "group": "Showings and goals", "item": "The amount you need to walk away with after the sale.", "why": "Pricing starts from recent closed sales; your number shows whether the sale works for you.", "needed_for": [ "pricing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "You" ], "applies_when": "Always" }, { "id": "utilities", "group": "Showings and goals", "item": "Average monthly gas and electric bills.", "why": "Buyers ask.", "needed_for": [ "listing" ], "who_provides": "You", "where_to_find": [ "Your utility accounts", "Email search: your gas and electric company names" ], "applies_when": "Always" } ], "next_step": { "description": "When the packet is gathered, the owner can book a call, or an assistant acting for the owner can request a listing consultation through the actions block in /facts.json. Net Gain Realty contacts the owner, never the assistant.", "book_a_call": "https://calendly.com/matthew-netgain/30min", "agent_actions": "https://netgain.realty/facts.json" } }