Research / Field guide
What should transfer when a home is sold?
Transfer property-centered records that the owner is permitted to share: system details, maintenance and project history, manuals, warranties, permits, plans, inspections, invoices, provider information, and unresolved issues. Remove personal and account information first.
The handoff packet
- Home map: shutoffs, panels, controls, access points, and labeled systems.
- System register: models, serials, install dates, manuals, filters, service cadence, and known condition.
- Work history: dates, reasons, scope, providers, invoices, permits, inspections, and warranties.
- Project record: plans, approvals, selections, photographs, change orders, and closeout items.
- Open loops: recurring observations, pending service, active warranties, and facts that remain unverified.
What not to transfer casually
Do not include alarm codes, smart-home credentials, payment data, tax returns, insurance claim files containing personal data, identity documents, private correspondence, or provider records you are not authorized to share. Transfer methods should match the sensitivity of the material.
Records are not representations
A handoff can preserve context without warranting current condition, code compliance, completeness, or workmanship. Disclosure duties differ by jurisdiction. Buyers and sellers should use the appropriate real-estate, inspection, legal, tax, and trade professionals.
Continuity is the objective
The next owner should not have to rediscover every shutoff, decode every label, or repeat every diagnostic conversation. This is the transfer point where Home Information Debt can either compound or begin to decline.
Build the record set · Reconstruct missing repair history · See the Potomac Lux Home Record