Listing paperwork and disclosures

You will not see all of these at once. They arrive in four steps, roughly in this order, and we walk you through each one before you sign. Which ones apply depends on your home, how it is owned and the contract.

1. 01

   Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationship (AD)

   A California form that explains the duties an agent owes to a seller, a buyer or both. California law requires you to receive it before you sign a listing agreement, and you sign to acknowledge you received it.

2. 02

   Residential Listing Agreement (RLA)

   The agreement that engages The Jenn Pfeiffer Team to market and sell your home. It sets the list price, the start and end dates, compensation and what we commit to do for you. Commissions are not set by law and are negotiable.

3. 03

   Seller advisories

   Short forms that flag issues worth your attention, including the Statewide Buyer and Seller Advisory (SBSA), the Wire Fraud Advisory and the Marin County disclosures advisory from the Marin Association of REALTORS®. You sign to show you received them.

4. 04

   Trust, estate or entity documents

   If the home is owned by a trust, an estate or a company, we confirm who has authority to sign, using documents such as a certification of trust or letters from the probate court. Probate sales follow additional court procedures.

1. 05

   Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)

   Your statement of what you know about the condition of the property, from appliances to known defects. California requires it for most home sales. Some sellers, such as estates in probate and certain trustees, are exempt and complete an Exempt Seller Disclosure (ESD) instead. An exemption from the form never removes the duty to disclose known material facts.

2. 06

   Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ)

   A detailed questionnaire about repairs, alterations, insurance claims, neighborhood issues and the history of the home. Thorough answers protect you after the sale.

3. 07

   Natural Hazard Disclosure (NHD)

   A report from a disclosure company showing whether the property sits in a mapped flood zone, dam inundation area, fire hazard severity zone, wildland fire area, earthquake fault zone or seismic hazard zone. You and the buyer sign the statement.

4. 08

   Agent Visual Inspection Disclosure (AVID)

   Jenn walks the accessible areas of your home and records what she observes, as California requires of listing agents. The buyer’s agent completes one too.

5. 09

   Property-specific disclosures

   Which ones apply depends on your home: lead-based paint disclosures for homes built before 1978, the Homeowner’s Guide to Earthquake Safety for older wood-frame homes built before 1960, fire hardening and defensible space disclosures for homes in high or very high fire hazard severity zones, and the HOA resale package for homes in an association.

6. 10

   Inspection reports and local compliance records

   Your pre-listing inspection reports, plus any sewer lateral certificate and city resale report your town requires. California also requires written statements on smoke alarms and water heater bracing, carbon monoxide alarms where required, and disclosure of older plumbing fixtures that do not meet water-conservation standards. See which inspections your home needs.

1. 11

   Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA)

   The buyer’s offer, and once you accept it, the contract. It sets the price, deposit, contingencies, deadlines and closing date, and confirms which agents represent whom.

2. 12

   Counteroffers

   To change an offer’s terms, you respond with a Seller Counteroffer (SCO), or a Seller Multiple Counteroffer (SMCO) when several buyers are involved. Agreed terms become part of the contract once properly accepted.

3. 13

   Seller Payment to Buyer’s Broker (SPBB)

   Used only if you agree to pay some or all of the buyer’s agent compensation. It records the amount and terms in writing.

4. 14

   Escrow instructions and seller information

   Instructions to the neutral escrow company, plus the information escrow needs to order your loan payoff, prepare documents and send your proceeds. Always confirm wiring instructions by phone with a known number.

5. 15

   Tax withholding forms

   Escrow collects forms confirming your tax status. Federal law (FIRPTA) requires withholding when a seller is a foreign person, and California requires withholding on many sales unless an exemption applies, such as the sale of a principal residence. Your tax advisor is the right person for questions here.

6. 16

   Request for Repair (RR) and your response

   If the buyer’s inspections turn up issues, they may ask for repairs or a credit. You can agree, decline or counter in a written reply.

7. 17

   Buyer contingency removal (CR-B)

   The buyer releases each contingency in writing. You receive it and we track every deadline for you.

8. 18

   Occupancy and rent-back agreements

   If the home has tenants, or you need to stay after closing, a written addendum sets out possession, rent, deposits and responsibilities.

1. 19

   Verification of Property Condition (VP)

   The buyer’s final walkthrough shortly before closing, confirming the home is in the condition agreed. You may receive a copy.

2. 20

   Grant deed and closing documents

   The deed transfers ownership to the buyer. The title or escrow company prepares it, and you sign it in front of a notary so it can be recorded.

3. 21

   Final seller settlement statement

   The escrow company’s final accounting of your sale price, loan payoffs, costs, credits and net proceeds.

This page is general information, not legal or tax advice. Forms are revised regularly, and the documents in your transaction depend on the property, the contract and the parties. Current California Association of REALTORS® forms are shared with clients by the team at the time they are needed.