Homeowner overwhelmed by pages and pages of documents

Depending on where you live, you should also keep the appraisals of your home. These appraisals might come in handy should you decide to contest your real estate tax valuation. When you contest the value of your home with the local tax authorities, they sometimes request a copy of a recent appraisal. If for nothing else, the appraisal will have pictures of your home and over time the various appraisals will act as a historical reference for your home.

If you refinanced any of your loans, the former lender should have sent you a letter letting you know that your balance due on the loan was zero. We’d suggest you keep track of these statements as well. And, if the lender mailed you a document to file or record the release of mortgage or trust deed, make sure that the original of that document was recorded or filed appropriately. You should keep an electronic copy of the recorded release of mortgage or release of trust deed as well.

Frequently, you’ll close your loan or a refinance of a loan with a title company settlement agent or closing attorney. At, or before, each closing you might have received a title insurance report, title commitment or title policy. If you did, we’d suggest you keep a copy of each commitment from each loan closing.

As for the other documents, we don’t think you need to keep them, although it’s no big deal if they’re organized in a computer file. Certainly, if the documents are at least seven years old, it’s unlikely you’d need them for anything, but if you have electronic copies of the documents organized in separate files, just keep them. It’s unlikely you’ll need the paper copies for anything.