A legitimate land buyer produces a written paper trail as a deal moves forward: a purchase agreement, proof of funds, a named title company, escrow instructions, a title commitment, a written cost breakdown, a closing statement, and a deed recorded in the county’s public record. A missing document at any stage is a direct question, not a shrug.
Most guidance on vetting a land buyer focuses on questions to ask or red flags to watch for. This is a different way to check the same thing: instead of asking a buyer to describe their process, look at what should actually land in your inbox or mailbox as the deal moves forward. A real transaction generates real paper at predictable points. If you’re further back in the process, starting with an unsolicited offer letter, how to vet a “we buy land” letter in 20 minutes covers that earlier screening step in more depth.
The Eight Documents, in the Order You Should See Them
A legitimate buyer generates all eight of these documents somewhere in the process, roughly in the order listed here, and each one exists to protect both sides of the deal rather than to pad a file. Here’s the full list first, then a closer look at each one and what it means if it never arrives.
| # | Document | When It Should Show Up | What It Proves |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Purchase and sale agreement | Before you commit to anything | The actual terms of the deal, in writing |
| 2 | Proof of funds | With or shortly after the agreement | The buyer can actually pay |
| 3 | Named title/closing company contact | Before earnest money moves | Who’s really handling the closing |
| 4 | Escrow instructions | Once earnest money is deposited | How and when funds and documents move |
| 5 | Title commitment | After the title search, before closing | What clean title requires, and what’s in the way |
| 6 | Written breakdown of who pays what | In the agreement and the closing statement | No surprise costs at the closing table |
| 7 | Closing/settlement statement | At or just before closing | The final, itemized accounting of the sale |
| 8 | Recorded deed | After closing | The sale is done and on the public record |
What Should Show Up Before You Sign Anything?
Two documents should exist before you commit to a price or a timeline: a real purchase and sale agreement, and proof the buyer can actually pay. Both are things a legitimate buyer produces without being pushed, because both exist for the buyer’s protection as much as yours.
A purchase and sale agreement is different from a letter of intent, a text message with a number in it, or a verbal price quote over the phone. It names the parties and the legal description of the parcel, states the price and the closing date, spells out who pays which costs, and lists any contingencies, such as a due diligence period or a title contingency, that let either side walk away. If a buyer wants a signature or a verbal commitment before a written agreement exists, or says the contract will “follow later,” that’s backward: the agreement is what you’re actually agreeing to.
Proof of funds should arrive around the same time. It’s a dated bank statement, an escrow account letter, or written confirmation from a lender showing the buyer can cover the purchase price, not a stale document or a verbal assurance that “we close all the time.” According to the Better Business Bureau, anyone considering a quick cash offer on property should “ask plenty of questions and don’t settle for vague answers,” and a request to see proof of funds is one of the more concrete questions you can ask. A buyer who hesitates, or has to check with someone else before producing it, usually doesn’t control the money they’re offering.
What Should Appear Once You’re Under Contract?
Once you’ve signed a purchase agreement, three more pieces of paper should follow: the name and contact information of the actual closing company, written escrow instructions, and a title commitment. Together, these are the documents that turn a signed agreement into a deal that’s actually moving toward closing.
The closing or title company shouldn’t be a mystery you discover later. A legitimate buyer can tell you, in writing, which title company or closing attorney is handling the transaction, along with a phone number and address you can call independently to confirm the company exists and is handling your file. The BBB’s guidance is direct that any legitimate sale should “complete all transactions through a closing or escrow agent,” according to the Better Business Bureau; if you can’t get a name and a callback number for that agent before earnest money moves, you have no way to verify anything else in the deal independently of the buyer.
Escrow instructions are the written directions, tied to your purchase agreement, that tell the escrow or title company what has to happen, and in what order, before money and documents change hands: when earnest money gets deposited, what conditions release it, and what the escrow holder needs from each side before closing. You don’t have to draft these yourself, but you should receive a copy once escrow opens, because it’s the document that governs how your deposit and your deed are actually handled by a neutral third party rather than by the buyer directly.
A title commitment comes after the title company has actually searched the public record. It’s the title insurer’s own statement of what it will and won’t insure: a Schedule A with the basic transaction details, and a Schedule B listing requirements that must be met, such as paying off a lien or clearing an old judgment, and exceptions the policy won’t cover. No commitment means no one has actually confirmed the title is clear yet, which means the closing date on your agreement is still a guess.
Who Should Tell You Who Pays for What, and How?
The purchase agreement should state it first, and the closing statement should confirm it exactly: who pays which closing costs, who covers any back taxes or existing liens, and whether any number changed between signing and closing. This shouldn’t be information you have to ask for twice or get verbally at the closing table.
Real estate closings generally are built around this expectation of a written accounting, even outside land sales specifically. In Colorado, for example, a broker handling a transaction must ensure the party they represent “receives an accurate, complete and detailed closing statement that is signed by the [b]roker,” under Colorado’s real estate broker practice rules. Most land buying companies aren’t licensed brokers, since they’re typically buying for their own account rather than representing you, but the closing itself still runs through a title company that operates under the same industry norm: an itemized, written statement of who paid what, not a verbal summary after the fact.
For a financed purchase, that itemized document is the Closing Disclosure, a form the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau requires lenders to provide at least three business days before closing, covering loan terms and closing costs in detail. Most land buying companies pay cash and skip financing entirely, so there’s no lender-triggered Closing Disclosure; instead, the title or escrow company typically produces a settlement statement covering the same ground: purchase price, prorated taxes, title and recording fees, and any payoff for existing liens or delinquent taxes, itemized in debit-and-credit columns for both sides. The American Land Title Association publishes a standardized cash version of this settlement statement specifically for all-cash real estate transactions, alongside versions for financed deals, so the industry format exists either way; what matters is that some version of it reaches you in writing before you’re asked to sign at closing. If your parcel carries back taxes, that payoff figure belongs on this statement too, not as a verbal “don’t worry about it.”
AMM Land Sales’ stated policy, for example, is that it pays closing costs and that delinquent property taxes are settled out of closing proceeds, with no commission or fee charged to the seller. That’s worth stating plainly here, but it’s not a reason to skip verifying it: ask any buyer, including AMM, to put those terms in the purchase agreement and confirm them again on the closing statement, the same way you’d verify any other buyer’s claims about costs.
What Confirms the Sale Actually Closed?
Two things confirm a sale is actually finished: a final closing or settlement statement, and a deed recorded with the county. Until both exist, “the deal closed” is something you’ve been told, not something you can verify independently.
The closing statement is the last itemized accounting of the transaction: final purchase price, final prorations, and the exact amount disbursed to you. It should match, or come close to matching, the earlier cost breakdown in your purchase agreement; a number that moved significantly between contract and closing, with no explanation, is worth a direct question before you sign off.
The recorded deed is the document that actually transfers ownership on the public record, and it’s the one piece of paper in this whole checklist that isn’t optional or negotiable. A deed is legally valid once it’s signed and delivered, but recording is what makes it count against the rest of the world: until it’s filed with the county recorder, the public record can still list you as the owner, which matters for tax notices, liability, and any competing claim to the parcel. As Centre County, Pennsylvania’s Recorder of Deeds office explains, if a deed goes unrecorded, “the former owner might acquire a mortgage on your property since the records in our office show he or she still owns it,” and papers recorded with a county office become public information that anyone can visit the office to look at. A legitimate buyer, or the title company handling the closing, will send you a copy of the recorded deed, or at minimum the recording stamp and document number, after closing, which is the concrete, checkable proof that deed recording actually happened rather than just a wire transfer.
What Does It Mean If One of These Documents Never Shows Up?
A single missing document isn’t automatically proof of fraud, but a pattern of missing paperwork is the clearest signal you have. Ask directly for whichever piece hasn’t arrived, and pay attention to how the buyer responds.
A buyer who’s still assembling a company, a title company relationship, or financing might genuinely be a step behind on one document without anything being wrong. What’s different is a buyer who resists producing paper at all: no written agreement, no title company name, no closing statement before signing, all replaced with verbal reassurance and pressure to move fast. That pattern lines up with what the BBB warns sellers to watch for directly: never “give money to an investor before the closing date,” and be wary of any request to handle a transaction “off the books,” according to the Better Business Bureau. If you’ve already gotten this far and want a broader set of questions to ask before you sign, 9 questions to ask a land buying company before you sign covers that ground from the conversation side rather than the paperwork side.
None of these eight documents require a lawyer to request, and a legitimate buyer produces all of them as a normal part of closing, not as a favor. Whether you’re comparing a company against this checklist or deciding whether to request a cash offer in the first place, the general process for selling land for cash runs on the same paper trail regardless of who’s on the other side of the table.