Property file: the data buyers ask for before the viewing

A property file instead of the agent's memory

The seller talks for forty minutes, the agent remembers half, and a third makes it into the listing. Then the sticky part starts: a buyer asks when the pipes were replaced, the seller answers a day later, and by then the buyer has seen two other places. The property file holds everything you will be asked during the sale.

Three groups of data

Physical. Area on paper and in reality, floor and building height, layout, ceiling height, window orientation, condition of utilities, year of the last renovation and what exactly was replaced.
Legal. Basis of ownership, number of owners, registered occupants, encumbrances, outstanding charges. Terminology and required checks differ a great deal — verify in your jurisdiction.
Money and terms. Monthly running costs, taxes, when the seller physically vacates, appetite for negotiation, which furniture and appliances stay.

At this stage AI is not a source of facts but an interviewer. It has never been to the property and knows nothing about it, yet it is good at building question lists and finding holes in your notes.

Prompt: you are an agent with fifteen years of practice. Here are my notes on a property: [paste].
Ask 15 questions a buyer will demand answers to at the viewing but that my notes do not cover.
Mark separately which items affect price and which affect only speed of sale.

Insight. Half the answers come not from the seller but from you, on site: smell, noise through the walls, the state of the entrance, what the kitchen window looks onto. A buyer registers all of it within ten seconds of walking in.

What actually moves price

Of dozens of parameters, only a few drive the final number: location and transport, floor and view, condition, layout, legal cleanliness, seller urgency. Everything else is negotiation material, not valuation material. Split characteristics into two columns: unchangeable (floor, view, year built) and fixable over a weekend (balcony clutter, smell, dead bulbs). The first is pricing, the second is preparation.

Common mistake. Recording the seller's words as facts. The phrase «the building had a major refurbishment» goes into the listing, and at closing it turns out only the roof was touched. Tag every line with its source: document, my inspection, seller's claim.

Pro tip. Keep the file in a spreadsheet, not a chat thread. One file then feeds the listing, chat answers, buyer presentation and comparative analysis.

Cheat sheet

The property file is filled in before the listing, not after the first questions.
Three blocks: physical, legal, money and terms.
Every line is tagged with a source: document, inspection, seller's claim.
Separate the unchangeable (pricing) from the fixable (preparation).

1. What is the role of AI when collecting property data?

2. Why tag every line of the file with its source?

3. Which item belongs to pre-sale preparation rather than pricing?

🔒 Answer the question correctly to move on to the next lesson.