Selling a warehouse or an industrial building takes more paperwork than selling a house, but most of it is already sitting in your files. The hard part is knowing which papers matter, who will ask for them, and when. This guide walks through them in the order a buyer usually asks: the income first, then the environmental history, the survey and the title, the zoning and the permits for the use, and last the tax forms at the closing table. Each section says what the document is, why the buyer wants it, and what to pull together now.
What You Need Before Anyone Makes an Offer
A first conversation needs very little paper. To start: the property address, the general condition, whether it’s occupied, and your timing. That’s enough for a first conversation.
The rest comes after a price is on the table, when the buyer starts its review. Later: the deed, any leases and the rent roll, recent property tax bills, a survey, and any environmental reports you already have. Even so, it helps to gather those papers early, because a buyer’s review can only move as fast as the slowest missing document.
Leases and the Rent Roll Come First
If the building has tenants, the leases are usually the first thing a buyer reads, because the rent is a large part of what the building is worth. The rent roll is the one-page summary that goes with them: each tenant, the space it uses, the rent, and the date each lease ends. Send the leases and the rent roll early, because they are part of the value.
Send every amendment, side letter and renewal notice too, since one missing page can change what a lease really says. If tenants pay part of the taxes, insurance or upkeep, a simple record of what each one paid last year saves a lot of questions later. If you run your own business in the building, there may be no lease at all. We buy buildings that are leased to tenants, owner-occupied, or vacant.
Environmental Reports: Send the Old Ones, Expect a New One
Most industrial buyers look hard at environmental history, because a building’s past uses can matter as much as its roof. The EPA says a Phase I environmental site assessment done under the ASTM E1527-21 standard can be used to meet its All Appropriate Inquiries rule, which sits at 40 CFR Part 312. The EPA says these inquiries can be done to obtain protection from potential liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act as an innocent landowner, a contiguous property owner, or a bona fide prospective purchaser. For that protection, the inquiry must be done or updated within one year before the buyer takes ownership, and some parts, such as interviews with current and past owners and a search for environmental cleanup liens, within 180 days.
That is why a report from years ago will not do the job on its own: the buyer’s consultant has to update it or start fresh. It is still worth sending, because it shows what was looked at before and where any questions were. Expect a call or a questionnaire as well, since the EPA lists interviews with current and past owners, operators, and occupants among the steps. The results go into a written report signed by an environmental professional.
Gather any old reports, permits, tank records and cleanup letters you have, and share them with the buyer’s consultant. Environmental history is part of how we price a property, not an automatic no. Ask an environmental attorney or consultant about your site.
The Survey: New National Standards Took Effect in 2026
According to ALTA, its land title survey standards help title professionals, lenders and surveyors identify boundary issues, easements, encroachments, access concerns and other matters that may affect insurable title. Because lenders and title companies lean on that survey, most commercial buyers ask for one.
The current version was adopted by ALTA and the National Society of Professional Surveyors in October 2025. It took effect on February 23, 2026, and replaced the 2021 version as of that date. The standards cover the fieldwork, the map, the certification and the deliverables, plus a menu of optional items known as Table A.
An older survey is still worth sending, because it shows the buyer’s surveyor what the last one found. But a lender or a title company may want a new survey made under the current standards, with its own picks from that optional menu. Ask the buyer which survey it needs before you pay for a new one yourself.
Title, Liens and Loans
A title company or closing attorney handles the title search and the closing paperwork. Your part is small: a copy of the deed, the name of every lender with a loan on the property, and any lien notices you know about. If a company, a partnership or a trust owns the building, expect to show who may sign for it, such as an operating agreement or a signed resolution.
Liens and unpaid property taxes are normally paid off from the sale money at closing. As in any sale, the mortgage is paid off from the sale money at closing. Your recent property tax bills help everyone confirm what is owed before the closing statement is drawn up.
Zoning Letters and Certificates of Occupancy Prove Different Things
A buyer wants to know two things about use: what the zoning allows on the land, and whether the way the building is used today was ever approved. Those are often two different documents. In Dallas, for example, the Planning & Development Department can provide a letter stating the current zoning on a parcel, with part of the zoning map and the regulations for that zoning district. That letter costs $322, a $307 letter fee plus a $15 technology fee, and requests go only through DallasNow.
The use question is answered elsewhere: the Dallas Development Code says that, except for single family and duplex uses, a person shall not use or change the use of a building or land without a Certificate of Occupancy. According to the City, a new certificate is needed for the first use of land or a building, a change of use, a change of tenant on an existing certificate, or a change in floor area. So a buyer may ask for the certificate that matches the tenant in the building today, not only the one issued when the building opened.
Houston is different: the City’s official zoning letter says it does not have a city-wide comprehensive zoning ordinance, but that land around its airports and one reinvestment zone have their own land use rules, and that the letter does not address separately filed restrictions that may apply to a property. Since rules like these vary from city to city, check what your own city’s letter actually covers before you rely on it. Ask your attorney before counting on a use.
Tax Forms at the Closing Table
The IRS instructions say that, generally, the person responsible for closing the transaction is required to file Form 1099-S to report the sale. That person must ask for your taxpayer identification number no later than the time of closing, and a U.S. seller may be asked to give it on Form W-9. The instructions also list exceptions, including a sale in which the seller is a corporation, as the instructions define the word.
A different rule applies when the seller is a foreign person: the IRS says the buyer must generally withhold 15% of the amount realized and, in most cases, is the withholding agent. To show that the rule does not apply, a seller can give the buyer a certification, under penalties of perjury, that the seller is not a foreign person, with the seller’s name, U.S. taxpayer identification number and home address, or office address for a company. These are tax rules, so ask your accountant or tax adviser how they apply to your sale.
A Checklist to Start Gathering Now
- The deed. A copy of the recorded deed, or enough detail for the title company to find it.
- Every lease. With all amendments and side letters, plus the rent roll.
- Your tax bills. The most recent ones, and any notice that the assessed value changed.
- Any loans or liens. The lender’s name and contact details, so the closing agent can ask for a payoff figure.
- Any environmental papers. Old site reports, permits, tank records and cleanup letters.
- The survey. The latest one you have, whatever its age.
- Your zoning and use papers. Any zoning letter and every certificate of occupancy you can find.
- Who signs. If a company owns the building, the papers that show who may sign for it.
- Your tax forms. A taxpayer identification form when the closing agent asks for it.
Questions Owners Ask
Do I need a new survey to sell?
Not always. It depends on what the buyer, its lender and the title company ask for. An older survey still helps, and the buyer usually says early whether a new one is needed.
Is a zoning letter enough to show my use is allowed?
Not in every city. In Dallas, the letter states the zoning on the parcel, while the certificate of occupancy is the document tied to the use. Ask your attorney what that means for your building.
Will my old Phase I report be enough?
Usually not on its own. For the buyer’s liability protection, the EPA rule ties the inquiry to the year before the buyer takes ownership, so an older report has to be updated or redone. It still helps the consultant who does the new one.
Where to Start
You do not need every item above to ask for an offer. To start, only the details on our form. Asking for an offer is free, and you are not committed to anything unless you sign a purchase agreement. We buy as-is, so you do not have to make repairs or upgrades first. Tell us about your property and we’ll get back to you.
Sources
Facts on this page come from the public sources listed at the bottom, read on the dates shown.
- American Land Title Association (ALTA), ALTA/NSPS Land Title Survey Standards, topic page (read 2026-10-14).
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Brownfields All Appropriate Inquiries, web page, last updated May 7, 2026 (read 2026-10-14).
- City of Dallas, Permit Center, web page (read 2026-10-14).
- City of Dallas, Certificate of Occupancy, web page (read 2026-10-14).
- City of Houston, Planning & Development Department, Official City of Houston Zoning Letter, letter dated January 6, 2026 (read 2026-10-14).
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Instructions for Form 1099-S, 12/2026 revision, page last reviewed 30-Apr-2026 (read 2026-10-14).
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS), FIRPTA withholding, web page, last reviewed 21-Jul-2026 (read 2026-10-14).
- Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Exceptions from FIRPTA withholding, web page, last reviewed 15-Jul-2026 (read 2026-10-14).