Closed deals, filed,
found in minutes

Think of your archive the way you will look for things later. When someone calls about an old deal, you usually know the year, the address, or the client. So make the year the top level and the property address the second level.

Move a deal into the archive only when it has really closed, and do it the same week. An active-deals folder and an archive folder that never overlap means nothing sits in limbo.

Start with the closing date, then the document type. The same closing date on every file in a deal keeps them together when you sort, and the type tells you what it is without opening it.

Skip names like “final”, “signed2” or “scan”. They made sense on closing day and mean nothing three years later.

How long you have to keep closing files depends on your state, your brokerage and sometimes the type of deal. Check your state real estate commission rules and your broker’s policy, and ask your broker if you are not sure. Do not guess from a general rule you read online.

Keep the signed final settlement statement and the recorded deed in the file even if the lender sent a slightly different copy, and note that older deals may say HUD-1 where newer ones say Closing Disclosure. Whatever the period is, the file has to be findable at the end of it. A transaction file you cannot locate is as good as one you do not have. Run a check once a year: pick a few old closings at random and see how long it takes to find the settlement statement.

Many agents lean on their transaction management system, which keeps the live deal together but is often awkward for old ones. Others zip each closed deal and drop it in cloud storage, which keeps it safe but not findable. Brokerages sometimes make a coordinator move files into the archive by hand at month end.

The weak spot is the same in each case: the file name and folder are decided by whoever is in a hurry. With Filex you describe the archive rule once, upload the closed file, and it reads the address and closing date to name and file each document for you.

It files and renames documents you upload. It does not tell you how long you must keep them, check whether a closing file is complete or compliant, or fetch documents from your transaction system, email or the title company. You bring the files in.

It needs the property address or closing date to be readable on the page, so a blurry or handwritten page may need a quick look from you. Older closed deals work the same way: upload them in batches and Filex files each one.