Counterparty verification checklist

The checklist covers one land or small business purchase per copy. A filled-in copy shows which checks were made, where and on which day, and which are still open. A line counts as confirmed only when the check ran through a source the other side cannot edit. For money that has already moved, the first hour after a wire goes to the wrong account is the page to use instead.

How to fill it in:

1. Print one copy for each deal.
2. Work down the lines from the top, and write where each check was made and when.
3. Treat any hold line that applies as a stop until it is resolved in writing.

The deal

The seller or owner

• Owner's name, acquisition date and tax-bill mailing address, from the county record, found by searching and not through a link from the seller. Where and when:
• The name on the record matches the seller's name exactly, or a recorded document explains the difference.
• Certified letter sent to the tax-bill mailing address, asking the owner to call about the sale. Date sent:
• The person who answered that letter is the person on the deal.
• Every phone number and email address used to confirm came from a source the seller did not supply.
• Live video call held; the seller answered questions about the land that the public record does not answer.
• The seller holds papers an owner keeps, such as a tax bill, a survey or the documents from the original purchase.

The company, if one is on either side

• The exact legal name in the contract matches the state business record. State and date searched:
• The formation date fits the story told about the company.
• A current certificate of good standing is in the file, with an issue date the title company or attorney accepts.
• The operating agreement or a signed resolution names the person signing, and a copy is in the file.

The money

• The bank exists and is insured, confirmed in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation's BankFind Suite or the National Credit Union Administration's credit union locator.
• The bank was called at a number from its own website or that listing, never the number on the letter.
• The account holder authorized the bank to confirm the funds, and the bank confirmed both the funds and the letter.
• For a check, the depositing bank says the check has been paid by the bank it was drawn on, and nothing was released before that.
• Payment instructions were confirmed by phone at a number from the title company's own website or license record, and any change was confirmed the same way.

The professionals and the signing

• Title company or closing attorney chosen by the buyer, and the license checked with the state.
• Any real estate agent's or broker's license checked with the state real estate commission.
• Notary arranged by the buyer's title company, or the seller's notary's commission checked with the state and the notary called at a number the seller did not provide.
• Money goes only to the escrow account of the buyer's title company or closing attorney.

Hold lines

Any one of these stops the deal until it is resolved in writing.

• The seller will not meet in person or on a live video call.
• The name on the record and the seller's name differ, and no recorded document explains it.
• Someone other than the seller answered the letter to the tax-bill address.
• The seller insists on their own notary, a signing by mail or a notarization in another country.
• The proceeds are to go to an account in another name, another state or another country.
• A check on this sheet can only be made through a channel the other side supplied.
• Payment instructions changed by email, and no call to a number from the firm's own website has confirmed the change.

Record of checks

What the sheet is not

The sheet records what was checked and when. A title search, title insurance and an attorney's review happen outside it. The sheet stays in the deal file, where the title company or closing attorney can see it. Nothing here is legal advice.

Where these checks come from

The seller and signing lines follow how seller impersonation fraud works on vacant land, built on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's alert of June 16, 2026 on parcel owner impersonation. The company, money and license lines follow how to verify who you are dealing with before money moves, which links each registry and regulator it names.