The inspection scope, document responsibilities, unresolved conditions, deposit and payoff reconciliation, and evidence of the actual handoff. A Complete checkbox counts as documented only when its owner, evidence, reviewer and review date are present.
Preview the readiness summary
Six tabs that follow the purchase
- Readiness summary
See documented work, open items and overdue tasks as of the date you select. The counts do not authorize closing.
- Prebuy scope
Record the agreed evaluation, exclusions, findings and buyer disposition with the actual reviewers.
- Authority & documents
Assign responsibility for identity, authority, title review, payoffs, releases, records and financing documents.
- Closing conditions
Track the real parties’ inspection, acceptance, insurance, funding and escrow requirements.
- Cash bridge
Keep buyer cash and seller proceeds separate. Reconcile deposits and additional escrow cash once.
- Handoff evidence
Log actual funds receipt, document delivery, possession, filing receipts and post-closing follow-up.
What makes an item documented?
The tracker distinguishes work in progress from a recorded review. Complete requires an owner, evidence reference, reviewer and review date no later than the selected as-of date. N/A also needs a rationale. Changing a dropdown by itself does not clear the item from the open count.
The dates and assignments belong to your actual team. Use secure file references rather than pasting sensitive documents into a shared spreadsheet. Update the as-of date each time you review the tracker, and review any overdue tasks with their owners.
Use the right evidence for each decision
A purchase evaluation and a regulatory inspection address different questions. Agree your evaluation scope, limitations and deliverables with the reviewer; separately confirm applicable maintenance and operational requirements. AOPA discusses the distinction.
FAA aircraft records are useful to diligence, and the FAA describes their scope. The document matrix separately assigns title/interest review, signature authority, registration support, maintenance-record delivery and payoff/release questions. The kit does not provide a title opinion or establish that all interests have been resolved.
The PDF includes a scope-meeting template, finding/disposition register, responsibility matrix, worked cash example, conditions worksheet and handoff log. Use these to prepare for the decisions your buyer, seller, lender, escrow agent, maintenance reviewer, counsel and insurance adviser actually make.
Reconcile deposits and payoffs without counting them twice
The buyer bridge starts with price plus buyer costs, then subtracts net loan proceeds, the deposit applied to price, other confirmed credits and additional buyer cash already in escrow. That additional cash must exclude the deposit. Available cash now means cash left after those earlier transfers.
The seller illustration subtracts seller payoff, charges and concessions from the price. It is a separate party's ledger. Do not subtract that payoff from the buyer price again. The payoff good-through field flags expired dates; it does not compute daily interest, clear a lien or verify bank details.
Keep release authority with the responsible people
Received, reviewed, accepted, funded, delivered, submitted and recorded are different events. Keep the relevant acknowledgment and any follow-up owner. Confirm payment-instruction changes through your closing team's independent verification procedure. FBI/IC3's business email compromise guidance supports separate-channel verification; no template can guarantee a payment is safe.
This kit is not a purchase agreement, airworthiness determination, legal or tax opinion, insurance binder, lender approval, escrow release instruction or permission to operate. It does not send wires or submit documents. Jaken Aviation is a financing brokerage. Jaken fees are due at closing; nothing is charged upfront. Third-party expenses follow their own terms.
Continue with the public planning guides
Use the piston prebuy checklist, aircraft escrow and closing guide, and closing responsibility checklist alongside your professional team. The separate Aircraft Purchase & Financing Workbook covers offer comparisons and ownership budgeting. Existing public guides, basic CSV worksheets and prebuy PDF remain available.
Readiness kit questions
What is in the Pre-Buy & Closing Readiness Kit?
An editable six-tab Excel tracker and an eight-page printable guide. They organize inspection scope, document responsibilities, closing conditions, deposit and payoff reconciliation, and post-closing evidence.
How does the immediate download work?
Enter your email on this page. After Netlify records and verifies the request, the download page automatically starts the Excel file. The PDF guide is available from the same 24-hour browser session. No inbox verification is required.
Does a completed tracker mean the aircraft is approved to close?
No. It records your team's coordination work. Contractual acceptance, title review, lender permission, insurance, escrow release and permission to operate remain separate decisions by the responsible parties.
Is a prebuy evaluation the same as an annual inspection?
They address different questions. Agree the purchase-evaluation scope with your reviewer and separately confirm applicable inspection and airworthiness requirements. A completed annual does not answer every future-cost or purchase-acceptance question.
How are deposits and existing escrow cash treated?
The bridge subtracts the deposit applied to price and additional buyer cash already in escrow separately. Additional escrow cash must exclude that deposit. Cash available now means cash remaining after those earlier transfers.
Does the kit verify title, payoffs or bank instructions?
No. It provides fields for responsible reviewers, evidence references and dates. Have your closing professionals verify interests, payoff validity, release documents and payment instructions through their actual procedures. Do not enter routing or account numbers in the tracker.
Will my transaction details be uploaded?
No. The downloaded Excel tracker has no macros, external data connections or upload feature. The resource form collects your email and any optional aircraft category or purchase timeline, plus resource and source attribution.
Do I need to provide a phone number or apply for financing?
No. Only email is required for the kit. Requesting it is separate from a financing inquiry. Jaken fees are due at closing; nothing is charged upfront. Third-party expenses follow their own terms.
Sources and scope
Opened November 3, 2026. The matrices and worked example are original coordination tools. Public sources support the distinctions stated here; no individual professional review or transaction approval is claimed.
- FAA: About Aircraft Records — FAA records cover registered-owner, recorded-security-interest and airworthiness information. A record search is one input to professional diligence. Not a title opinion or a substitute for maintenance log review.
- FAA: Register an Aircraft — Registration involves the owner's legal identity, application, evidence of ownership and applicable filing requirements. Eligibility, entity authority and operation while documents are pending need transaction-specific review. No filing fee or processing-time promise is made.
- FAA: Record an Aircraft Claim of Lien — Recording certain lien claims depends on applicable state law; a release is distinct from a payoff figure. A current FAA search alone is not represented as resolving all possible interests or state-law issues. Have title professionals and counsel define the search and release scope.
- 14 CFR 91.417: Maintenance records — The rule distinguishes maintenance and status records and specifies retention and transfer obligations, including records accompanying an aircraft sale. Part 91 scope; a qualified maintenance reviewer determines which records and operating rules apply. This kit does not certify completeness or compliance.
- AOPA: Buyer be aware — A purchase evaluation and a regulatory inspection serve different purposes. Define the scope around the buyer's economic questions and the aircraft. Professional commentary, not an FAA rule or a universal lender requirement. No claim that a prebuy guarantees future condition or cost.
- FBI/IC3: Business Email Compromise — Use a secondary channel to verify requests to change account information; urgently contact the originating institution if fraud is recognized. Fraud-reduction practice, not a guarantee that any payment is safe or recoverable.
- FBI/IC3: Verify the sender independently — Verify the claimed sender using an independently obtained main telephone number rather than contact details supplied in the suspect message. The alert concerns vendor impersonation. The kit applies that verification principle to a closing-team workflow; it does not supply bank instructions.