Once you start adding your property, most of the work happens on our side. Here's what's going on behind the scenes, how long each part usually takes, and what you'll hear from us along the way.
Watching the progress
Your property page shows a slim status bar near the top. Most of the time it stays quiet, with a note like: "We're getting your property ready in the background: photos, description, title history. Nothing for you to do right now." Progress shows as a row of dots (for example, "3 of 5"), and clicking "See details" opens the full checklist. The exact steps vary by property and county, but you'll typically see steps like:
"Who currently owns the property?"
"Preparing your property"
"Writing a description based on property features"
"Generating AI pictures tailored to the location"
"Verifying the property's ownership history"
"Drafting deed and tax documents"
"Legal documents are being reviewed" (which becomes "Deed and tax documents are ready")
"Payment authorization" (shown as "Pay on first use")
When something needs you, the bar says so plainly, for example "1 step needs you: approve the onboarding fee." with a button that takes you straight there. Those steps usually take about a minute each. If a step runs into a problem on our side, the bar shows "Something needs attention:" with the step, so nothing is ever silently stuck.
You can safely close the page at any point. Everything keeps moving on our side, and we email you whenever a step needs you.
You can list for sale while setup continues
Your property page is live as soon as you submit, and you can list your property for sale right away. Buyers can see the price and send you offers while the paperwork completes in the background. Completing the setup is what lets you accept an offer, close a sale, or take a loan.
What's automated and what's human
Some steps are fast and automated: writing the property description takes under a minute, and the pictures take a few minutes. Others involve real people. Verifying your property's ownership history can take up to about a day, especially in counties with sparse online records, where our team does the research by hand. Every deed is reviewed by a person before you sign, which usually takes a few hours. In the rare case that review finds a problem we can't resolve, the process is canceled rather than left hanging, so reach out through the chat if that happens.
Signing and recording
Signing, notarization, and county recording usually happen at closing, when your property sells. In the checklist those steps carry an "at closing" tag, which means they're waiting on purpose, not stuck. You can also complete them earlier: when your documents are ready, the status bar reads "Your paperwork is ready. Sign now to let buyers buy right away and to enable borrowing, or wait for a buyer." Signing early means a buyer can purchase right away, without waiting for paperwork at closing.
Signing itself is a short online notary session, about 10 minutes. Then we submit the deed to your county for recording. Processing time varies by location. It typically takes a few days, though some counties complete within hours, and remote counties without online records can take longer.
After recording, your property is fully set up in your Fabrica account. Fabrica pays the network processing costs for this, not you.
Emails you'll receive
"[Your property] is live on Fabrica" when the process begins.
"Your documents for [your property] are ready to sign" when your documents are prepared, with copies attached.
"[Your property] has been added to your Fabrica account" once recording is done and everything is in place.
If you get stuck at any step, message us through the chat bubble in the corner.
Learn more: How the on-ramp works · The property lifecycle