Requesting document access

Not every document on a listing is one click away. Inspection reports, titles, service histories and export paperwork are often the documents that decide a deal — and sellers don't always want them visible to the entire internet. Haubot handles this with access levels and a request workflow, rather than with off-platform email attachments.

The three access levels

Every file in a listing's UnitVault has one of three access levels:

• Public — anyone can download it. Click and it's yours.
• Sign-in required — you need a Haubot account, but no approval. Sign in and the download unlocks.
• Approval required — the seller individually reviews and approves each request.

You can tell which is which before you click: a public file downloads immediately, a sign-in file shows "Sign in to download", and an approval file shows "Request access".

Making a request

When you hit Request access on a restricted file, you're asked for a short message. This isn't a formality — it's the only thing the seller sees about you when they decide. A useful request message says, briefly:

• Who you are (company, role).
• Why you want this specific document.
• Whether you're a serious prospective buyer or doing earlier-stage research.

"Interested in the machine, would like the inspection report before I bring it to my technical team" gets approved. "send docs" often doesn't.

Submit, and the request goes to the seller. You'll be notified when they respond.

What the seller sees and does

On their side, the seller gets your request with your message and your account context. They can:

• Grant access — the file unlocks for you, and the Request access button becomes Download.
• Deny the request — usually because the listing is under offer, the timing is wrong, or the request didn't give them enough to go on.
• Grant with a time limit — access that expires after a set period, common for sensitive paperwork.

A grant is specific to you and to that file (or that document set). It is not a blanket unlock of the vault.

The access log

Every request, grant, denial and revocation is written to an audit log against the listing. This protects both sides:

• For you, it's a record that you were granted access to a specific document on a specific date — useful if a dispute later turns on what was disclosed.
• For the seller, it's a record of who saw what and when.

Sellers can revoke access they previously granted. If that happens, any snapshot package you already downloaded still verifies — see How buyers verify documents — but the live file will no longer be available to you.

If a request is denied

A denial isn't always a red flag. Sellers commonly hold restricted documents back until a buyer has shown genuine intent — sometimes until there's a signed NDA or an active negotiation. If a request is denied, the practical move is to message the seller through the listing, explain where you are in your process, and ask what they'd need to see before releasing it.

If a seller is unresponsive across both the request and direct messages, that itself is information about the seller.

Where to go next

Once you have a document in hand, the next question is whether it's genuine and unaltered. That's How buyers verify documents — the hash-verification workflow that lets you prove, independently, that the file you received is exactly what was sealed into the listing's record.