What is the big rush to clear the contingencies?

Good Job!  Seller will thank you in the end.

Great post. The seller can relax once they sign the docs at settlement. Get the contingencies out of the way and then start packing.

Well written.  Making sure the right things happen AFTER the contract is written can be just as important as signing the contract!

It floors me that sellers think these things are such a burden.  I recently sold my own home last year and was grateful just to have an accepted offer.  Sure, it's all inconvenient for daily life having your home up for sale, but once a contract is acceptted a seller should be excited to get things moving towards closing.

A good listing agent informs their clients about the entire process. (Yes - there will be strangers in your home, yes - it is in your best interest to cooperate with their schedule, yes - they have a right to thoroughly inspect the house). These things shouldn't surprise sellers - it is the responsibility of the agent to prepare them for the sale!

Holly,

I agree with Ellen, #7, a good listing agent prepares a client for the work involved while in escrow. It's not over 'till the house closes. Excellent post! :)

Best to prepare your clients for everything this way they will be less stressed!

Great reminder. Sometimes just being a little easy going goes a long way. I recently closed on a short sale, the buyers went back several times to see the house while we were waiting for approval. It was very kind of the sellers to agree to let the buyers keep coming over.

I always used to say that the real work began AFTER the offer was signed and accepted. Keeping a transaction together is what counts.

This is a great example of why every seller & buyer need an agent representing them.  Only about 25% of all FSBO deals ever close.  They seriously need our help.

Might be important to know who is paying for the contingencies.  If the expense is the buyers and there is nothing that has not been properly dislcosed most contingencies are checked off relatively quick allowing the Seller to make their next move faster as well.

Great written blog. Loved it, hit suggest.

When you list a property, I would think it would be helpful for a seller to also see what a contract to buy will look like and go through what inspections could happen and help them see that it is no longer "buyer beware" (especially if they haven't bought a home in a long time). That way they can start thinking about how they can go about taking care of these necessary items ahead of time. I think it is not KNOWING what to expect when an offer comes in and the process of closing that then irritates the seller who has opened their home to the world to come in and pick it apart.

Jeanne

Fantastic post!  Those last steps seem daunting to sellers who jsut want to be DONE ALREADY!...but what important steps they are!

It is better to get the contigencies out of the way fast.  If there is going to be a problem you want to know about it as soon as possible.

The first two weeks are usually nail-biting. We just had a buyer call another lender (a different lender than the one she was going to use) and get a loan denial letter because she got cold feet. We had to fire her (but that's another story!). Don't count your chickens before they've hatched!

Holly, I simply LOVE the way you presented this post!  So creative & interesting!  Every seller should read it!

I am going to incorporate a lot more education into my Seller Prep once I have the Listing Agreement signed, so they will know what to expect every step of the way.  I do point these things out, but I now think I don't really give them the importance that is needed.  Am going to start re-vamping my presentation today!  Thanks!  Think I'll even use your format...

Great post, and I agree it's up to us to educate the sellers up front as to what happens AFTER an offer is accepted...after all, they do it, what, maybe three or four times their whole lives?  We do this every day!  What's basic to us is often Greek to them!

Post #10 is right on! Clients who are informed don't have much room to complain. They will know about contingency removals, etc. and there won't be any surprises. Explaining at least the most important contract paragraphs will help. But since they won't remember everything, give them a copy of your brief and simplified explanations of each paragraph. That way sellers (and buyers) won't say, "I didn't know that."  I will share mine: homesbyflavia@gmail.com.