I said, I Have Never Had a Buyer or Seller Walk at the Closing Table

I had the buyer not show up at closing one time.  I represented the seller, and the buiyer called the attorney's office and said he wasn't signing.  We all talked it over, and closed the next day.

Yes- there is drama in a lot of our dealings and we couls all write a book. The only time a buyer actually walked away was the day before closing because he had his drivers licsense suspened and was most likely about to lose his job. He forfieted his deposit so the seller and both of our brokerages shared it and I put the house right back on the market, sold it in days and closed in 3 weeks!

I've never had that happen to me, either.  Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate.  I did have a Realtor friend tell me a story where the Buyer and Seller got into a fist fight at the closing, and the Seller refused to sell his house to the Buyer. Incredible but true ....

Donna you have the skills necessary to keep those deals together and find solutions!  Good post and fun to read of your success at the closing table.

When I was an agent I never had anyone walk away from the closing table, but one summer I did have two buyers who walked away a week before closing. In both cases they had decided against buying a house in favor of "buying a divorce."

I also have been fortunate to not having a client walk from closing. (knock on my head).  I did have one  "unique" seller who threatened to but they came to their senses at the last minute.

I have to agree, if we are at the closing table, usually it's already a done deal. Yes, there is always some type of drama (it wouldn't be as much fun or as much work if there wasn't), but I can say that I've never had a buyer or seller walk at the closing table either.

Seller #2 must have hadda combination of NOT wanting to move and then having to do most of the work her-self (hence, the "huffing and puffing" that you mentioned). Just couldn't take it out on #1, so you were "Volunteered" to vent on!

Donna,

Thank you for sharing your story with us and very interesting point also! Great blog post!

Donna, I very much echo what you shared as far as never having had a buyer walk away from the closing table.  I have been an agent or a Broker for thirty-nine years, and have NEVER had a buyer or seller walk away from the closing table, and not close.  How bizarre.  Sounds like pretty inept agents to me.

At the closing table... there is no drama.  My clients understand everything before hand because I am their agent, and they are simply prepared to go to the title company, sit down and sign about 20 minutes of paperwork if they are the seller, and if they are the buyer... about one hour's worth of paperwork... and they are done.

It usually takes the lender no more than an hour or two to give the order to fund (the title company is almost always in receipt of wired funds)... and the loan and transaction is then considered closed.  Buyer gets keys, seller gets proceeds, and we get paid our commissions.  At the closing table.

Also... I appreciate the three stories you share in your post about the negotiations you went through at the last minute to smooth out the speed bumps and get the home closed.  Very well done.  A GOOD agent does things like this.  A few dollars her or there, and extra phone call, and whoosh... the home is closed and everyone is "relatively" happy, and moves on with their lives.

Donna, a great job by a great agent!

Donna, these are good examples of thinking outside the box to get to the finish-line! Most of the time people are willing to acknowledge a misstep and make things right for the benefit of the transaction. Our job is to deal with the myriad of things that happen in transactions and you are an expert!

Being the calm mind when nerves get frayed is an important part of our job. Looking for and finding solutions is a most useful skill. Sounds like you have that down pat, Donna

It's a great skill to guide emotionally elevated parties to their original goal. I like your thematic reminding of the parties why they were buying or selling in the first place.  I also used to make financial sacrifices to smooth malfeasances or stubbornness of one party or another.  Now I try much longer and with more steely conviction to solve it with the buyers' and sellers' motivations, instead of my compensation.

Way to go Donna!  At the end of the day, write psychologist and therapist at the end of your name!  Great post!

Good post!  I've had some uncomfortable closings, seperate rooms, negotiating repairs for items that popped up at settlement, but thankfully & knock on wood we've always sorted it out.

I have never lost at a closing either, but this is not without some bumps and bruises along the way.  My stories are like yours--one individual not paying attention to the details that were agreed upon.  Vigilance as the day draws near is the best preventative measure.  I am always in close contact with the other agent and my clients as we get to the day. Great post.

Have never had anyone walk out at the closing table either. Have everything worked out before I get there.

There are so many things are going on during the escrow time, so many additional details negotiated, some compromises are reached....Can be very stressful time for all. Just today,  my client called just few hours after inspection and told me they decided to cancel. Why??!! It was such a shock, I did not see it coming at all:( I let them to sleep on it and we'll talk tomorrow what actually had happened. I hope, it is just a stress glitch since they got a really good deal and they know it.

It stinks when  you are so close, and things start to come up.  But great job to you for keeping your cool and helping your clients get the best out of it.