What can you do to save your seller's real estate deal when a real estate buyer tries to back out?

It always seemed unfair to me the inequity of protection in a real estate contract.  The burden of closure seems to rest with the seller, at least in Illinois it does, while the buyer has multiple opportunities to back out of the deal before closing.

How did this come to pass?  I don't profess to know the history of real estate contracts, but it seems to me that someone took the warning of "Buyer beware" and used it to create  a bunch of loopholes for real estate buyers known as contingencies that we see on real estate contracts today.

Until the seesaw weighs equally on both sides, here are a few things I have learned to help a Seller and buyer make it to the church on time AND say their vows.

• Buyer's financing contingency- You want to check in regularly with your buyer's lender to see how the progress of the loan is going. Don't  rely on the words of another party, get it from the "horse's mouth". Also if the loan is approved, ask if it is subject to conditions, and if so, what those are.  Until those conditions are satisfied, either at or prior to closing, the loan won't be funded.  Be suspicious of continual requests for extension of a buyer's financing contingency.  The devil is in the details, and the details will save you.

• Home Inspection contingency- I have learned some great advice recently from some of our members at Connect2Agent.  They do an inspection of the seller's property prior to listing the seller's house.  Then they strongly recommend to the seller to have any flagged items taken care of from the inspection prior to putting the house on the market.

• Closing Date-  This might seem like a no-brainer, but get that closing scheduled asap.  If you are closing at the end of the month you might not get a slot with the title companies.  If you are closing on the last day of the month, it doesn't hurt to double check with the title company to make sure you are scheduled and locked in with a time.  There is nothing worse than a seller who is paying for movers to be at their house on the wrong day.

These are just a few  very basic ideas taken from a few hundred pages of real estate closings I have worked on.  I would enjoy any additional tips that closing gurus of A/R have to share:  mortgage brokers, title companies, real estate agents, and real estate attorneys I welcome your comments.