Seller Advice: Set Yourself Up for a POSITIVE Closing Experience

Seller Advice: Set Yourself Up for a POSITIVE Closing Experience

Sellers, it is in YOUR best interest to do everything in your power to set yourself up for a positive closing experience. Realize that your buyers will (or should) be doing a final walk-through before closing. You may not really care whether they like you or not, but you should. How they feel about you could determine how they handle the simplest of irritations after closing.

For example → crazy as it may seem, water heaters do conk out the day after closing. NO, there was nothing said about the water heater in the inspection report. WHY on earth would the buyer think you knew it was going to happen. Well…. maybe because you left the house unclean, the lawn had not been mowed since it went pending, and the shed was full of junk. WHY wouldn’t they have negative thoughts. They had a negative closing experience.

4 Simple Things to Do to Ensure a Positive Closing Experience

• Manicure the lawn. Make a great first impression as they drive up for the final walk through.

• Clean the house from top to bottom, remove all personal property except what was agreed to on non-realty item addendum, remove all trash, wood, etc.. The house may be old, and it may need updating… but the buyer can tell that you cared enough to make it ready for them.

• If you damage something, or find something that you forgot to disclose → address it. DO NOT ignore it and hope that the seller doesn’t see it. The hole in the wall behind the dresser may have happened 20 years ago and you forgot about it, but the buyer is going to FREAK out. At the very least, call your agent, apologize and offer to fix it , OR offer to contribute X amount of dollars to the buyer’s closing costs as a concession if allowed. DO something, DO NOT ignore.

• Leave the buyers a small welcome gift and note. Let them know that you wish them many happy years in their new home. The gift does not need to be anything expensive. I have seen everything from homemade pies, to flowers, and even a gift card to a local pizza place so they can order in a pizza while they move. It is the thought that counts, not the cost of the gift.

Sometimes the negotiating period can leave buyers and sellers at odds. You do not want things to end on a sour note. REGARDLESS of what has happened up to this point, this is your opportunity to bring everyone back together again. After all, it is in YOUR best interest to set yourself up for a positive closing experience.

Seller Advice: Set Yourself Up for a POSITIVE Closing Experience