Sell Your Home in 10 Weeks: A Series - Part 4 of 4
In this final phase of my series, I will discuss the last three weeks of getting your home sold. At this point, you have secured a buyer. All parties have signed the Purchase and Sale Agreement (P&S), and the buyer's financing is in place. All that remains are for the lender and attorneys to wind up their actions that will complete the sale.
If you missed the earlier parts of this series, feel free to go back and review them:
And now, on to Part IV - Weeks 8 and 9: Last Steps Prior to Closing
You are well on your way to the closing of your home sale. What should you do during these two weeks? While the buyer's lender and the attorneys involved go through the last steps to obtain clear title and formalize the buyer's financing, you should be in your pre-moving stage.
Packing for Your Move: If a moving company is going to organize your move, you should certainly have them on deposit. If you plan to move yourself, it is time to get organized, purchase boxes, and get packing.
In the first part of this series, you rented a storage facility and moved most of your "stuff" out of your home. You should be pleasantly surprised that you have less work to do now than you would have had you skipped the step on renting a storage unit.
Some tips for packing:
- Organize your belongings by contents and room. To streamline your moving process, you can label the room that the contents came from in your old house, and the room you want them to go to in your new house, like this: Toys - Living Room ==> Basement. This will make it easier to find items that are not yet unpacked.
- Label boxes on all four sides so you can easily see which room the box goes to
- Wrap breakables in tissue paper or newspaper
Also, this is a good time to order cards to send to friends, relatives, and colleagues to announce your new address.
Legal Work and Potential Delays: In these two weeks, stay in contact with your attorney and REALTOR. You want to be kept up-to-date on any issue that arises that may delay your closing. Be aware that things do come up that are outside the control of your team members. Sometimes a problem with the title is identified. Sometimes a holiday delays the lender. Sometimes Mother Nature inserts a twist in your plans. Don't assume that you will actually close on your closing date. It is best to have a back-up plan just in case the closing is delayed.
For example, if you are using a moving company, ask if there are any fees for changing your move date. If you are also buying a home, and that closing is delayed, ask the moving company about their fee to store your belongings on their truck for a few days.
If you plan to move yourself, double check with friends who are going to help you move to see how flexible they are with their schedules. Identify temporary housing with friends, relatives, or at a hotel in the event that you find yourself in between homes. Many people fail to make these plans and have to scramble at the last minute to alter their move.
Smoke Detector and Carbon Monoxide Inspection: As the home seller, you are responsible for providing the buyers with smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors that meet current fire codes. At the beginning of Week 8, contact your local fire department to schedule an inspection for a "smoke certificate." Be sure to ask what their fee is for this service.
Legally, this is a step that you can not skip. If you fail to provide the attorneys and lender with a smoke certificate, they can not finalize the paperwork to close the sale.
Part IV - Week 10: Utilities and Closing
Now you are coming near the end of your home sale. If you have followed every step in my plan, you will have eliminated 90% of the potential problems and hassles that could arise with the sale of your home.
Utilities: This final week, you will need to contact all utilities to alert them to your final move and schedule shut-off dates. This includes: electric, gas and/or oil, cable provider, water company. You will need to provide your attorney with the final readings from the utilities to prove that you have paid your bills. There may be a credit made to you for any gas or oil that will transfer to the buyer at the close of the sale.
Again, without these final readings, and subsequent payments required on your side, you will not be able to finalize your home sale closing. So be prepared to take these steps. Also, be aware that many anxious buyers call the utlities to set up their service well before you are ready to cancel yours. Help ease the buyer's mind by contacting the utilities and cable company one week before you plan to move, and let your REALTOR know when you have made those calls.
Final Walk-Through and Moving: The one tricky part that comes up this last week is moving schedules. The buyers are entitled to a final walk-through before the closing. This may take place the day before closing, or the morning of closing. Either way, you must be comletely moved out of the house before the buyers hold their final walk-through. The buyers have the right to see that the house is in move-in condition and without damage before they finalize their purchase.
Most buyers will be ready to move in right after closing. Hopefully, the place that you are moving to is ready for you. Otherwise, your back-up plan will have to be put into play so that you have temporary housing available. This should not be an unwelcome surprise, because you planned and prepared for this.
Signing Papers and Closing: These days, most sellers sign their necessary papers at their attorney's office, leave the keys with their REALTOR, and do not attend the final closing. They authorize their attorney to sign any final paperwork for them at the closing. This frees up the sellers to deal with moving and logistics on the day of the closing. I recommend that you do this, rather than spend three hours at the closing table. However, if you like going to the closing and seeing the papers signed, you certainly have that option. Discuss this with your REALTOR and attorney.
Once you have signed the necessary papers and turned over any keys, and garage door openers, you will be free to go on to your next dwelling. The attorneys will make sure all legal work is complete and that the sale is recorded at the registry of deeds.
Congratulations! You have sold your house in record time with as little hassle as possible. Thank you for following my plan and good luck in your future real estate endeavors!
If you would like to put this plan into place, and you live in Massachusetts, contact me. I will be happy to serve as your REALTOR and home sale Coordinator.
Yours in Real Estate,
Kathryn Acciari, REALTOR
RE/MAX Professional Associates
49 Main Street
Sturbridge, MA 01566
Cell: (508) 982-0686
Email: kathrynacciari@remax.net
Web: kathrynacciari.remax.com
Blog: kathrynsells.activerain.com
Strengthening the Massachusetts Real Estate Market One Property at a Time!
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