Once you have a contract the clock is ticking on all of the deadlines in the contract. It is at this point that the expertise of our Transaction Coordinator steps in. It is their job to make sure that everyone that is party to the contract is doing their part and working in good faith towards a closing. All parties are kept informed through every step of the process  and I will be called on to step in if needed.

There are deadlines for inspections, and inspection reports, and response to those inspection reports. These start the flurry of activity, and there could be one or two inspectors or many depending on the expertise of the inspectors, and the types of inspections to be done. The buyer has the right to have any inspections done they choose, at their expense.

• Home Inspection is the inspection of the home, basement, crawl space, attic, roof, and all of the systems.
• They may call on any specific expertise, like an HVAC tech, or a Chimney Inspection.
• A Solar System is considered personal property,  and is not typically inspected. It will not be on the appraisal.
• Septic System would typically have a separate inspection, vs a Sewer line.
• A drilled Well would typically have a separate inspection with a water test vs public water lines.
• A pool may require a separate inspection.

Once inspections are completed the inspectors submit their findings to the ones that paid for those inspections. Unless the buyers find something they want you to fix, you will not see any of the inspection reports.

There is a deadline for the buyers to submit an Inspection Report if there are repairs they want you to do or pay to have completed. If there is nothing, the Inspection Report will be submitted to you as inspections complete and the buyers are satisfied to move forward towards closing.

If the Inspection Report has items to be repaired, you will also receive a copy of the inspection for that repair. You will not receive the entire report unless it is necessary, because anything known by you and I being the listing agent, has to be publicly  disclosed going forward. Changing agents won't change that.

You will have a deadline to respond, to the request for repairs, by either having the work done, or giving the buyers a credit in the closing summary to have the repairs done themselves.

Repairs that need to be completed before closing will also need to be reinspected.

It is important to understand that this is a period of negotiation, and either party can cancel the contract if they can't come to an agreement. If the buyers find anything unacceptable in the inspections, they have the right to void the contract and have their earnest money returned.

This is where the lull happens, the flurry of people in and out slows or stops and it can feel like nothing is happening. But the title company and the mortgage company are doing their work putting together everything to convey the property from you to the buyers. There is a lot going on, it just doesn't involve you. The next thing that you will see will be a copy of the Title Commitment.

Once the title agent finishes the title search on your property, they will publish a Title Commitment, that states everything they found, and unless there is something major, they are ready to issue new Title Insurance to the new owners.

Depending on the details agreed to in your contract you may have completely moved off the property, or you may time after closing to vacate the property. Either way there will be a final walk through before closing. It is the buyers last chance to see that repairs were done, that there was no damage done to anything moving out off the property, and sign off to close.

The closing is a pretty simple process, the buyers will have the majority of paperwork to sign, especially if there is a mortgage and the title agent is also acting on behalf of the bank to get all that paperwork completed.

You will sign a new deed that will be filed at the courthouse, and the closing paperwork will include a Summary of the money paid and the fees and expenses paid. You will need to keep that paperwork handy for whoever does your taxes. It is easy to forget where you put it all when you are in the middle of moving.

And finally you receive the money for the sale of your home. But here is some really important information. Before you list your home, it would be a really good idea to talk to a CPA about how that sale is going to effect you. If you're buying another home, you may need to use an exchange to keep from paying capital gains. You won't know until you have a conversation with a CPA. I have all my clients talk with a CPA before they sell their home.

Final thoughts, are every home sale is a little different. Problems can pop up in any transaction, you just don't know when, or how it is going to take to fix it. But you hire the agent with the resources to do the best job getting your home to market, and know that you are going to be surrounded by professionals that have the experience to help with whatever comes up. They all have your best interests at heart, and are ready to help.