SETTING SELLER EXPECTATIONS
Negotiations
In our conversations regarding value, we will make our perspective on your home’s value very clear. We will also present you with the challenges to that value that you’ll likely hear from potential buyers. This is because we want you to have as much information as possible before making the decision to list, and at what price. We help you see the 360-degree view of your home’s value in the minds of buyers, buyers’ agents, and appraisers.
However, once we receive an offer, we will focus on your strengths, advocating for the highest possible price defensible by market information. You are the decision-maker in negotiations, but we will advise you based on what’s important to you, advocating your position as strongly as possible.
Inspections and Attorney Review
The purpose of inspections is to uncover latent (hidden) defects in your home. These defects can range from deteriorating caulk around a bathtub to major issues with your mechanical systems. It’s a chance for your buyer to understand exactly what they’re buying. However, through attorney review, they are really only entitled to ask for credits or repairs to health and safety hazards, or major defects that could change the financial calculus of purchasing your home.
If your home is part of an association, the buyer will be due all association documents, as well as the most recent approved budget, and meeting minutes from the past 12 months of meetings. (If no meeting minutes exist, which is often the case in smaller associations, we will work with your board to compile a summary of plans, decisions, and approved expenses outside of those laid out in the budget.) As always, buyers and lenders are looking for evidence of special assessments, planned or levied.
Mortgage Contingency
This is the date by which your buyer needs to secure their loan. We will work to make sure the lender has all the documentation they require to approve the condo, if you are a part of an Association, as this is a critical piece of this loan approval. If the buyer meets with delays, they may request an extension of this contingency. Extension requests are not uncommon and generally are not cause for concern.
If you are renting staging materials, removing them after this contingency has expired is the lowest risk choice. (The risk, of course, is that your buyer could fail to close, and you may need to pay to have the staging materials reinstalled before going back on the market.)
Final Walk-Through and Closing
Once we have the “clear to close” from your buyer’s lender, your attorney will schedule the closing at either a title company, or at an attorney’s office. We will schedule a final walk-through of your property as close to this closing as possible.
At the final walk-through, all agreed-upon repairs should be complete with supporting documentation from the contractor or technician who completed the work. Also, the home should be in “broom-swept” condition, with all personal property removed. (If something is installed, it is not considered personal property, and should stay.) If the buyer did not negotiate for the mounted TVs to stay, you may remove them, along with the TV mounts. However, any hole left in the wall should be the size of a pin. If the hole is larger than that left by a small tack, the hole should be patched and painted. Alternatively, you can leave the TV mount.
All existing manuals for appliances should be left in the kitchen, on the counter, along with garage door openers, instructions for security systems, and additional copies of keys, including keys for mailboxes.
You should not be present for the final walk-through, nor the closing. An overwhelming majority of our clients—like, 99%—meet with their attorney prior to the closing to sign the appropriate documents.
We will be present for the final walk-through, but will not attend the closing. Your attorney will be present at the closing on your behalf.