What does the seller have to do after an offer has been accepted?

Congratulations! You've just accepted an offer on your home, and signed the binder. Now what?
First things first, your agent should let you know what you need to do at this point. Your agent and your attprney take it from here, and call you when they need you, or to give you updates on what is going on behind the scenes on your behalf.

Here's what occurs behind the scenes when I represent a seller whose property has just gone under deposit.  I suppose (and hope) it's the same for the agent that is representing you.

The Listing Agent makes sure that everyone involved in the transaction haas a copy of the fully executed and properly filled out binder paperwork, along with the necessary disclosures. That includes you as the seller,  your attorney, and the buyers agent representative.

If you have been making the appointments for agents to show your home, your agent should advise you the moment you have accepted an offer as to how to proceed  with making further appointments. You should not be fielding any calls from Realtors now.  Let your agent handle that. This is a bone of contention with me -personally, I do not believe in homeowners making their own appointments with other agents to show the property. I consider that as part of my services, and one less burden for the homeowner to bear while their home is on the market. Additionally, I always know how many showings there are at any given time, I can talk up the property to the agents before they show it, and build a rapport with the showing agent, if I don't already know them.  NOT ALL Listing agents will make  appointments, so ask when you hire that agent.

The listing agent reports your property's status to the MLS.  Most Multiple Listing Services have rules as to when the property must be reported as under deposit, or the agent will get fined. Our area MLS requires a status change to CTS within 48 hours of an accepted, fully executed offer.

For the sake of this article. I am assuming that you have already chosen your new home, and know where you are going.  At this time, you should be getting moving estimates, and start packing.  Go ahead, get at least four or five estimates, They can vary greatly.

The buyers agent contacts the listing agent to coordinate the building inspection's date and time.Your agent will call you  as soon as an appointment has been set to confirm it with you. Now, there is something to do! Make sure that the inspector can get to the major components of your house, and they are not blocked by furniture or various stored items. For example, if your  electrical panel, furnace, or attic has access blocked by any items, you should move them prior to the inspectors arrival.

Also, if your home is going to have a radon test, your windows and doors should remain closed for 48 hours prior to the test, and another 48 hours while the test is underway. Entering your home and leaving your home like you normally do is no problem, but the windows will need to remain closed. If you like to leave the front door or back door open, you will have to remember to leave both of those doors closed during this period.

If you have any manuals for any appliances or components that are remaining with the house, leave them out for the inspector.  If you have a record book of any work performed on your home, leave it somewhere where your agent ONLY can see it, and refer to it if necessary.

Last but not least regarding the inspection,  vacate the premises, but be available by phone to your agent if the buyers, buyers agent, or building inspector has any questions.

As a listing agent, I expect that the buyers agent will remain in the house during the entire inspection,  and I tell them so. Believe it or not, it's not always a given. I also stop by during the inspection to introduce myself to the buyers on your behalf, and to  get a "read" on the buyers, and how the inspection is going. I do respect the buyer's and the buyers agent privacy, so it will only be for a few minutes. I will be in touch with the buyers agent later in the day to see if there were any concerns that we should know about, if I haven't already found out about anything during my visit.

Remember, the inspector will still have to pick up the radon test if you are having one, so your agent will call you to set up that appointment.

The listing agent follows up with your attorney to make sure that contracts went out, and then follows up with the buyers agent to make sure that they are signed. Deadlines are outlined in your offer to purchase. You sign the formal contracts AFTER the buyers signs them, and they give the balance of their deposit.

Your agent follows up with the buyers agent to find out about the mortgage application,  and  you can expect a call from your agent to make an appointment with you for  the appraiser for the bank to make a visit to your home.  It's one of the last things that happen prior to the buyer obtaining their loan.

Wait to hear from your agent or your attorney that the mortgage is approved.

Call the utility companies to disconnect service on the date of your closing. If you have automatic oil delivery, check your tank now, and if you have enough to last you, call the company and stop the automatic fill. Your attorney handles the water company, so that's onle less phone call for you to make.  Don't forget to get change of address forms from the Post Office. Call any creditors and let them know about your pending move, (or advise them in the space usually allotted when you send in your remittance) Give at least a three week lead time

Attending the closing is a personal choice. About 65-70 percent of my seller clients attend the closing with the buyers present. Its not mandatory, and in some instances you won't want to, or cannot go.

Sure, there can be setbacks, glitches, and maybe even delays, but you have professionals working on your team to handle that. As long as you are in capable hands, relax. The process is a lot easier for you than it is for the buyer who has MUCH more to do, and is a lot smoother  than you might think!

A detailed market analysis in today's real estate market is NECESSARY!

It's time.... You've contacted an agent to do a price analysis of your home, and they bring you a nice little "fluffy" CMA  that has a few homes that are on the market, a few that are under deposit, and a few more more that sold, all spiral bound, in full color, with the marketing plan built right into it.

All great, but is it enough information to price your home correctly? Probably not. First of all, those pre-packaged market analyses are completed at the touch of a few buttons on a computer program without a lot of thought process going into it. Furthermore, some of thesse programs only allow three to six comparables per listing status.  (active, pending, and sold)

Even if the agent hand picks the comparables for you, the program itself has its limitations. The whole presentation might look lovely, but the accuracy of pricing may be a whole other ball game- and then there's the standard marketing plan that will sell every house in town which is nicely included in your presentation with pretty graphics.  Even a novice knows that the marketing plan that is used to sell the house next door cannot be correct for your home, too.

A market analysis that shows just five or so listings in different status categories does not indicate a price for your home. Rather, it indicates some kind of average for the listings chosen.  I do not consider those a real pricing analysis, sorry.

Real CMA's are kind of boring, face it- unless it's my animated self going over all of the information for you!  If you happen to have an agent come over who gives you one of these fluffy CMA's, use it as a placemat. It's not worth anything else.

A market analysis should be so detailed  that even YOU don't have to guess as to what the price of your home should be. It will be inherently obvious- no guessing required. If you want to know the true price of your home in today's market, contact me. No fluff unless you want it, no hard sales tactics, just correct information. :)

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What to do if your real estate agent "drops the ball"?

You would think that since a real estate  agent works only on commission that they would be hungry  for a deal, especially in today's market. Those experienced agents like myself understand that putting a deal together in this market requires a bit more work, and what you may not have had to do a few years ago is now SOP (Standard Operating Procedure)

Communication is key to any transaction- and silence is absolutely deafening. There is  nothing more frustrating to a home seller or home buyer when they put their trust into an agent who "drops the ball" on their transaction and loses the deal altogether. Trust me, the other agent is not happy about it, either. So what can you do?

Pay close attention to your very first clue that something could be amiss in any type of communication at all. This should start at the interviewing process, when you initially select your agent. So if you have even the slightest inkling that there is a communication issue at your very first meeting with your agent, DO NOT DISREGARD IT, and do not hire that agent!  It is a well known fact that people repeat behaviors.  It will only get worse, and that could end up costing you a lot of money. Hopefully, it hasn't already.

A couple of notes on poor communication or miscommunication:

FALLACY: A team of agents is NOT Necessarily better than one. Have you met all of the agents on the team that will be assisting you? Are you supposed to contact certain team members for certain questions? Do certain team members handle only certain things? If you don't have this in writing at the first initial meeting, let them go. They are not organized- if they are not accountable to themselves, for heaven's sake, how can they be accountable to you  if they don't have their duties clearly outlined?

FALLACY: You just cannot tell me that after a buyer's agent submits an offer on their client's behalf to your listing agent, that after a couple of rounds of going back and forth that the buyer's agents suddenly does not return phone calls, and the buyer disappeared without explanation. Face it, your agent is not tracking  down the buyer's agent because your agent was too lazy to make the call. There are NO EXCUSES.

On the VERY RARE occasion that I could not reach the buyers agent or the sellers agent, I have called the office manager, simple as that.

Finally, if you are not getting the representation you deserve, give your agent an ultimatum. Shape up or ship out.
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Seller or Owner financing, and the term "taking back paper" - Do's and Don'ts

Seller financing is defined as a  loan provided by the seller of a home to the purchaser. It could be for a portion of the sale amount, or for the entire purchase less a downpayment. The buyer would then make monthly installment payments over a specified time until the loan is fully repaid at an agreed-upon interest rate.

A seller take-back is just like a loan from any lender. It must be repaid according to the terms and conditions outlined in the note. If not repaid, the property can be foreclosed upon, just like with a bank.

Have an attorney prepare and review the take-back/seller financing  loan papers before signing anything. If you are a seller, insist on seeing a buyer’s credit report and past tax information — just like any lender. And be sure that any loan arrangement is written according to terms which are satisfactory to your attorney.

There are benefits and drawbacks to both parties.

BUYER BENEFITS:
It may be the only way that you can purchase a home at this time.
Both the buyer and the seller can quite possibly save a lot of money in closing costs. The seller conveyance tax on property is going up as of July 1, 2011. It might help your case!
You  can negotiate an interest rate, repayment schedule, and other conditions of the loan, not like with a bank
 You , as the borrower would not have to pay PMI insurance unless required by the seller, and as a bonus, you do not have to go through a bank's loan underwriting department, who usually places conditions of the loan with your approval, if you can get one. .
 
BUYER DRAWBACKS:
You could pay the loan  back in full but still not receive clear title due  to encumbrances, items not divulged by or unknown to the seller, or the seller disappears. He would have to file a release of lien for you to be able to sell the home when you want to.
You may not have had the privilege or right to obtain the protection of a home inspection, mortgage insurance, or an bank appraisal to ensure that you are  not paying too much for the property. Make sure this is part of your agreement.
Make sure that you hold title to the property with a seller note. If you don't and he defaults on his current loan, or has encumbrances on the property that you are not aware of, YOU will be kicked out, and your money lost  if he goes into foreclosure.

SELLER BENEFITS:
The seller can receive a higher yield on his/her investment by receiving equity with interest, if negotiated that way.
The seller could negotiate a higher selling price  as well as higher interest rate.
The property could be sold "as is" so there will be no need for repairs.
The seller could choose which security documents (mortgage, deed of trust, land sales document, etc.) to best secure his/her interest until the loan is paid.

SELLER DRAWBACKS:
The seller might not get the buyer’s full credit or employment picture, which could make foreclosure more likely.
Depending upon whatever security instrument that was used, foreclosure could take up to a year or longer, if unfortunately needed.
The seller could agree to a small down payment from the buyer to try and help out the buyer and to make the sale, only to have the buyer abandon the property because of the small investment that was at stake.

Seller-financed sales can be good, as long as it is a win-win situation for all parties- good for both seller and buyer.  NEVER attempt to enter into a transaction like this without the assistance and guidance of your attorney.

GREAT COMMENT BELOW BY JENNIFER BUCHANAN- PLEASE READ

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Why doesn't the listing agent show your home more often?

If your listing agent is not showing your home as often as you would like, it does not mean that your agent is not working hard for you. A lot of homeowners think it's only natural that their listing agent should be showing their home. And it is, to an extent- but it doesn't always happen, and try not to get too upset about it.

When you hire your agent, you expect your agent to market your home to the best of their ability, and to get as many buyers through the door as possible, so that one of those buyers ends up purchasing your home.

If we look at things realistically and statistically, most agents have a group of buyers that they are working with at the present time. Let's say, on average, that number is 25. Out of those 25 potentials, how many would be in the market for your home? Most agents work in a variety of price ranges, and towns, so the possibility of an existing buyer being interested in your home is somewhat slim.

Which brings me to the next point- If the agent is marketing your home, and marketing it well, wouldn't they get new buyers just from your listing, that would already have some interest? The answer to that is yes, but the amount all depends on how marketable your home is as well as the agent's marketing efforts. For example, if your agent made sure that your home had all the exposure it could possibly have, your home may not be as marketable  as you think it would be. The other point to make here, is that you must make sure that your agent presents your home in the best possible light to buyers. Even when all the conditions on marketability and presentation are met, the market may be very slow. It does not mean that your agent is not doing their job.

The last piece of the puzzle, and the most important one, is that your agent also markets your property to other Realtors. It is a well known statistic that the vast majority of agents RARELY sell their own listings. In addition, historically, less than 3% of all homes sell at public open houses.  

In our area of Fairfield County Connecticut, there are over 7,000 agents who are members of the Multiple Listing Service. If they all had 25 prospective buyers, wouldn't THAT be a great place for your agent to concentrate some of their efforts to secure a sale for you? What do you think the possibility is that just one of those 7,000 members has a buyer for your property. That would be,..... well 7,000 times greater than just your agent having a buyer, wouldn't it?

So try not to get too upset if your agent doesn't show your home as often as you would like. Some agents, myself included, show their own listings more frequently- and secure sales on their own listings, but that also is rare, and even for those of us who do manage to  find our own buyers for our listings, it's the exception, rather than the rule. Just remember, that your agent is  working on selling your property nonetheless.