Completing a Listing Transaction

Congratulations, you’ve already completed all your listing paperwork, taken photos, and your listing is on the market. Now, let’s go over how to manage your listing and get it to closing. The first thing you want to do is set your open house date and make sure that’s clearly stated in the MLS. Then you’ll want to manage your showings.

Unoccupied property showings:

If your listing is vacant then go ahead and set the listing instructions as “go and show.” This means that agents will be able to freely set appointments and go in and out of your listing without any approval from you.

Occupied property showings:

If your listing is occupied by your seller, then you have two options. You will need to set your listing instructions as “need listing agent approval.” That way no one will be able to enter the home unless you verify their appointment. Now you need to communicate with your seller. You can either map out times when your seller can be out of the house each day, or you can go by appointment. This means every time you get a notification that someone wants to see the house you notify the sellers as soon as possible and see if that proposed time works for them.

Next, you’ll want to keep your sellers in the loop on the listing activity. Communication is key when working with any client. Then you can avoid surprises and manage expectations.

Listing activities to share with your clients:

• The number of showings per day.
• A simple text is fine at the end of the day to let your clients know how much traffic they had on their active listing.

• Agent Feedback.
• You’ll want to share their input on price and overall opinion on how the home showed.

• Notices from agents that something isn’t operating correctly in the house.
• If lights are not working or the AC is too high, you’ll want to notify the seller to come up with an immediate solution to the problem if possible.

• Open house attendance & feedback.
• Let your clients know how the open house went and if you got any feedback from people walking through.

Presenting offers:

If you’ve received one or more offers, it’s time to present. Make sure to clearly explain the purchase contract to your clients so they can make an informed decision. If there is more than one offer on the property, set a time and date to notify all agents involved that they are reviewing offers then and that they must submit beforehand. If you have showings that are after this date/time, then give the buyer's agent a courtesy call so that they can possibly change their plans to see the house in time to submit an offer.

Items to highlight after going through potential offers to clients:

• Purchase price
• Closing costs
• Earnest money
• Financing
• Addendums
• Home Warranty
• Title insurance
• Closing date
• Pre-approval letter
• Proof of funds
• Inspection contingency
• Occupancy

When selecting an offer, remember when you are advising a client on choosing an offer you don’t always want to go with the highest bidder. You want to choose the offer that has the highest chance of making it to the closing table.

Once you’ve chosen an offer, your clients can either accept the stated terms and sign or they can counteroffer. Once you’ve received the executed contract, you’ll want to make sure you have the following documents as well:

Accepted offer document checklist:

• Executed Offer Contract
• Lead-based Paint Disclosure
• Agency Disclosure
• Property Disclosure
• Proof of funds/pre-approval letter
• Collection & deposit of earnest money

Once you’ve received these documents you will submit them to your administrator. Then you’ll make sure that the buyer’s agent has submitted the earnest money from the buyer.

Next steps:

• Approve times/dates for the inspection.
• Contact loan officer to make an introduction.
• Make sure buyer completes loan application by set time/date.
• Accept/counter/deny Post-Inspection Addendum with clients.
• Order and fill paperwork for Home-warranty if the sellers are paying for it.
• Obtain notice of loan approval from the loan officer.
• Make sure the appraisal is ordered and approve the time/date for them to come.
• Obtain clear to close from loan officer & title company.
• Set time and date for closing with buyer’s agent.
• Clear final walk-through with buyer’s agent.
• Notify sellers and buyer’s agent on the date/time to switch utilities.
• Communicate with your sellers on what they need to bring to closing, including formal ID, and all keys/garage remotes if applicable.

That’s it! You’ll attend closing with your clients and be on your way. Be sure to stay in touch with your clients and send them their closing documents around March so that they have them handy for tax season. The trick to any transaction, whether you are representing the seller or the buyer, is great communication with all parties involved. Always be honest and prepared. Check back with the Career Corner for more blogs on being a fantastic listing agent. If you need a refresher on how to prepare for your listing to hit the market click here. Remember, you’ve got this!