Settlement Tips for Sellers

sellers review settlementWhen you have a signed contract with the buyer for your home, you may feel as if you can breathe a sigh of relief. While it’s certainly true that you can lighten up on the perfectionism required to show your home at any moment, as a seller you still need to cooperate with your buyer, the buyer’s agent and the commitments made in the contract.

In other words, before you can completely relax you need to get to the settlement table.

Contingencies and Sellers

While the burden is on the buyer to finalize financing for the home purchase and to obtain homeowners insurance, some contract contingencies will impact you, too, especially if you’re living in the home. Most transactions include a home inspection, so you’ll need to make your home available to the inspector and then negotiate with the buyers about anything the inspection turns up according to the terms of your contract.

Besides the home inspection, some contracts and some lenders call for a termite inspection and a radon gas inspection. In each case, you or your listing agent or the buyer’s agent will need to make the home available for inspection.

Another important step prior to closing is the appraisal. If the appraisal comes in higher than the sales price, then the buyers can relax and be happy that they have purchased a home for less than its market value. Once the contract has been signed, you as the seller cannot renegotiate the price higher. However, if the appraisal comes in lower than the sales price, then the buyer’s lender will limit the loan amount to that lower value. The buyer may have to come up with additional cash to cover the financing gap or may ask you to renegotiate the contract. Your REALTOR® can advise you about the best way to handle this situation, but in any case you and the buyer are also bound by the contract terms.

Before you go to settlement, you and your listing agent should go over the contract and make sure you’re fulfilling all the promises you made in terms of what items will be conveyed to the buyer and any repairs or improvements you promised to make.

Settlement Date

Buyers and sellers typically negotiate a settlement date that is mutually agreeable. If you have sold your home and are not yet ready to move into your next residence, you can sometimes negotiate a “rent-back” with the buyer that allows you to stay in the home after the settlement by paying rent to the buyer.

Alternatively, some sellers allow the buyers to move in before settlement. In either case, it’s crucial to have a written agreement about who is responsible if something happens to the house or its contents during the transition period. Generally, you’re restricted to a maximum rent-back of 60 days because lenders would require the buyers to finance the home as an investment property if the rental period is any longer.

Settlement Services

The decision about who provides settlement (also known as closing or escrow) services varies from one market to another. In many places, the buyer chooses the settlement company, but in others the seller chooses. At the closing, the buyer will provide funds to buy your home and the settlement agent will review the sales agreement to determine what payments you’ll receive. The title to the property is transferred to the buyers and arrangements are made to record that title transfer with the appropriate local records office.

At a typical closing, adjustments are made to the final amounts owed by the buyer and you as the seller. For example, if you’ve been paying your property taxes through an escrow account, you may be credited extra for prepaid taxes or you may receive less money at settlement if the property taxes haven’t been paid properly.

Once the settlement papers are signed and the house keys are transferred, you’re free to move onto your next home.

Comments

7 responses to “Settlement Tips for Sellers”

  1. Ivy Baker Avatar

    This is some really good information about real estate. It does seem like a good thing to have a professional service help you settle. It does seem like a good thing to have professional who has experience get you the best deal.

    1. Craig Grant Avatar
      Craig Grant

      Hi Ivy,
      Glad to hear you found this helpful and thanks for your input!

  2. jresquival Avatar

    That’s good to know that many agreements include home inspections. It’s important that you know what your responsibilities are in the agreement. I’m thinking about buying a home when I get settled at my job; I’ll keep this tips about settlement in mind.

  3. Ben Allen Avatar

    I appreciate the tips on settlement for sellers. I agree that settling can be quite a pain for those who are not sure what is going on or for those who don’t really have a lot of time. I would imagine that getting a settlement agent would be super beneficial in certain instances.

    1. admin Avatar
      admin

      Ben, glad this information was of service to you!

  4. Scott Avatar

    I didn’t realize that it was an option to rent-back your house until you are ready to move into your new one. I can see why this would be good for someone who is having their house custom built. My sister is thinking about moving into a community that is currently being constructed. I’ll have to remind her that she can do this if they aren’t ready for them to move yet.

    1. admin Avatar
      admin

      Glad this information was of use to you Scott!

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