The all important day of days, the one where a real estate closing takes place.
Or will hopefully because they can be planned, pushed ahead, derailed indefinitely. But like any procedure, there are tried and tested methods to increase the odds of a real estate closing day staying alive. Not dying on the conference room table. 
First and foremost, people care about themselves.
Have manners and for a spell of time care about you too as long as nothing interferes with number one who comes first.
They make plans, don’t want their life on hold too long.
So the longer a real estate sale drags on, the chances of it failing rise rapidly.
Warm and friendly turns to cold and snarky.
The meters and dials need monitoring and what to expect is discussed before it happens and anyone was left in the dark.
There is a Maine expression, probably from some crusty guy or gal living on the coast that goes something like this. “It is hard telling without knowing”.
Translation, “you don’t see quick sand, red flags waving without the lights on.” Communication is critical and to be as assurate as possible it must be current, pertinent, is time sensitive big time.
Just because a property listing goes under contract does not mean it is going to have a SOLD sign rider screwed on top of the silent salesman parked out front inviting people in from the curb. 
There are lots of sale pendings, under contract real estate listings that should not have been put there on the MLS data entry console.
Overpriced properties don’t sell.
Period. You can list high, shoot for the stars, hope for the moon. But when the big bad real estate appraiser tours the property, studies the comps of sales and today’s listings competing for a buyer, oh oh can happen.
The contract sale price does not match the appraisal value.
No real estate closing for you unless someone coughs up or swallows the difference.
And add in the list of updates, the repairs needed to meet bank underwriting standards on a home and who is picking up the tab for those expenses? Who is doing the work and how long with the buyer wait if the seller is a slow poke and does not do very good work because his heart is not in it.
This is also not his career path, how he makes a living either.
Another tip to help assure safe passage to the front row box seats at a successful real estate closing? Making sure the buyer keeps his nose clean. 
Maintains the same job, does not get served with divorce papers.
Is not cool hand Luke quick on the draw of plastic and makes too many big ticket item purchases.
Buying like a drunken sailor lots of doo dads for the house that is not going to get to the real estate closing.
Because his debt ratios teeter totter the wrong way. Exceed the debt to income ratio number for installment burden for the bank’s underwriting borrower regulators to give a green light to proceed to the real estate closing.
Should not have bought that new shiny car that won’t be sitting in the driveway or that power door garage he had hoped it would.
The bank packages up the mortage on the secondary market and if they can not sell the loan they don’t make the house loan. Cut and dry simple.
Extra funds to take care of the whatever comes up is not something every buyer anticpates or saves for and not every seller just automatically picks up the tab regardless of the size.
In my area of the planet, up here in the northeast corner of the country winter happens.
We gets lots of weather to create the white stuff.
And oil tanks that go dry in empty homes or furnaces that decide not to 
come on cause that sound of running water.
That turns to ice ice baby.
In now an unheated home under contract to sell that suddenly has wet ceilings, rugs and busted plumbing, heating pipes, fixtures to replace. That turn to solid ice until someone discovers Houston, we have a problem over here.
Soggy, frozen homes don’t sell so well when a bank is looking over your shoulder. Putting a loan, taking a risk on you and the sticks and bricks.
The buyers wants heat, plumbing too and keep that oil tank on anything but registering a big “E” is a big tip for Northern Maine real estate sales.
Don’t let power be disconnected furnaces need juice to run as well as oil or gas or heat pumps or pellets for wood. heat.
Leaks from plumbing the other three seasons are just as big a problem if not caught, not fixed. Mold is a serious issue in property sales and floods, even if your buyer is a pretty good swimmer. They make smiling faces turn into ones that frown and lips go down not up.
Real estate buyers walk away property closings on homes with ten foot pole marks appearing all over them. 
Knee deep water in the cellar from spring run off or a faculty drainage sub pump causes a wrinkle too.
Discovered through a pre closing inspection.
Or more ruffled feathers, lots of unhealthy fireworks of emotions when plenty of all of the personal property in the real estate sale that was supposed to stay does not. Just up and walks away. Is gone and who knows where as red faced sellers and real estate agents, brokers look to the ground and silence happens.
The pre closing walk through, another tip to keep under your lip and not forget planning for those. All the empty, painted shut dried out opaint cans that are stacked high in the cellar.
Your buyer does not want them which is the same reason you did not take them with you in one big round up move them out either.
Same with dead water heaters, old furnaces. Your buyer is not going to need them for parts. The guy that put in the new ones did not want to get a hernia taking them out or to incur a charge to give them the heave ho to go.
Make them scarce, to disappear before the walk through on real estate closing day.
Or don’t and see what happens as nerves fray.
Because it goes downhill from here as other demands start to be rifled out for ultimatums by the property buyer.
The sellers think they are getting a whale of a deal.
Giving the place away.
The buyer that “I am paying too much and this is the final straw.” Don’t push it, be prepared like a boy or girl scout. Everyone stay flexible and try to get along.
The insurance binder on the property so the real estate closing can happen, where is it? Was one issued and the agent called more than 20 minutes prior to the sit down for the writer’s cramp and the pass the keys please?
Who has the clip board and check list? Hello? Is running the real estate show that appears asleep at the wheel. (tTapping mic sound) Testing one, two, (feedback) three.
Early possession and a long list of other updates the buyer would like to see done.
When you test drive you make lots of extra stuff be placed on the table for discussion. After the place is put under contract, the seller does not want an open ended would you update this, give us money for that though. He thought we are done.
When is the real estate closing so I can shove off, move on with my life?
The deal is done and let’s not re-negotiate thank you very mucy. Or the line in the sand is drawn and that’s it. In bloody real estate sales where the incline just goes too steep and the momentum is lost. Out of steam happens.
Wiring funds to purchase that don’t get routed right. A personal check brought to the real estate closing when over and over the loud speaker reminded to make it for the proper amount, a bank or treasurer’s check.
Showing up for the closing is important when not done through the mails.
The deal contingent upon another real estate sale that was suppose to 
happen in this domino deal but that did not.
Oh oh, hoped that would not have happened but any back ups or dismantle the real estate closing.
Let all the players know we all are no longer in labor on this one. Turn off the monitors. Roll out the bed. Off to the races to make a new purchase and sales agreement and learn from what happened in the last one that did not end so well. To avoid a repeat of real estate heartache.
Title problems, oh I don’t know little things like a right of way easement for others to use your driveway to access their back acreage that would be land locked otherwise.
The time to learn about those issues is not a week, days, hours before the real estate closing.
They should have surfaced up front going in to the property sale after a trot up the steps to the registry of deeds where the title is recorded. Thanks for following our real estate blog postings.
There is more to this discussion broken out into what sellers, buyers do that helps or hurts their chances for a property real estate closing. But these are some helpful tips to help avoid the derailment of a real estate closing.
I’m Maine REALTOR Andrew Mooers, ME Broker
207.532.6573 | info@mooersrealty.com |
MOOERS REALTY 69 North Street Houlton Maine 04730
