Yesterday, Ann Guy wrote about pre-closing her mortgage clients. Her post made me think about how Dmitry and I conduct our real estate business.A few years back, when I was a newer agent, I had a particularly nerve-wracking morning prior to a closing on one of my seller's homes. The buyer's agent kept calling me about a mirror that was removed from the bathroom. The mirror was not in the contract, but she recalled a conversation that had taken place AFTER the deal was bottom-lined regarding the sellers' furniture. The sellers had agreed to sell a few pieces that would not fit in their new home. The buyer wanted the stuff. None of it was in the contract and it was handled outside of close in a separate check. The mirror was not part of the furniture agreement, but it was something the buyer wanted and thought he was getting. During the walk through they discovered it was gone, and that is when the buyer's agent started calling.
She was very demanding. She told me that the buyer wasn't going to close if the mirror was not returned. Of course, I started sputtering a bit. But the mirror was gone and the sellers wanted it. It was THEIRS, after all. Right before closing she told me that she was going to ask for $250 from the sellers during closing if they would not give the mirror back. This, of course, made me more nervous. I told the sellers that the issue of the mirror might come up, but they had no contractual basis for asking, and I did not think that a mirror would actually make a half million dollar home sale collapse. And, in the end, the closing was very cordial. The mirror was never mentioned. Everyone parted with smiling faces.
Call it a rookie learning experience, but it left a lasting impact on the way I've done business ever since. Of course, I am no longer so easily intimidated either.
This might be a 'real estate is local' story. Dmitry and I tend to deal with more sellers than buyers. Now the sellers we represent rarely meet the home buyers. As part of our services, we usually suggest that the sellers not come to the closing. We have a couple of reasons for doing this:
- By pre-closing the seller we save them time. We go to them and they are done in 15 or 20 minutes instead of waiting for a buyer to sign a huge stack of mortgage papers, waiting for wires to arrive and copies to be made.
- Usually sellers are busy packing and moving or unpacking and moving. Having one less place to be during that kind of chaos is appreciated.
- The closing time only has to be convenient for the buyer, so we spend less time coordinating.
- If we have funds wired to the sellers' bank account, then we can make their lives even easier.
- Our service is very personalized. They'll never have bad memories of things that happened at the closing table.
- When issues do arise, I can usually deal with them without it making the sellers nervous or inconvenienced. Even if the late wire was not my fault, it will never even register on my clients' radar.
- I don't have to sit through the closing either. I check in at the beginning to get things started and stop in at the end to thank the other agent and congratulate the buyer. Should anyone need me, the title company knows exactly where I am.
- I drop off the signed papers after closings, and have one more opportunity to thank them for their business.
It might not work for everyone, but it works for us. Our closings are quick, painless and uneventful.
Is anybody else doing something like this?
photo by clarita
Posted Saturday Dec 02
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Hmmm...there has been a time that I was not able to make a closing but never thought to do this as the norm. You've got me thinking now. Thanks, as always, for really good info.
I usually really bond with all parties at the table.
www.homerome.com
Baltimore,Md.
I do miss out on the bonding experience, but I am not that worried about bonding with the other agent's client. Dmitry, however, has picked up future clients at the closing table, so I do recognize that this is not for everyone. In the case where he 'picked up' a client, he represented the buyer, and the sellers had been impressed with his negotiating skills throughout the transaction. They called him later to list a much larger home that we just put on the market a few weeks ago. He did not solicit their business inappropriately.
Great Idea !
I usually don't attend the closings either and we have attorneys do closings in CT. The last time I went to a closing the buyers wanted the Seller to pay for stall mats for horses which the seller took a couple with them on their move. THEN, when the sellers said they would only gave them a couple hundred bucks "the buyers wanted the realtors to throw in another $250 each"
To which I said "NO" and called their bluff. They closed and took the $250 credit from the sellers.
When I use to attend closings attorneys would joke the "only reason the realtor is here is to get the commission"
SO, I stay away so "they (buyers or sellers) don't get a piece of my commission"
Home Buyer and Home Seller Tips at http://dangrammatica.point2agent.com
I attend all of my closings. It is a different and more civilized process here in Hawaii. The buyers and the sellers do not sign at the same time. I am only in attendance when my clients sign. I am not even welcome when the other side does their signing. We are supposed to avoid contact and communication with the other agent's clients. Our actual recording of the deed and transferring of keys takes place at least two days later.
A wise attorney once told me when I was a young agent "he who speaks first loses" at the closing table. He has the agents sit at a table separate from the closing table. While it is kind of like the children's table at Thanksgiving, it does the job of keeping chatty agents quiet. I think I like your idea even better.
I first got into Real Estate after moving back to Ohio. At first I was shocked that since it was an escrow state we did not have roundtable closings. I can certainly appreciate now that the sellers can sign off anytime (unless it's a government closing then they just wait until the docs are with the escrow agent) and the buyers sign once all the papers are with escrow. So our buyers and sellers sometimes never meet. There have been many times I am more than happy about that fact. There are exceptions; we do have the ability to ask for a walk through; some of my previously non Northeast Ohio clients request that. And sometimes a particular issue will warrant me asking; regardless, there is good information here for me in an escrow state, about pre-closing and lining up the ducks.
Lenn, I would never not attend a buyer's closing. I agree, they need me there. You usually only represent buyers. I am also always available if something comes up. I am just down the hall. I do think settlement is important. I just don't think it is important for the seller to be there.
We usually attend all our closings as well. There are times however that we have a 2 part closing when one party can't make the scheduled time but we do not conduct our own closings..so we're at the mercy of a title company or attorneys schedlue.
In Kansas City, closings are done at the title company. I attend my clients closing. So if they are the buyers, I attend and if they are the sellers I attend theirs.
One of the wonderful aspects of doing real estate here in scenic Washington State, is that Buyers and Sellers never sign together, and rarely on the same day. It avoids all the potential problems associated with traditional BIG room signings, replete with legal counsel, etc. I usually attend signings with 1st time buyers, or simply meet my clients at the front desk to introduce them to the escrow closer, but that's it.
Great points, most of my closings are done similar to this, there are very few where both sides show up and sit down and close these days. I always like to be at a closing and wish the buyers wells but these days it's few and far between
We also go to all of our closings and also try to pre-close our sellers - it makes for such a smooth closing without headaches and last minute running around, but it doesn't always go so smooth and have had to sit through long, drawn out closings.
Carole wrote: "I first got into Real Estate after moving back to Ohio. At first I was shocked that since it was an escrow state we did not have roundtable closings."
We have round table closings in Columbus. We had round table closings in Dayton. I have heard Cleveland is the only place in Ohio that does escrow closings.
They tried to do away with round table closings here because they are a waste of the agents time maybe 10 years ago. Our market was resistant.
I sometimes have sellers pre sign out of necessity. A couple of years ago I had a divorcing couple pre sign because the buyers agent is a jerk and the buyers attorney is a jerk. I can't remember why but I then sat there through the whole closing... and the jerks really were jerks.
I feel like in most cases the seller needs to be there and sit through the excruciating closing because it is customary. If it was customary to close in escrow fine, but here it is customary to close round table and the buyer usually has not met the seller until that point. They want to meet the seller...
I don't even remember the last time Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. attended a closing. We just wait for the Fed EX to bring us the check. :) TLW...ROAR!
Maureen & Dmitry, I always attend all of my closing but sellers and buyers never attend together. It is done separately here in CA. Can't tell you how many times, I have been to a signing when I find mistakes so I made a pact with myself years ago to attend all signings. My clients always appreciate it, too.
I wish I had known I had the choice to not go to closings when selling. Thank you!
In theUK we don't have the equivilant situation where everyone sits around the table bored to death. The buyer and seller each go to their own solicitor, and they buyer picks up the keys at the estate agents office.`
Jessica, I am sure it comes from the real estate is local files. Every area is different. I am one of very few agents who does this in my office.