Seller FAQs

Contingent simply means that one thing must happen before another thing happens. In real estate transactions, certain conditions must be met, by the seller or the buyer, or the deal will go bust. Also referred to as contract “clauses”, contingencies are put in place to protect either party from the other party not executing their contractual obligations, such as securing funding or not allowing an inspection, etc.

A couple of the most common contingency clauses are the Buyer’s “Home Sale Contingency", “Home inspection contingency,” & the appraisal

Inspections are a common contingency that buyers make their purchase offers subject to. There are many different types of inspections and tests that a buyer has the right to perform. In most cases, inspections are at the expense of the buyer. They have a specified number of days (most commonly 5-7) to complete the inspections and also a specified number of days to either remove the inspection contingencies or request the seller to address the buyers concerns from the inspections.

Some buyer’s decide when buying a home they would like to find a suitable property before selling their existing home. A sale contingency is a common contingency that sellers see in purchase offers. A sale contingency means that the potential buyer of a home must sell their existing home, before being able to purchase the “new” home.

On average, the homeseller is responsible for approximately 1% in closing costs. This cost typically includes items such as the settlement company fees (attorney or title company), property taxes, grantor’s tax, recording fees, escrow fees, HOA document/transfer fees, etc.

In certain cases, a buyer may offer more than the list price or more than fair market value if they are really interested in a property or a bidding war breaks out. On the flip side, home sellers may take less than fair market value if they are in a financial bind or in a time sensitive situation. Simply put, the fair market value is the amount a buyer will pay and the amount a home seller will accept. However, homes don’t always sell for fair market value.

A title search is typically conducted by a title company, via the buyer and their agent. The main goal of doing a title search is to let the buyer (and their lender) know that the seller is indeed the rightful property owner and has the right to sell the property.

Title searches involve looking at the history of the home and the owner and determining if any liens or easements have been placed on the property. A lien is a type of hold, placed on the property to ensure payment for one of several things, such as taxes owed to the IRS, refinanced mortgages, federal mortgage assistance programs, contractor liens, etc. Most of these types of issues are cleared up when the home sells and the liens are paid off or they’re removed entirely

Earnest money is a good faith deposit that is collected from the buyer’s escrow company (typically an attorney or title company) once an agreement on price has been made. This is to ensure that the buyer is a serious buyer and isn’t just going around town making agreements with other home sellers.

The amount of earnest money varies, but 1-2% of the sales price is pretty standard. If for some reason the seller is unable to sell for whatever reason and backs out of the deal, the buyer will receive their earnest money back. If the buyer backs out, dependent upon certain contingencies, they may forfeit their earnest money to the seller.

Once the deal is done, the earnest money will be applied towards the buyer’s closing costs.

Unless the buyer spells out a specific time frame to respond in their written offer, a home seller can take as long as they want, or simply not respond at all.

However, it is customary and polite for the seller to respond to the buyer within 24-48 hours of receiving the offer. A seller can accept the offer, make a counteroffer, or simply reject the offer altogether.

A counteroffer is a new offer made in response to the initial offer. A counteroffer means the original offer was rejected and replaced with alterations or additional terms. The counteroffer gives the receiving party three options: accept, reject, or make another counter. What this means is that when we make a counteroffer, it is a brand new offer made from you back to the buyer, therefore it is now up to the buyer to accept, reject or counter again. So, don’t make any counter offers you don’t want accepted. Also, because it is a new offer, you can’t easily backtrack and get any previous conditions without the agreement of the other party.

Depending on the state the property is in, the seller has certain items that they must disclose. This is spelled out in detail in the seller’s disclosure document that you will sign before listing. But beyond your legal obligation, it’s a good rule of thumb to disclose everything you know to the potential buyer.

That doesn’t mean you have to seek out things to disclose. However, if you know of a problem or risk that the home inspector didn’t catch, it’s still a good idea to be honest and forthcoming to your buyer.

Here are some things to always disclose:

1) Environmental issues such as lead paint, asbestos, radon, and mold.

2) Pest infestations such as rodents, insects or reptiles, especially termites or carpenter ants.

3) Natural hazards such as flood zones or drainage issues.

4) Construction defects or system problems such as electrical, plumbing, etc.

5) HOA rules or property line disputes.

Once you accept an offer, you could still be looking at anywhere between 30-45 days until the process officially comes to a close. Some of the factors that can affect this timeframe are: Contingency deadlines, any agreed upon repairs, appraisal timing, buyers financing, title work, etc.

No, not all of them. Anyone coming through your home will certainly be accompanied by a licensed real estate agent but there's no guarantee that the agent has a contractual relationship with the buyer yet and there's no guarantee that the buyer has been pre-qualified. However, there's an unwritten expectation that the real estate broker has at least researched the buyer prior to showing the home and performed some type of due diligence on them. As the homeowner, you can most certainly ask your listing agent to require proof of funds or a pre-qualification letter from the buyer's agent upfront, but you may risk losing a legitimate buyer that may have made a last-minute trip to the area, wasn't prepared with proof of financing or didn't fully understand the process.

Not properly preparing a home for sale can put a homeowner at a huge disadvantage. The expression “You never get a second chance to make a first impression” is absolutely true when it comes to selling a home. When selling a home you must be sure that your home presents itself in the best possible light. Making sure clutter is at a minimum, freshly painting rooms, installing new carpeting, or ensuring odors are non-existent are just a handful of things that should be done before listing your home for sale. Refer to our home sellers guide we provided you for a detailed checklist.

A home appraisal is an approximation of your home’s worth. It serves as peace of mind for the lender or bank that the property being purchased has a certain amount of value. Home appraisals are conducted by an appraiser after the purchase price has been agreed upon by both the buyer and the seller.

An appraiser’s main job is to walk through and around the entire home, taking note of what features the home contains and what condition they are in. While a home inspector is searching for problems or things that don’t work properly, an appraiser is simply vouching for the home’s value.

If a home buyer is obtaining financing from a bank or lender, they will complete an appraisal. When performing an appraisal, the appraiser is looking for potential safety hazards or concerns. The buyer will determine in their purchase offer a dollar amount in which a seller is responsible to cover for bank required repairs. Some common bank required repairs include missing handrails, broken windows, peeling paint, missing electrical covers, and roofs that are in very poor condition.

In addition to ensuring there are no safety hazards at a home, the bank appraiser is also making sure that the home value is at least what a buyer and seller agree too. This isn’t always possible though. If an appraiser determines the value of the subject property is lower than the agreed purchase amount, there are a few different scenarios…

1) Seller Makes Concession

This is the most common result when an appraisal comes in too low. The seller must agree to sell the home for what the appraiser determines as the acceptable value.

2) Buyer Comes Up With Difference

The buyer must bridge the difference between the purchase price and the appraised value. This scenario is fairly uncommon as many buyer’s find it hard to pay more for a home than their bank appraisal indicates it’s worth.

3) The Transaction is Canceled

Unfortunately for both the seller and buyer, this is a common result from a property under appraising. If the buyer does not want to or cannot bridge the difference and the seller does not want to make the concession and adjust the sale price, the transaction is canceled.

4) Challenge Appraisal

Challenging an appraisal is not an easy task. It is something that must be done with much care and consideration, otherwise the chances of an appraised value being changed, is slim.

In many cases, the appliances in one home will not fit or look right in another. The decision whether to include appliances or make them negotiable is ultimately up to the seller. It is also important to consider that some appliances, such as the oven, are required to be present for some loan types. In general, not including appliances could be an inconvenience to the buyer and influence their decision. It’s most common for kitchen appliances to convey.

In most cases, the reason your home is not being looked at by potential buyers is due to the price. Buyers who feel a home is priced too high will choose to look at other homes before yours, likely finding one they prefer before they even reach yours. Other possible reasons your home is not receiving offers could include - poor curb appeal, unique location, or a cluttered appearance during showings. If we find ourselves in this situation, we will need to reassess and address the issues that may be hampering the sale.

No matter what industry, top professionals enjoy working with top professionals. This is no different in real estate. As top real estate professionals we will be able to provide high quality mortgage professionals, attorneys, contractors, movers, or other services needed throughout the home selling process and beyond.

This will depend on your personal preference, but at a bare minimum, you should expect to hear from us at least once a week while we are selling your home. The method of communication will be tailored to your personal preferences. If you prefer communication via email, then expect frequent emails. The same can be said about text messaging, phone conversations, or face-to-face interaction.

Easy question to answer – NO! There are many reasons why sellers should not be present during showings. The primary reason why you should not be present at showings of your home is potential buyer’s can feel uncomfortable to talk openly and freely with their Realtor about your home. They do not want to say something that could offend you, the seller. The best idea is to leave shortly before the scheduled showing and come back once you are certain the buyer and their Realtor have left your home.