What you should know before selling your home
Qualifying the buyer
Once an interested buyer is located, they need to be qualified in the following terms: financial ability, buyer wants, and buyer needs. This is not something you will be responsible for—it will be up to the mortgage lenders and the buyer's REALTOR®. Your REALTOR® will stay on top of every detail for your sake. Anytime there is a call or contact, lots of information needs to be shared including if the buyer’s loan commitment has come through, conditions on that loan commitment, whether an appraisal has been completed, what repairs are needed, etc.
Remember that this may be only one of 30 deals the lender has this month, but your only buyer. It is the duty of your REALTOR® to make sure the lines of communication stay open at all times to ensure that everything is done. Also, watch out for contingencies that could cost you time off the market. For example, if a buyer wants to close the sale contingent on selling his or her current house, you can include a kick-out clause that allows you to back out of the deal within 72 hours (or better yet 24 hours) if you receive an offer that does not contain contingencies.
Previous Section Next Section 
