Sellers, once you’ve negotiated and signed the contract:

Congratulations on a ratified contract!    When you have signed off on the home inspection and radon reports, you’ll be considered under contract.  If the radon exceeds 4.0, expect the buyers to ask you to remediate ($700 - $1200).  After the remediation is completed, you are required to re-test to assure the level has been reduced.  This is usually done by the original inspecting company ($75 - $100).

Presently, the status of your home is considered BC (under contract accepting back-ups) on the MLS.  If someone calls to show your home, please inform them that you are only taking back-up offers at this time as you have received and accepted a purchase offer. Realtors will still be able to show your home at this stage if they have a client who is interested in placing a back-up offer. The status will change to UC (under contract) after you’ve received notice of the buyer's loan commitment.

You do not need to keep showing your home after the buyer has notified you of loan commitment.   If someone does show up or calls for access, please inform them that your house is under contract and that you are not showing your home or accepting any other offers at this time.  Do get their name and phone number, though, in case your current contract falls through. 

Make sure that the appraiser gets all of the information that you gathered when deciding on the asking price.  This information will help the appraiser in making a favorable property appraisal.  Your home must appraise for the loan amount for the buyers to get financing, otherwise, you have the option of lowering the sale price to the appraised amount or declaring the contract null and void.

1.   A home inspection will be scheduled if one was requested in the contract and the buyers will inform you of the date and time.  It is in your best interest to arrange NOT to be there during the inspection.  Have the inspector phone you when he/she is nearly finished with the expected completion time.  When it is completed, the buyers may present you with an addendum requesting repairs/replacement within so many days or no later than a specified date.  You will be given a specified number of days to respond to the buyer's request for repairs/replacement.

2.   An appraiser will call you to set up a time to look at the property.    The house should look just as good at this time as it did while it was on the market.  The process should take only 15 to 20 minutes.  You should be given at least a 24-hour notice. You should have the comparable neighborhood sales that will support the contract price available for the appraiser.

3.   In the event that your property is not connected to public water and sewer lines, a water test by a qualified lab must be done showing that the water has been tested for total coliform and meets the state sanitary code requirement for this test within 60 days of closing.  You can arrange to have the test done after you have been notified of the buyer’s loan commitment.

4.   If you have a septic system, you must also supply the buyer with a receipt showing that the septic system has been pumped within the last 3 months along with certification from a qualified inspector that the septic systems appears to be in working order.

5.   A survey of the property needs to be supplied or updated as required by the lending institution.

6.   Contact the following utility companies and let them know to transfer out of your name on day of settlement.  Please be aware that the utilities must be on when the final walk-through occurs (usually the day of settlement).  If they are not, settlement cannot occur.   Therefore, it is to your benefit to re-contact the utilities to ensure that the buyer has called and transferred the utilities in his or her name.  The utilities should be scheduled to be on the day of set­tlement.   If settlement is on a Friday, you may be required to keep them in your name through the weekend.  The following is a list of typical utilities:

• Power
• County Water and Sewer
• Telephone Company
• Gas
• Cable TV
• Computer Cable/DSL

7.   List attorney information:

(NAME) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________________

(ADDRESS) ______________________________________

(CITY, STATE)___________________________________

(TELEPHONE NUMBER)_________________________

(FAX NUMBER) ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­__________________________________

8.   Call your lender immediately and notify them of your settlement date.  Ask if there is any action you must take to avoid paying penalties.

9.   Cancel your hazard insurance, i.e., homeowner's policy effective three business days AFTER settlement.  Although the buyers own the prop­erty effective settlement day, use this safety pre­caution to extend your insurance to cover yourself in the event something should occur between settlement and recordation with the county.  Recordation should occur immediately after your attorney provides the necessary information to the clerk's office.  If in question, check with your attorney to make sure that this was done in a timely manner.

10.   Settlement should be scheduled to take place earlier in the month if possible when the attorneys, etc. are not rushing to close several deals at once.  The property must be vacated at 11:59 p.m. the night before and cleaned and available for occupancy the next morning.  Find out the time of the final walk-through.  The purpose of this walk-through is to see that all the items or any items that you’ve agreed to convey and any additional items are in normal working condition.  In addition, the buyers will verify that anything that was agreed upon to be re­paired/replaced as a result of the home inspection has been completed properly.  In the event a new condition arose (or wasn’t identified at the home inspection, e.g., leaky plumbing) and the buyer recognizes this at the walk-through, they will require you to put funds in escrow at settle­ment to cover the expense of repairing these items.  Work receipts should be available for the buyer’s review during the walk-through or just leave them on the kitchen counter.

11.   Bring the following items to settlement:

• All house keys & garage door openers
• Drivers’ licenses
• Wiring information or deposit slip or whatever methodol­ogy you’d like to use to take possession of your funds. 

12.   You can request a copy of the (HUD 1 form) “Estimated Net Proceeds” from your attorney. 

            If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to call me.

Diane McLafferty
Associate Broker - GRI, e-Pro
diane@warrenhomes.com
Warren Real Estate
830 Hanshaw Road
Ithaca, New York 14850
Office: (607) 257-0666 ext. 5243
Fax:  (607) 257-8801