Hurry Up and Wait

So the ink has just dried on your purchase contract. Now what? Most likely there are conditions on the deal - what happens next?

If you're the buyer

You will be busy with details like: getting details to the mortgage company, booking your inspection, attending your inspection, and dealing with insurance questions (should be) to name a few. If you have your stuff organized and ready to go then you will find the process goes at lot smoother, especially if your agent has prepped you for all the things you’ll need to have ready.  If you aren’t using an agent I hope you like surprises because you are going to get lots of them.

If you're the seller

You will be busy waiting and not doing much else. It may feel like everyone is sitting on their thumbs not trying to sell your property. While the buyer and their agent are busy sorting out details you probably won't get many (or any) updates until the inspection. Right now conditions tend to take 7-10 days (or if you're a private seller please allow 2 – 4 weeks for conditions).

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.

The main thing is the buyer wants to buy the home, and the seller wants to sell the home. Often there are little issues that creep up and throw the "main thing" out of focus, or become bigger issues than they are in reality. For example, sellers are often surprised when an appraiser needs to get through the property: “You mean they don’t have their financing?!?!"  Often a lender will require an appraisal in order to approve financing and it's not something to loose sleep over. Similar stumbling blocks can occur with the inspection, perhaps something is not up to code, or minor repairs are needed. Hopefully your agent and the other party's agent will help take the stress out of these stumbling blocks. One key thing to keep in mind is these "stumbling blocks" are likely to occur at the last minute, so make sure you're available at the condition deadline in case something needs to be signed or communicated.

Hurry up and wait, then hurry up again...

So if you are a buyer expect to be busy, and if you’re a seller you’ll need a little patience until conditions are removed. I had one seller recently who wasn’t desperate but his personality is such that he called and emailed me several times a day while we were pending to find out what was going on. When I’d tell him I had no news he would ask “How come? Why don't you call the buyer's agent and find out what's going on?” I would spend a good deal of time talking him out of having me call the buyer's agent daily; if I called as often as he wanted they might get the impression we’re desperate, which can bring on a second round of negotiations. When everything was said and done and the conditions were removed he told me he knew I was right not to call the other agent, he just felt it very nerve racking sitting and waiting. Whether you are desperate or not, it's often perception that matters the most.