Seller Advice: Surviving Escrow

You accepted an offer! That’s great! Now what?

There are still some things to do. Every offer has contractual obligations, usually for both buyers and sellers.

Here are some tips and tricks to help make the escrow process smooth and seamless:

Opening Escrow: fill out all documents provided by Escrow and your Agent promptly

Review your Contract and Timeline: Make sure you know all of your contractual responsibilities. As your Agent, I will provide you with a timeline, but ultimately all contractual obligations are yours, so make sure you understand your responsibilities, due dates, and timeframes.

Sellers Disclosure and Other Documents: Buyers have many contingencies in a contract. Some of the Buyers contingencies are based on Sellers providing information and documents. Make sure to complete your obligations quickly so the clock on the Buyers review periods start sooner rather than later. Complete your sellers disclosure, order and gather all documents, and select your service providers.

Closing preparations: While the Escrow period may be short or long, either way, at the end you will need to move out your belongings and clean the property.  Selecting your service providers and scheduling the services in advance can relieve a great deal of stress.  The cleaning contingency in Hawaii contracts is fairly extensive, so be prepared for professional carpet cleaning, window & screen cleaning, plus general cleaning of all floors, cabinets, and surfaces. Getting these things done and out of the way will allow you to focus on packing and moving while the buyers focus on their inspections, applications, and document review.

Packing up: Packing and moving can be stressful, so make a list of what you need to do and get started packing now. You will need to purchase and arrange things. Don’t forget to collect boxes, tape, markers, & select and schedule the movers in advance.

Final Walk Through: Due to the recording procedures in Hawaii, the buyers generally do their Final Walk Through of the property 5-7 days prior to closing. This means you should plan to be moved out with the professional cleaning services completed on or before that day.

Closing Documents: Due to Closing and Recording procedures in Hawaii, you usually can sign your closing docs a week in advance with an estimated settlement statement.  If you are on the mainland, this is particularly important as all documents (and funds for closing) need to be delivered to Escrow a minimum of 2 business days prior to closing.

Shut off Utilities: Once you have a closing date, make sure to call your utility providers to arrange for cancellation or transfer of services.

Change of Address: Last but not least, submit a change of address form to the Post Office.

CELEBRATE! Once all your obligations are completed, your boxes packed, and your documents signed, you can make plans for how to celebrate once we have confirmed your property sale has recorded.