If you have the right agent you already know the answer to this question. They walked you through it before you ever signed the listing agreement. You know what the inspection period looks like, what an appraisal is, what happens if the buyer’s lender asks for more documents, and roughly what day you will be sitting at the closing table.
You are not wondering. You are waiting. And there is a big difference between the two.
If nobody has walked you through that yet let me do it now. And then let me tell you what the experience of selling your home should actually feel like from the moment you accept an offer to the moment you hand over the keys.
What the timeline looks like
Days one through three the buyer submits their earnest money and formally applies for their loan. Your agent confirms both happened on time.
Days one through ten the buyer conducts their inspection. The inspector produces a report. The buyer responds in writing requesting repairs, a credit, or nothing at all. Your agent helps you evaluate the response and decide how to reply. A good agent knows the difference between a legitimate concern and a negotiating tactic and will tell you which one you are looking at.
Days ten through twenty eight the lender orders an appraisal and works through underwriting. The title company conducts the title search and prepares closing documents. Things are happening that you cannot see and may not hear about for days at a time. That is normal. Your agent should be watching all of it.
Days twenty through thirty the lender issues a clear to close. Final documents are prepared. The buyer does a walkthrough. You go to the title company, sign, and hand over the keys.
The whole process from accepted offer to closing typically runs twenty five to thirty five days in Fort Wayne.
What it should feel like
Here is what most people do not talk about. A real estate transaction has a lot of quiet stretches. You accept an offer on a Friday. The earnest money comes in Monday. The inspection is scheduled for next Thursday. In between those moments there is nothing for you to do.
That silence is where anxiety lives if your agent is not filling it.
A good agent texts you updates even when there is nothing new to report. They tell you where things stand. They tell you what is coming next and when. They tell you what to expect before it happens so that when the inspection report arrives with forty items on it you already know that is normal and you already know how to think about it.
You should never be sitting at home wondering what is going on. You should never feel like you have to chase your agent down for information. You should never be surprised by something that was entirely predictable.
I send my clients updates throughout the transaction. Text messages, calls, whatever works for them. I meet people where they are because I know that most people are not checking email at nine in the morning and a text at the right moment can be the difference between a client who feels calm and a client who feels abandoned.
When this thing is over you ought to feel good about it. Not just relieved that it is done but actually good. Like you were in capable hands the whole time, like someone was looking out for you, like the biggest financial transaction of your life was handled with the care it deserved.
That is the standard I hold myself to with every client.
If you are thinking about selling in Fort Wayne and you want to understand the full process before you commit to anything, call me. We will go through all of it before you ever sign a listing agreement.
No surprises. That is the promise.
David Barlag
Fort Wayne Realtor, Century 21 Bradley Realty
260-750-5737
davidbarlag.com