Hot Tip #10
It's Not Over 'Til
The Cash Register Rings
S t r a t e g i c T i p
:
The more
transactions you have on the go, the harder it is to keep on top of all the
details and the more likely you'll let something slip through the cracks. Use
TOP PRODUCER's comprehensive Closings services checklist to
create a day-by-day, task-by-task Closing plan
and then systematically apply it. You'll stay organized, reduce your
stress and ensure that everything's signed, sealed and delivered by closing
day.
R e a l T i m e B e n e f i t s :
The efficiency and
ease of using TOP PRODUCER to finalize a sale begins with your ability to
convert a listing record into a closing record by simply clicking on
Create closing in the listing record. That done, you can now
take full advantage of the Closing plan feature which, like the Listing plan
feature, enables you to create a plan by selecting closing
activities from a comprehensive Closings services checklist
. It also lets you custom design a plan by adding and
scheduling your own todos, calls, appointments and correspondence.
The
Closing services checklist -- designed as a default plan -- includes all the
main tasks that must be performed to complete a transaction, for instance:
putting the deposit in a trust account, notifying the MLS, delivering the loan
application to the lender and confirming approval, completing inspections and
appraisals, monitoring the transaction's progress and providing progress reports
to the sellers. Within the default plan, these tasks are automatically scheduled
to occur in a logical sequence on a days-after-acceptance-date
basis.
To create a
Closing plan all you have to do is select the desired
activities from the checklist, delete those you don't need and add your own as
required. You have full flexibility to schedule them for a fixed date, or for a
date relative to either the offer acceptance date or the closing date. These
activities will then automatically appear in your Today's
business
as
they are due, so you'll have a reliable reminder of what needs doing each day to
provide thoroughly excellent closing service to your sellers and all parties in
the transaction.
In addition, TOP
PRODUCER's Closing plan feature enables
you to:
- Save your custom-created Closing
plans and build a
library of different plans for use in a variety of transactions involving
specific types of sale conditions, financing, properties, etc.
- Conveniently auto-dial calls and arrange to send
letters and cards to the sellers and buyers right from the Closing
parties
section of
a closing record.
- Add the names, addresses, numbers and roles of all
other parties in the transaction (lawyers, loan officers, mortgage brokers,
appraisers, inspectors, etc.) to the Closing parties
section of a closing
record. You can then, as the need arises, auto-dial calls and arrange to send
letters and cards to these parties as well.
- Make detailed, date and time stamped notes throughout the
closing process. These notes will serve as reliable records in the event that
something goes wrong and you become involved in litigation.
- Mark your closing activities done as
you complete them, track your expenses, and print regular Closing
service reports
that show the
sellers everything you've done during the closing process.
- Adjust the status of the transaction during its
different stages from Pending (showing)-- the status it's automatically assigned
when it's converted from a listing to a closing file --
to Pending (not showing),
Pending/Firm, Closed/Paid (or Fell
thru
).
- Transfer all the listing property statistics to the
buyers' contact record simply by clicking Transfer property . Then, once you've
transferred the property, a window immediately appears prompting you to update
the sellers' primary address in your contact record.
Typically, after the deal's completed and you get
paid, transferring the property and updating the sellers' address are the last
steps in the transaction. Just click on Close
and you can be certain that literally
everything has been taken care of.
In fact, TOP PRODUCER's Closing plan feature is
so complete that, when followed, it guarantees that you'll provide your sellers
with the kind of first class closing service that secures repeat business and
referrals -- as long as you keep following up. Morever, don't be
surprised if your obvious integrity and accountability bring you even more
business from all the other professionals you work with in real estate
transactions. Everyone appreciates an agent who can effectively put all the
pieces together and keep everyone informed while doing it, thereby ensuring
that every deal is a done deal.
P r
a c t i c a l T e c h n i q u e:
To custom create a
Closing plan
that you
can repeatedly use, perhaps with minor modification, in a specific type of
closing situation (eg. involving a specific kind of financing), simply do the
following:
- Click on Setup/Plans
setup/Closing plans
- Highlight Closings services checklist
and click on Copy plan
- Give your new plan a name, eg. New closing plan
, and click on OK.
- In its present form New closing plan
is identical to the Closings services checklist it was just
copied from. To modify
New closing plan for application in specific kinds of closing situations,
highlight
New closing
plan in the Plans manager window and click on
View/modify plan.
- Scroll through the plan to
determine which events you want to include.
- To delete an event, highlight it and click on
Delete event/Yes
.
- To add an event, click on New event.
Click on the icon for kind of event you want (Appt.,
Call, Todo, etc.). Depending upon the
activity, some of the fields will change. Fill in the fields
(Reason, Assign to,
Priority, etc.). Click on the desired radio buttons
(Fixed date, After acceptance date
{auto-adjust,}, etc.). Fill in the Perform event,
Reminder
and remaining fields as
desired.
- If you wish to add another event, click on
Enter next and repeat the previous step. Repeat until you've
finished adding events, and click on OK.
- To modify an event, highlight the event and click on
Modify event.
- Change the fields as desired (fields are similar to
New event as just described) and click on
OK.
- Once you have created the specific plan you want,
click Close in the View/modify closing plan
window.
- Click Close in the Plans
manager window.
To turn a listing
record into a closing
record and apply -- with minor modification to suit the specific seller
-- the
New closing plan
you just
created, simply do the following:
- Click on
File/Listings/Current
listings
- Highlight the contact name and click on
View
- Click on Create closing
- Click on Buyer(s)
- If the buyer is already in your contact records,
highlight their name and click on OK. If not, click on
New contact, enter the contact details in the fields and
click on OK.
- Fill in the fields in the Closing for . .
.
closing record as desired (i.e. MLS number, dates, File number, Sale price,
etc.)
- In the Closing status field, change
default setting Pending (showing) to Pending (not
showing) or Pending/Firm
as the
case may be.
- Click on Select plan
- Highlight New closing plan and click
on Apply plan.
The plan will now appear in the closing record you just
created.
- Scroll through the plan to determine which
activities you want to include.
- To delete an activity, highlight the activity and
click on Delete activity/Yes
- To add an activity, click on Add
activity. Enter the activity in the Activity field or click on the
desired icon (Appt., Call,
Todo, etc.). Depending upon the activity, some of the fields
will change. Fill in the fields (for instance, Reason,
Activity, Assign to, etc.). Click on the
desired radio buttons (Fixed date, After acceptance
date auto-adjust
, etc.)
- To change an activity click on Change
activity. Similar to the previous step, it depends upon the activity
icon you choose as to the fields that will appear. Fill the fields in as you
desire and click on OK. You can mark an activity
done from within the Change activity
window.
- If you wish to make notes about any activity, click on
Notes and add your notes and details to the corresponding
fields, and then click on OK.
- If for some reason you need to link the closing file
to another contact, click on the Contact button and you'll
effectively have your entire address book before you. Choose the contacts you
wish to include from the list and click OK.
To add a Closing
party to the closing record and auto-dial
them, simply do the following:
- Click on Closing parties in the
closing record
- Click on Add party
- To add a Closing party from your
contact records, click on From database.
- Highlight the contact and click on
OK. The name will appear in the Closing
parties
field.
- To change this contact's role in the transaction (eg.
perhaps the contact is listed as a buyer in your database.
However, in this transaction this contact also happens to be the appraiser),
click on Change role.
- Click on Other party role.
- The Select party role pick list does
not include Appraiser, so you'll have to add it to the pick
list. Click on Modify list.
- Click on Add new.
- Fill in Appraiser in the Add
party role field and click on OK.
- Click on OK in Modify party
role
window.
- Click on OK in Select party
role
window.
- Click on OK in Change party
role
window.
- Click on Dial or on the party's phone
number.
- Depending on whether the call was completed, Click on
Yes or No in the Dial
seller
window.
- If you wish to Add item to service
report, fill in the fields and click on OK. If not,
click on Cancel.
To create a
Closing service report , simply follow the steps
below:
- Click on Service report in the
closing record window.
- To add an activity, click on Add
activity. Fill in the fields as desired and click on
OK. To change an activity, click on Change
activity. Fill in the fields as desired and click on
OK. To delete an activity, click on Delete
item/Yes
.
- Click on Report.
- Enter your desired comments into the
Introductory comments and Summary remarks
section.
- Adjust Starting date and
Ending date
to suit the reporting period.
- Click on Report options in the
Print service report
window.
-
Click on Include/exclude
and check the boxes of the information you wish to
include.
- Click on Report text, fill in the
fields as desired and click on OK.
- Click on Colors. Click on the
Section colors and Font colors
buttons to choose the desired
colors.
- Click on OK.
-
Click on Print this report.
- Click on OK in the Print window.
To transfer the property to the new buyer, simply do the
following:
- In the closing record change the Closing
status to Closed/Paid
.
- If the property type is correct, click on
Transfer property. If not, click on the desired radio button
(Primary, Investment, etc.) and click on
Set to all.
- Click on Transfer.
- Fill in the sellers' new address and click on
OK.
- Click on OK in the Transfer
property window. The property has now been transferred, as indicated
by the red Property transferred under the Closing
status field.
N e t w o r t h y:
For
details on how to get even more out of the Listing plan
feature, refer to the Managing listings and closings
section in VOLUME 2 of the TOP
PRODUCER
video training series |
