What is a Transaction Coordinator?
Hi All! I am taking over Richard’s South Bay Real Estate Blog for the week. For those who don’t know me, I am the behind the scenes gal that you don’t see much, but I am always busy doing something at Manhattan Pacific Realty. I am Richard’s Transaction Coordinator. What is a Transaction Coordinator (TC) you might ask? A Transaction Coordinator is a real estate professional who manages all the disclosures, paperwork, and deadlines involved in a real estate transaction. They are trained in the selling and buying process, and track the progress of a transaction from the opening of escrow until closing.
Why is a Transaction Coordinator Important to You?
When buying or selling a home, you’ll quickly find yourself knee deep in contractual documents, to-do lists, and financial documents. You will want every detail to be handled with care and precision in order to keep your transaction on track. A TC is there to help guide you through the process and answer any questions you might have about disclosures; what to sign, where to sign, who to send things to, etc. Choosing an agent to work with can be difficult, so be sure to ask about your potential agent’s transaction process and whether or not they work with a TC. When an agent has a TC, you know that agent is well established, organized, and on top of things.
Another perk to Transaction Coordinators? They cover your butt! The disclosures they facilitate for signatures will protect you as a buyer, agent, or seller. If you were to experience any legal altercation down the road (knock on wood!), after buying or selling a home, you would look back and be so grateful to have had a TC that got all those important signatures for you and kept your files neat and tidy.
Responsibilities
The responsibilities of a TC include:
- Creating and managing escrow timeline
- Setting up an organized document (on a shared database) with all transaction documents and information
- Opening escrow
- Communicating with escrow, clients, lenders, title, etc.
- Send out regular updates and reminders to all parties so that everyone knows exactly where the transaction stands
- Following up on contingencies and contingency removals
- Ordering home warranties and natural hazard disclosures
- Preparing disclosures
- Gathering signatures from buying and selling parties
These responsibilities may vary from person to person and office to office. Some Transaction Coordinators carry more responsibility and others carry less. Transaction Coordinators who have earned their real estate license will usually take on more responsibility, as they are able to put together contracts and advise clients legally. I highly recommend for all your buyers and sellers out there to use a licensed TC, as it makes for a much smoother process.
Conclusion
The main goal of a TC is to create a seamless transaction for all parties involved. Using a Transaction Coordinator is a great benefit for both buyers and sellers in the real estate transaction process, so be sure to seek out an agent and Transaction Coordinator who will be the best fit for you in getting the job done!
Richard Haynes
DRE: 01779425
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The Richard Haynes Real Estate ShowA leader in South Bay real estate for the better part of a decade, Richard thrives as an advisor to his clients with over $248 million in sales as a broker or investment principal at his boutique agency, Haynes. Richard is known for his keen local market insights which have been featured in the L.A. Times, The Street, and Forbes, along with his weekly South Bay real estate blog. [read more]