The Katelayna Insider

Closing Doesn't Mean You Get to Disappear

I recently had clients purchase a home, and during our final walkthrough we noticed a few things. The house wasn't horribly dirty, but it wasn't exactly clean either, and the garage door opener was nowhere to be found. None of this was enough to derail a closing, but they were things worth asking about. Since the walkthrough happened over the weekend and we were closing Monday, I emailed the listing agent to see if there was another opener or maybe a code for the garage.

I didn't get a response. I followed up again after closing as my clients were trying to figure out how to access and use the garage. Then I reached out again. Still nothing.

At this point, the garage door opener really isn't what bothers me. Things get lost during moves. Sellers forget things. Sometimes nobody knows where the opener went, and sometimes the answer really is, "Sorry, we don't have one." That's not a big deal. Completely ignoring the question is.

There is something about real estate that I think we need to talk about more: the transaction closing doesn't give everyone involved permission to disappear. The Commission Was Paid. The Professionalism Shouldn't Stop There.

Real estate has a very obvious finish line. For weeks, sometimes months, everyone is incredibly available. Emails get answered. Calls get returned. Documents get signed. We communicate about inspections, appraisals, repairs, title work, financing, walkthroughs and whatever else comes up because we all have a transaction we're trying to get across the finish line.

Then the closing happens.

Suddenly, something as simple as "Do the sellers happen to have another garage door opener?" can apparently become an unreasonable question. I don't think that's how this business should work.

An agent's job absolutely has contractual boundaries, and there are things we cannot and should not continue handling after a transaction is complete. But basic communication isn't one of them. If another agent reaches out with a reasonable question involving the property your client just sold, answer them. You don't have to fix the problem. You don't have to magically produce a garage door opener. You may not even know the answer.

Just respond.

There is a huge difference between "I checked with the seller and unfortunately they don't have it" and silence.

Your Clients Notice What Happens After You Get Paid

This is one of those parts of real estate that doesn't show up in an agent's marketing. You can look at someone's reviews, sales history, social media and polished profile and learn quite a bit about how they present themselves. What you usually can't see is what happens when the transaction is over and there is no longer a commission depending on the outcome.

That's when some of the most important things about an agent become obvious.

I've had clients contact me months or years after closing because they couldn't remember something about their paperwork, needed the name of someone we used during the transaction, had a question about the property or simply didn't know who else to ask. Sometimes I can help immediately. Sometimes I have to send them somewhere else. Sometimes the answer is outside the scope of what I can do.

But I can answer them.



The same standard should apply to the agents we work with. We don't have to like each other. We certainly don't have to become friends. But when another professional reaches out with a legitimate question connected to a transaction we just completed together, ignoring them shouldn't be considered normal.

More importantly, there's usually a client sitting on the other side of that unanswered email waiting for an answer.

The Little Things Tell You More Than the Big Ones

A missing garage door opener is a small problem. That's exactly why I think this experience bothered me.

It's easy to provide great service when there is a contract on the line. It's easy to be responsive when you need someone's signature. It's easy to return a phone call when a closing could fall apart if you don't.

What happens when there is nothing left for you to gain from answering?

That's a much better test.

Closing ends a real estate transaction. It doesn't erase the relationships we've built with our clients, and it shouldn't erase basic professional courtesy toward the other people involved either.

The paperwork may be done. The commission may be paid. But if your definition of service ends the second that happens, I think we're defining service very differently.