Selling a home · Stage
Under contract
How inspections, appraisals, and title work feed into the closing timeline — and where deals commonly stall.
The clock-running stage on the seller side. Inspection negotiations and low-appraisal scenarios are the two places where sellers commonly need to make consequential decisions quickly.
- Responding to inspection findings — repairs, credits in lieu of repairs, refusals, or splits
- Handling a low appraisal through price reductions, buyer cash contributions, ROVs, or termination
- Tracking the buyer's financing progress and watching for underwriting hiccups
- Coordinating final-walkthrough access and any remaining repair work
Questions to ask at this stage
Ask yourself
- If the appraisal comes in low, what's the reservation price below which it's better to terminate and re-list?
Ask your listing agent
- For inspection findings, what's the cost of doing the repairs versus offering a credit, and which response keeps the deal cleanest?
- Are there warning signs in the buyer's financing progress that would justify lining up a backup offer?
- What does the contract say about the timing of any remaining repair work, the final walkthrough, and possession date?
Articles in this stage
- Inspection negotiations from the seller's side, and how to respond strategicallyAlmost every buyer asks for something after inspection. The question for sellers isn't whether they'll respond, but how, repair, credit, refuse, or split the difference. Each path has different implications for the deal and the eventual settlement statement.
- When the appraisal comes in low, what the seller can actually doA low appraisal during the under-contract period creates a financing gap that has to be resolved somehow. The seller has four real options, each with different financial and timeline implications, and the right one depends on the contract, the market, and how much the buyer wants the property.
More in the seller journey
- 01Should you sellHow to think about timing, equity, the tax implications, and what selling actually nets.
- 02PreparingWhat to fix, what to skip, and how listing-side work translates (or doesn't) into price.
- 03ListingHow agents price homes, how the post-NAR-settlement commission landscape works, and how listings are marketed.
- 04OffersWhat an offer actually contains beyond price, and how to read terms that matter as much as the number.
- 05 · You are hereUnder contract
- 06ClosingThe seller's side of closing, the settlement statement, and the proceeds calculation.
- 07AfterCapital gains, the primary-residence exclusion, and what to track for next year's taxes.