What to tell a buyer during escrow
There are roughly nine moments between a signed contract and a set of keys where your buyer wants to hear from you. Most agents write those emails from scratch, at night, after showings. These are the twelve we think are worth having ready, written the way a calm professional writes them. Copy any of them, change the names and dates, and send.
They are free, and there is nothing to sign up for. If you would rather not send them yourself, that is what we do, and the first close is on us. For the dates themselves, and what tends to go wrong at each one, see the contract to close checklist.
Four rules that matter more than the wording
Name the next date, every time
Every update ends by saying what happens next and when. A buyer who knows the next date does not need to call you between them. This single habit removes most of the "any news?" texts you get.
Say whether you need anything
"Nothing needed on your end" is the most reassuring sentence in a transaction. Buyers assume silence means something is required of them and they have missed it.
Send one even when nothing happened
A week with no news still needs an email. "We are waiting on the lender, and I expect the number by Monday" is a complete update. Nothing is what most weeks contain.
Keep the sentences short
Your buyer is reading this on a phone between meetings, often while anxious. One idea per sentence, no contract language, and no paragraph longer than three lines.
The twelve templates
Anything in square brackets is yours to replace. The dates are written out with the weekday on purpose, because a buyer reads "Tuesday, February 24" faster than 02/24.
The day you go under contract
Hi [Marcus],
The seller signed this morning, so we are officially under contract.
Here is what happens next. Your earnest money is due by [Thursday, February 19]. The inspection needs to happen before [Tuesday, February 24]. We are set to close on [Friday, March 27].
I will write to you at each of those steps, so you never have to wonder where things stand.
Nothing is needed from you today.
[Dana]
Listing all three dates up front buys you the whole rest of the deal. Your buyer now knows the shape of it, so silence between milestones stops feeling like neglect.
Earnest money received
Hi [Marcus],
The title company confirmed your earnest money today, so that deadline is behind us.
Next is the inspection on [Tuesday, February 24]. The inspector will need about three hours at the house.
You are welcome to be there, though you do not have to be.
I will send you the report and my read on it the same day.
[Dana]
Your buyer just wired several thousand dollars to a company they have never met. A one-line confirmation is worth more here than anywhere else in the deal.
The inspection is scheduled
Hi [Marcus],
The inspection is booked for [Tuesday, February 24] at [9 am].
[Ray Alvarez] is doing it, and he usually needs three to four hours.
You can meet him there and walk through with him if you want to. Either way I will have the report that afternoon.
We have until [Friday, February 27] to raise anything it turns up.
[Dana]
The inspection is done and nothing is wrong
Hi [Marcus],
The inspector finished at the house this morning, and his report came over this afternoon.
Nothing in it changes our plans. The two small items he flagged are normal for a house this age.
Next is the appraisal. The lender ordered it today, and we should have the number back by [Monday, March 2].
Nothing needed on your end. I will write again as soon as it comes in.
[Dana]
The inspection turned something up
Hi [Marcus],
The report came back with three things worth acting on. The rest is cosmetic.
[The furnace is near the end of its life, a bathroom fan vents into the attic, and the back steps are loose.]
I am asking the seller to [replace the furnace and correct the venting] before we close. We have until [Friday, February 27] to agree on it.
I will call you this afternoon to talk it through, then I will send the request.
[Dana]
Bad news in writing needs a phone call beside it. The email exists so they have the facts in front of them afterwards, not so you can avoid the conversation.
The appraisal is ordered
Hi [Marcus],
Your lender ordered the appraisal today. The appraiser schedules the visit, usually within a week.
We expect the number back by [Monday, March 2].
If it comes in at or above our price, we keep moving and nothing changes.
I will tell you either way the day I hear.
[Dana]
The appraisal came in low
Hi [Marcus],
The appraisal came back at [$412,000], which is [$13,000] under our contract price.
This happens, and it does not mean the deal is over. It means the lender will finance against the lower number.
We have three ways forward. Ask the seller to come down, cover the gap in cash, or split the difference.
I would start by asking the seller. I will call you at [4 pm] so we can decide together.
[Dana]
Naming the three options in the email is what keeps your buyer from spending the evening reading forum posts about low appraisals. Give them the map before they go looking for one.
The title commitment is in
Hi [Marcus],
The title commitment came in today, and there is nothing on it that worries me.
That means no liens, no boundary surprises, and no old claims against the property.
Next is your loan commitment, due [Wednesday, March 18].
If your lender asks you for one more document this week, that is normal. Send it the same day if you can.
[Dana]
Translate the milestone rather than naming it. "No liens, no boundary surprises" is what they wanted to know; "title commitment received" is what your file wanted to know.
Clear to close
Hi [Marcus],
Your lender issued the final approval this afternoon. We are clear to close.
Closing is [Friday, March 27] at [10 am] at [Alder Title, 88 Main St].
Two things to bring. A government photo ID, and your funds wired ahead of time rather than a check.
I will have the title company send the wiring instructions directly.
Call me to confirm those details before you send any money. Wire fraud in this business is real, and a phone call takes a minute.
[Dana]
The wire warning belongs in this email every single time. Buyers get targeted at exactly this moment, because this is the week the money moves.
The final walkthrough
Hi [Marcus],
We walk the house together on [Thursday, March 26] at [4 pm], the day before closing.
It takes about twenty minutes. We are checking that the agreed repairs are done and that nothing has broken since the inspection.
Bring your phone for photos.
If something is wrong, we still have a day to deal with it before closing.
[Dana]
A date is going to slip
Hi [Marcus],
I want you to hear this from me before you hear it from anyone else.
[Your lender needs three more days to finish underwriting.] So we are moving closing from [Friday, March 27] to [Wednesday, April 1].
Nothing about the deal is in danger. This is a paperwork delay, not a problem with the house or your loan.
I have signed the extension and sent it over. I will confirm the new date with you tomorrow.
[Dana]
Agents delay this email until they have a solution, and that is the wrong instinct. A buyer who hears about a slip from the lender or the movers first stops trusting the rest of what you say.
Closing day
Hi [Marcus],
You signed at [11 am] and the deed is recorded. The house is yours.
Your keys are [in the lockbox, code 1234].
A few things worth doing this week. Change the locks, put the utilities in your name, and file for your homestead exemption if [your state] has one.
This was a good one. Call me any time, about anything, including years from now.
[Dana]
This is the email that produces referrals, and almost nobody sends it. Two sentences of usefulness after the money has changed hands is the cheapest marketing in this business.
Or stop copying them
The dates in these templates are already written down somewhere, in the contract you just signed. That is the whole idea behind Closewell. You send us the executed contract. We read the closing date and every deadline hanging off it. On the morning each one comes due, we email you the note we would send your buyer. You send it as written, change a line, or skip it. It goes out under your name, with your address at the bottom, so your buyer writes back to you and never sees us.
Your first close is free and we do not ask for a card. After that it is $99 a close, against the $350 to $600 a transaction coordinator charges for the same job. See what it costs.
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