| name | transaction-timeline |
| description | Use when a contract is executed and must be carried to closing — building the deadline calendar, tracking every contingency to resolution, and verifying the document set so no date is ever missed. |
Transaction Timeline
A real-estate transaction is a sequence of dated commitments, most of them protecting the client's money. Miss one and earnest money, financing, or the whole deal can be at risk. This playbook keeps the calendar honest from acceptance to keys.
Build the calendar on day zero
The moment the contract is executed, lay out every date and give each an owner:
- Earnest money deposited and receipted.
- Inspection period — schedule, complete, and respond within the window.
- Appraisal ordered, completed, and reconciled against the price.
- Financing contingency — application, conditions cleared, and commitment by its date.
- Title and disclosures — ordered, reviewed, and delivered.
- Final walkthrough scheduled before closing.
- Closing / signing / funding / recording confirmed.
Work backward from closing so nothing is discovered late.
Track contingencies to a hard state
Every contingency is in exactly one state: satisfied, waived in writing, or at risk. "Probably fine" is not a state. Anything at risk gets surfaced to the principal broker while there is still time to act.
Chase the third parties
Lender, title, escrow, inspectors, and the other side's agent all sit on your critical path. Log every commitment they make and every date they slip. Follow up before a deadline, not after it passes.
Assemble and verify the document set
Keep a running package: contract, addenda, disclosures, inspection reports, appraisal, and every signature. Verify signatures and figures yourself — never assume a form was handled. Nothing should surface missing three days before closing.
Run a weekly status
For every open transaction, report the next deadline, its owner, and any risk. Escalate a slipping date early enough for an agent to renegotiate or intervene.
Close clean
Before signing: confirm final figures, verify funds, and complete the walkthrough. After: confirm funding and recording, then hand the closed file back with the full record.
Output
A live deadline calendar and contingency ledger per transaction, plus a weekly status line for each open deal: next date, owner, status, risk.
