5 Transaction Coordination Mistakes Agents Make (and How to Avoid Them)

Your inbox is overflowing, deadlines are stacking up, and somehow every transaction feels more stressful than it should. Sound familiar?

After coordinating hundreds of real estate transactions, we’ve noticed a pattern. Most issues causing last-minute chaos, client frustration, or delayed closings aren’t big mistakes. They’re small, repeatable ones. The good news? Once you know what they are, they’re incredibly fixable. In this post, we’re breaking down the five most common transaction coordination mistakes agents make and exactly how to avoid them so your deals can move from contract to close with far less stress.

Reviewing the Closing Disclosure

This is where we tend to see the biggest, and maybe costliest, mistakes. Reviewing the Closing Disclosure – whether on the buy or sell side – is crucial for catching extra additional fees, missed expenses, and more. 

More often than not, we see Title or Escrow companies send a statement for review a few days prior to closing and that is when it’s imperative for both agents and their admin or transaction coordinators, to review each line item in full. In the past, we have caught:

• Missed BAC or other broker fees

• Incorrect commission splits

• Overlooked invoices to be paid

• Prorated tax, escrow, or insurance calculation errors

By taking the time to review the Closing Disclosure (CD) prior to closing can prevent your clients from either paying too much in closing costs or overpaying for incorrect line items. When in doubt, always review, review, review, and then approve. That’s the mantra we live and work by!

Missed Contractual Deadlines

Math is hard sometimes. It’s even harder when you’re meant to calculate deadlines from a contract that leaves room for interpretation. No two states – or even municipalities within a single state – conduct real estate transactions similarly, it seems. This means that as a real estate agent, one has to be more cognizant of verbiage within a contract regarding earnest monies or trust funds, inspection and appraisal timelines, and scheduling of closing appointments. 

The biggest variable we see is how contracts interpret 'calendar' or 'business' days. Understanding the industry standard in your area is crucial. If you are a new agent, this can be quite difficult, especially if you are working with a cooperating broker or agent that is seasoned and may strong-arm you into their view of the deadlines. But not to worry, if you have an experienced admin or transaction coordinator on your side, they can assist you 

Poor Communication

Oh no… It happened again. You got a contract written for your buyers with a list agent who was kind, communicative, and very responsive during the showing and offer submission process. But once accepted, they ghosted you. 

We see this time and time again – from all sides! Sometimes agents feel that once a contract comes together, the work and expectation to communicate and be kind goes out the window. Repeated texts. Ignored calls. Unread emails. I know we have all been there. We get that people get busy and have their own personal lives outside of real estate, but when it starts to directly affect your client’s needs and comfort, it becomes a bigger issue. This is where having an admin or TC is such a benefit. Once under contract or in escrow, a TC can step in and bridge the gap between all pertinent parties and the clients. Being the first line of defense and work to keep all parties sane, informed, and moving towards the common goal. 

No Standardized System

Systems, checklists, processes, tools, procedures, standards – oh my! Sometimes thinking about going it alone can be quite overwhelming. We get it! 

Having a repeatable process and scalable system in place on the back end can help you find comfort and solace in knowing the basics will always be handled and tended to. Creating that process and system can be difficult, but there are so many resources available online and through other friendly real estate agents that you can base your own processes on. 

Trying to Go It Alone

Don’t have the energy to create your own systems and processes? Feeling overwhelmed with keeping track of the contractual deadlines? Constantly having to throw money at a problem at the last minute to ensure a deal closes?

These things could all be irrelevant when you leverage an experienced and trusted real estate partner. Like with the Mirato Co. team, we have experience and knowledge in all things to ensure we provide you a sense of calm, structure, and support when you need it in your business the most. 

If any of these mistakes sound familiar, don’t worry. You’re not failing — you’re just doing too much alone. The right systems and support can turn your transaction process into a well-oiled machine instead of a constant scramble. If you’re ready to create smoother closings and reclaim more of your time, we’d love to be part of that conversation.