Transaction coordinator in Washington, DC: GCAAR dates, DC taxes and what TCs charge

What does a transaction coordinator do on a DC home sale?

In the District, the coordinator's work starts when the GCAAR Sales Contract is ratified. That is form 1301 from the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS, and the current edition carries a February 2026 date. GCAAR revises its forms library at least three times a year, in February, July and October, so a DC coordinator checks the footer on every file before trusting a paragraph number.

From ratification the job is to turn the contract and its addenda into a calendar, then keep each party on it. That means getting the deposit to the escrow agent, making sure the buyer contacts the settlement agent and orders title, confirming the loan application went in, collecting the seller's disclosure and, for a condo, the resale package. Near the end it means booking the walk-through and making sure the settlement statement pays the brokers what their agreements say. The coordinator keeps the paper trail. The agent keeps the negotiating.

This page covers deals on property inside the District. Washington is also a metro area that runs well into Maryland and Virginia, and a home in Bethesda, Silver Spring, Arlington or Fairfax follows the law of the state it sits in. Those suburban deals are covered on the Maryland and Virginia pages, with a short section below on where they part ways with DC.

Does a transaction coordinator need a license in DC?

The DC Real Estate Commission publishes no guidance written for transaction coordinators. What it does have is a general licensing rule and a narrow exemption. Anyone regularly doing licensed real estate work in the District needs a license unless the chapter or the Act exempts them.

The exemption that matters for a coordinator is in 17 DCMR §2624.3(e). It covers a person employed by a licensed broker or property manager "in a solely stenographic or clerical capacity" who does not perform, offer or attempt any licensed activity. Someone relying on it may not hold themselves out as a broker or salesperson. The supervision rules also expect a brokerage to have written policies on the "use and limitations of unlicensed personal assistants", and on reviewing contracts once all parties have signed.

In plain terms, an unlicensed DC coordinator should stay on the clerical side and work under a broker who supervises them. Anything that looks like advising a client, negotiating a term or representing a party belongs with a licensee. If your coordinator holds a DC license, ask which broker holds it.

Which GCAAR contract dates does a DC coordinator track?

The GCAAR contract defines its own clock in paragraph 28. Days are calendar days unless the contract says otherwise, and Business Days are Monday to Friday excluding federal holidays. Counting starts the day after Delivery, and a period ends at 6 p.m. on its last day. Review periods for an HOA, condo or co-op resale package are the exception: they run to 11:59:59 p.m.

Two details catch out agents who learned on other forms. The deposit deadline has a cure: after it passes, the buyer can still deliver the money and keep the contract alive, but only until the seller delivers a notice to void. The coordinator's job is to make sure the money moves before anyone has to test that window. And if the settlement date falls on a weekend or legal holiday, settlement moves to the business day before, not after. The deadline calculator handles calendar-day counting, and our piece on how each form counts days sets the GCAAR rules beside other contracts.

Who runs settlement in DC, and who holds the deposit?

Under paragraph 6 the buyer chooses the settlement agent, and the buyer has 10 days to make contact and place the title order. Paragraph 4 names whoever holds the deposit as the Escrow Agent, so the coordinator confirms that name and their wiring instructions directly before any money moves.

The settlement agent then carries a lot of the file. Paragraph 15 has title ordered through the settlement process, and if title isn't in the condition the contract requires by the settlement date, that date extends automatically by 30 days while the seller fixes it. Paragraph 18 instructs the settlement agent to pay listing and buyer broker compensation at settlement, as set out in each side's representation agreement. A coordinator who checks the draft settlement statement against those agreements catches commission errors while they are still easy to fix.

What does DC charge in recordation and transfer tax?

The District charges two taxes when a deed records, and the Office of Tax and Revenue sets the same residential rates for both. Each is 1.1% of the consideration or fair market value when the transfer is under $400,000. At $400,000 or more, each is 1.45% of the entire amount, not just the part above the line.

That cliff is easy to see with numbers. A $399,000 sale owes $4,389 in each tax. At $400,000, each tax becomes $5,800, so one thousand dollars more in price adds $1,411 to each of them. When a price lands near the threshold, the coordinator flags it to the agent before the settlement agent prepares the figures.

A qualified first-time homebuyer can use a lower recordation tax rate of 0.725% on the FP-7/C return, with form ROD 11 attached. The contract leaves who pays what to the DC jurisdictional addendum, so the coordinator reads that addendum and makes sure the first-time buyer paperwork reaches the settlement agent early.

Which DC rules change the calendar?

Seller disclosure. Under DC Code §42-1302, the seller delivers the property disclosure statement before or at the time the buyer signs the purchase agreement. If it arrives later, the buyer may terminate by written notice within 5 calendar days of receiving it and gets the deposit back. That right ends early in some cases, including at settlement or occupancy, or when the buyer applies for a loan with the lender's written warning that applying ends the right. A late disclosure therefore opens a short window the coordinator has to calendar the day it lands.

Condo resale package. For a condominium resale, §42-1904.11 requires the seller to get the condo instruments and a certificate from the association and furnish them by the 10th business day after the buyer signs. Until they arrive, the buyer can cancel in writing. Once the buyer receives them, on time or not, the buyer has 3 business days to cancel and receives the deposit back without deduction. Ordering the package on the day of ratification is the simplest way to keep that clock short.

Tenant rights. DC's Tenant Opportunity to Purchase Act gives tenants rights when a rented property is sold. Since July 3, 2018, single-family homes have been exempt unless an elderly or disabled tenant qualifies under the transition rules, and DHCD says the exemption also reaches a single-family home with an accessory dwelling unit and a single rental unit in a condo, co-op or HOA. The owner of an exempt unit must still notify the tenants within three calendar days of receiving an offer of sale. When the seller has a tenant, ask the listing agent for proof of that notice early.

How do DC deals differ from the Maryland and Virginia suburbs?

The GCAAR form already straddles a border. Its paragraph 2 attaches a jurisdictional addendum for either the District or Montgomery County, Maryland, and GCAAR's forms library covers both places. So a coordinator in Bethesda may see the same base contract as one on Capitol Hill, with a different addendum and Maryland law underneath it. The contract itself flags one difference: in Maryland, a deposit held by a broker must reach the escrow agent within 3 days of ratification.

Prince George's County and the rest of suburban Maryland follow Maryland statutes on disclosure, deposits and transfer taxes. Arlington, Fairfax and the rest of Northern Virginia follow Virginia law and Virginia's forms. None of the DC tax rates, the DC condo package rule or TOPA apply across the line. A coordinator working the whole metro keeps three rulebooks, and the Maryland and Virginia pages set out the other two.

Which associations and MLS will a DC coordinator work with?

Two REALTOR associations cover the District. The District of Columbia Association of REALTORS is recognized by NAR as a state-level association, represents more than 3,300 REALTORS in DC and handles public policy for the District. GCAAR is the local association for DC and Montgomery County, with nearly 10,000 members, and it is the one that writes the contract forms. A DC agent joins both to be a NAR member.

Listings run through Bright MLS. Its member associations number 42, drawn from parts of six states and the District, and both DCAR and GCAAR are on the list. Bright's service area also takes in Maryland and Virginia, so one MLS spans the whole metro even where the contracts and the law change.

How busy is the Washington market?

Bright MLS counted 3,565 closed sales across the Washington metro in September 2026, down 8.4% from a year earlier and the lowest September total in nearly 20 years. The median sold price was $610,000, up 1.6%, and median days on market came to 22. Inside the District, homes sat longer than in any other jurisdiction in the report.

For the year to September, the metro logged 37,508 sales at a $640,000 median. The full September report breaks out each county and the District.

What does a transaction coordinator cost in DC?

A flat fee per file is the usual model. One TC company that works with brokerages in Virginia, Maryland and DC lists $500 for contract to close and $225 for listing coordination. Nationally, the 21 published price cards we reviewed in October 2026 put a single side between $300 and $550, and most of those firms charge nothing for a file that never settles. Keeping the work in house means a salary instead, and the fee per file calculator shows where the two cross at your volume.

How do you hire a transaction coordinator in DC?

Ask first whether the coordinator holds a DC license, and if not, how they keep to clerical work under your broker's supervision. Then ask what they do on day one of a GCAAR file. A coordinator who knows the District will mention the 6 p.m. cutoff, the 10-day call to the settlement agent and ordering the condo package straight away.

• Do they also work Maryland and Virginia files, and do they know which addendum applies?
• Who on their side reads the settlement statement against your compensation agreement?
• Do they charge for a file that falls apart before settlement?
• How and how often do they report status to you?

Our transaction coordinator checklist gives you a list to hold their answers against.

Freelance TC, TC company or DeedSpring: which fits a Washington, DC agent?

The table sets the usual options side by side. A good freelance TC is worth every dollar on a messy file. What most agents are really paying for, though, is someone who never misses a date and always chases the lender. Software does that on every file at once.

To see what the gap means across a year of files, put your numbers into the TC fee per file calculator.

Compare plans on the DeedSpring pricing page.