Transaction coordinator in Tennessee: RF401 deadlines, licensing and costs

What does a transaction coordinator do on a Tennessee deal?

The Tennessee REALTORS residential purchase contract is RF401, the Purchase and Sale Agreement. The current edition carries "Version 01/01/2026" in its footer. The association's December 2025 changes packet lists RF401 among the forms revised for 2026, along with RF708, a Purchase and Sale Agreement Timeline Checklist built for the same contract.

That checklist is a hint about the job. RF401 is full of short, fixed clocks that start on the Binding Agreement Date, and several of them involve the buyer's lender. A Tennessee coordinator confirms the loan application went in, collects the buyer's 14-day notice, tracks the inspection and resolution windows, and keeps the closing agencies on both sides supplied with what they need.

Does a transaction coordinator need a license in Tennessee?

We found no Tennessee rule written for transaction coordinators. The Department of Commerce and Insurance answers the nearest question in a help article, "Do I need a license to...?", last updated October 19, 2026. It sorts real estate tasks into two lists.

Tasks the Department says need no license include:

• filling out and submitting listings and changes to a multiple listing service
• following up on loan commitments after a contract has been negotiated
• assembling documents for closing
• typing contract forms for approval by the licensee and Principal Broker
• receiving, recording and depositing earnest money under the direct supervision of the Principal Broker.

Tasks that do need a license include discussing or explaining offers and contracts with people outside the firm and negotiating any term of a transaction. The same list includes being paid "any compensation which is dependent upon, or directly related to, a real estate transaction." If you are weighing an unlicensed coordinator who is paid only when a file closes, read that line with your Principal Broker before you sign anything.

Which RF401 deadlines does a Tennessee coordinator track?

Section 17.E defines a day as a calendar day ending at 11:59 p.m. local time. A deadline that lands on a weekend or legal holiday moves to the next business day, except the Closing Date, the Date of Possession, the Completion of Repair Deadline and the Offer Expiration Date. Those four hold even on a Sunday.

Two of the lender clocks carry their own conditions. When the contract depends on an appraisal, §2.B has the buyer order it within five days and give the seller the appraisal company's name and telephone number, with proof of the order. And if the buyer cannot obtain financing by the Closing Date, §2.A lets the buyer terminate by written notice on the Notification form or an equivalent. A coordinator who files every notice on the right form keeps those rights clean.

The Resolution Period in §8.D is the one that catches people out. After the buyer sends a written repair list, the parties have the number of days written in to reach agreement. If they don't, RF401 says the agreement terminates at the end of that period with a refund of earnest money, subject to the exceptions the form lists. Letting that date pass unnoticed can end a deal both sides still wanted. Our deadline calculator handles the counting, and our guide to counting days by contract form compares RF401 with other states' forms.

Who closes a Tennessee home sale, and who holds the earnest money?

RF401 does not require an attorney. It has two separate blanks, one for the buyer's closing agency and one for the seller's, each with contact information. Section 2.D.2 lists among the buyer's costs a "closing fee, document preparation fee and/or attorney's fees". Because each side can name its own closing agency, a coordinator may deal with two closing offices on one file.

Earnest money goes to the Holder named in §3, within the number of days the parties write in. If it isn't delivered on time, the buyer has one day after notice to get it to the Holder in immediately available funds.

Who pays transfer tax in Tennessee?

The buyer. Tennessee's realty transfer tax is 37 cents per $100 of the purchase price, and the statute says the grantee or transferee pays it. RF401 lines up with that: §2.D.2 puts all transfer taxes and recording fees on the deed and deed of trust on the buyer. Financed buyers also pay the mortgage tax of 11.5 cents per $100 of debt, with the first $2,000 exempt.

How are Nashville and Memphis home sales moving?

We could not find a statewide closed-sales figure from Tennessee REALTORS in text form, so the dated numbers here come from two local associations. They measure different things, as the table shows.

Nashville. Greater Nashville REALTORS counts nine counties: Davidson, Cheatham, Dickson, Maury, Robertson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson. September closings were up 0.14% on a year earlier, and the residential median rose to $510,000 from $490,000. Condominiums closed at a $331,780 median. The association's data comes from RealTracs Solutions.

Memphis. The Memphis Area Association of REALTORS builds its monthly report from deeds recorded in Shelby, Fayette and Tipton counties, not from MLS sales. September sales fell 13.7% to 1,257 and the median slipped 2.2% to $225,000. Existing homes made up 1,186 of those sales at a $215,500 median, and new homes the other 71. MAAR also publishes separate monthly reports drawn only from sales in its own MLS, generated around the 15th of each month, so check which series you are quoting before you put a Memphis figure in a listing presentation.

Neither city gets a page of its own. Both work on RF401 and the same state rules, so the local differences fit here. This page does not give market figures for Knoxville or Chattanooga.

What does a transaction coordinator cost in Tennessee?

One TC company that serves Missouri, Arkansas and Tennessee publishes $450 for contract-to-close and $800 when it handles both sides. It charges no coordination fee if the deal doesn't close. That sits inside the national range we found across 21 price cards in October 2026, where one side cost $300 to $550. Our per-file cost calculator compares those prices with hiring.

How do you choose a transaction coordinator in Tennessee?

Settle licensing and pay first, using the Department's two lists. Then ask the coordinator to walk you through an RF401 file. They should know the 3-day loan application and the 14-day notice by heart, explain what happens when the Resolution Period runs out, and know that the buyer pays the transfer tax. Ask whether they use RF708 or their own timeline, and compare it with our checklist template for TCs.

Freelance TC, TC company or DeedSpring: which fits a Tennessee 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.