My offer has been accepted, now what?

 

Days 1-10

There needs to be some cash involved in the beginning of a transaction to protect the sellers’ interests while they take their house off the market. Earnest money is your proof as a buyer that you “earnestly” want to purchase their home. We have only a few days to get this check deposited into our escrow account, so we need to collect this from you ASAP. If you decide not to move forward with purchasing the property within the 10-day property inspection window this money will be refunded to you. If you move forward with the purchase, the earnest money will be credited back to you on closing day when you officially buy the home.
Once you have an executed sales contract in hand, the clock starts on your 10-day inspection period. Day 0 is the day the seller accepted your offer (via signature), or when you as the buyer accepted the seller’s counteroffer (via signature). Day 1 is the following day, and the inspection window expires at the end of the 10th day (at midnight). There are multiple types of inspectors that you may want to schedule. A standard home inspector is the most common, but radon, pest, septic, structural, HVAC, and mold inspections may also be relevant to your buying situation. We need to make sure that you have resolved any inspection issues within the time allowed in your sales contract. We will be happy to recommend home inspection professionals we trust. See our trusted professionals here: http://616homes.com/people-we-trust/
You will need to communicate with your mortgage lender so that they can start the mortgage process. Be prepared to provide lots of documentation throughout this transaction. Make sure that you get the requested documentation to them ASAP to limit any problems with their timeline. Make sure that you are checking in with them to verify that they are on track. If a lender does not complete the loan process in a timely manner, it can cause you to be in breach of contract by not closing on time. If you stall on any requested lender docs, you can be sure that the finger will be pointed at you if they are not ready. Make sure that you are not put in this situation by promptly providing any documentation to your mortgage lender in a timely manner.

 

Days 11-20

This step is handled by the Title Company, and we will get the ball rolling on this. They will conduct a title search and will issue a title commitment that reviews the title history of the property and discloses any liens against the property that need to be resolved before closing. Be sure to review your title commitment and ask an attorney for advice if you see anything in it that looks concerning. Most title commitments are straight forward and require no additional work on your part. Just be sure to review it thoroughly before moving on to the next step.
Once you have cleared the Inspection process, we will make sure to let your lender know, and it would be a good idea for you to do so too. They will then order a home appraisal to verify that the value of the home your purchasing is worth the loan amount that you are asking for according to their standards. It’s likely that you will be paying for the appraisal, so it’s best to wait until after you have completed the inspection process.
Your lender will require you to have a Home Owner’s Insurance Policy on the property that you are purchasing. We have a great insurance professional we highly recommend ( ). Once you have the policy in place, let us, you lender and your title company know.

 

The Final 10 Days

Now that you are past all the major steps required to purchase your home, you will want to get your utilities turned on, scheduled to be turned on, or transferred into your name. We will help you find all the contact information you need for the electric company, gas company, cable company, etc.. Final Walkthrough It is wise to do a final walkthrough with the last few days prior to closing. If you choose to do this, we will get in contact with the sellers to find a time that works for everyone’s schedule. The purpose is to verify that any repairs have been completed, that all the seller’s personal belongings have been moved out, and/or to make sure that the home is ready to move into. This is not a time to renegotiate any items on the sales contract. It’s simply a safeguard to make sure that no major issues have arisen that could cause the closing to be cancelled (which would likely be followed by legal proceedings to mitigate the issues).
Your sales contract will have an agreed upon closing date. We will be in contact with the title company in advance to make sure they have a time slot open that is convenient for your schedule. This is usually an easy step - just make sure that it doesn’t get put off until the last minute so that the title company can accommodate your request.
One the day of closing, you will need to have your driver’s license (or other approved photo ID) and certified funds (cashier’s check or wire transfer) for any monetary amount required from you at closing. You will meet at the title company to sign all the required documentation. A typical closing usually takes less than an hour. Once the documentation has been signed and your lender has funded the transaction, you will be given the keys and the house it yours (unless extra possession was granted to sellers, at which time you will get the keys at that later date).