You have found a home you want to buy – now what happens? 

You have done your homework, toured homes that you like, and you have found a home you want to buy. Now what?

Making an Offer

• Congratulations! You have found THE ONE! First, we will discuss with you how much to offer by evaluating what has sold recently in the area and advise you on the appropriate offer amount. Thereby ensuring that you aren’t paying too much.
• Next, we draft the Contract To Buy. This document is long and it can be tempting to look at just the price and sign it. Don’t! Take the time to read it over and make certain you understand what you are signing. Ask questions and you always have the option to consult an attorney. This is a legally binding document that contains everything from the purchase price, any items included in the sale such as refrigerator, stove, etc., deadlines for when things need to be completed by such as the inspection or appraisal, who pays for what, to the closing date. You need to be sure you understand the contents.
• Once the offer is submitted, the seller can accept it, reject it, or offer a counterproposal. We will negotiate the terms for you with the seller’s agent until all parties are in agreement. You may have to compromise on some aspects of the contract, usually purchase price or closing dates, but we will work hard to get what you want.
• Once your offer is accepted – your earnest money is due usually within 2 business days.

Inspections

• After your offer has been accepted, you will need to contact an Inspector and schedule the inspection, ensuring that it happens within the deadlines of the contract.  We always recommend that our buyers perform a thorough inspection of the property.  This can include the general home inspection, a sewer line scope, and radon level measurement. Depending on the age of the home, the inspector may recommend further examination if an issue is found. If you have someone in mind – great! If not, we can give you some suggestions of professionals that we have worked with in the past. Click here for a guide to the inspection process.

Due Diligence Documents

• This is a fancy term for documents related to the home that you need to review. For example, the Seller’s Property Disclosure. This document details any issues that the sellers have had during their time of owning the home.
• If you are purchasing a home that has an HOA, there will be documents provided to you by the seller that details the rules and regulations of the community. Read these carefully as once you purchase the home, you are obligated to follow them.

Appraisal

• Once the inspection is done and we have successfully negotiated any issues found, your lender will order an appraisal for the property.  An appraisal is required to make sure that the value of the home today is at or above the amount that the lender is loaning you to purchase it.
• There are some instances when there is an issue with an appraisal. In the event an appraisal does not come in at the contract price, we will that we will negotiate a resolution that is agreeable to both you and the seller.

Insurance

• Contact your insurance agent to get a quote for insurance on your new home. If you are purchasing a condo or townhome with an HOA – sometimes the HOA covers the insurance for the exterior and the roof as part of the monthly dues. Your insurance agent can tell you what you would need if this were the case. Yes – there is a deadline for this too! We will help keep you on track and make sure that we are meeting the terms of the contract. 

Loan information

• During this process, your lender may reach out to you for additional information needed by them to process the loan. If this happens – SEND THEM WHAT THEY NEED. We cannot emphasize this enough. If they don’t have what they need to keep the process moving, it can delay closing. DON’T WAIT!

Get ready to move

• Start packing and get ready for closing. As the date of closing gets closer, your lender will let you know how much money you will need to satisfy the requirements of the lender – called “Cash at Closing”. These funds in most cases will need to be wired to the Title Company processing the paperwork for the closing. Contact the closing company DIRECTLY for wiring instructions. NEVER wire funds from instructions in an email.

Getting keys

• Closing day! This is the day when you will sign all of the documents required by the title company and the lender to complete the purchase of your new home and generally takes 1-2 hours.