Wondering what to do once you have an offer accepted? Getting through buying or selling a home without making a mistake or losing your mind is trickypleting your loan pre-approval, finding the right place, and structuring a competitive offer requires a lot of time and energy.
Once you have a signed sales contract, it may feel as though your work stops there. Unfortunately, this is not the case. An accepted offer is only the beginning of the process. There’s more work to do to get your transaction closed.
The most common question our clients ask after their offer gets accepted is, “What happens next?”. This checklist helps people stay on track once theyre under contract on a home. It ensures that they are adequately prepared to close the transaction without any unnecessary drama.
Heres a quick list of the topics and content covered in the post:
If one of these steps gets overlooked, it may delay a closing; or possibly sabotage an entire home purchase. Real estate agents work hard to help their clients stay on track for each item mentioned below. Use this checklist to stay informed and ensure that they stay on track to avoid delays.
EARNEST MONEY
Earnest money is the buyers proof that they “earnestly” want to purchase the home. This step is involved at the beginning of the transaction. It’s designed to protect the seller’s interests as they take their house off the market.
In Colorado, the earnest money deposit is typically around one percent of the purchase price. There are no standard set amounts for earnest money deposits. This fee will vary between different markets.
Some Realtors will collect earnest money before they submit an offer. Others will coordinate the earnest money drop-off after they receive a signed contract. Whatever your scenario, make sure that the earnest money is delivered on time and in the proper payment form. This information is typically agreed upon and documented in your sales contract.
PROPERTY INSPECTIONS
Once you have an executed sales contract in hand, the clock starts on the inspection period. Its time to hire a home inspector. Make sure you complete the inspections on time.
Be aware that multiple types of inspectors may be required, depending on the type of home youre buying. A standard home inspection is the most common type of inspection for real estate. Other types of inspections include radon, pest, septic, sewer, structural, HVAC, meth, and mold inspections.
Discuss all of your inspection options with your real estate agent. Make sure that you have resolved any inspection issues within the time agreed upon in your sales contract.
LENDER DOCUMENTS
As soon a homebuyer has an executed sales contract on a home, they need to communicate with their mortgage lender. This step will ensure that the lender has all of the docs to get started on the loan. As soon as a lender receives a sales contract, they start the mortgage process for the transaction.
Once the mortgage process initiates, the lender will start asking for a myriad of paperwork from the homebuyer. Be prepared to provide plenty of documentation throughout the transaction.
Make sure that you get the requested documentation to them ASAP to limit any problems with their timeline. Gathering and organizing all of these documents can quickly become overwhelming. Not providing documents to your lender on time can slow their process down and delay your closing.
Some lenders are not as thorough with regards to keeping everyone updated on the loan process. Make sure that you are checking in with the lender to verify that they are on track. Your payday loans Illinois Realtor should help you with this, as well.
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