So you finally found the perfect house and the sellers have accepted your offer? That is great news and you’re probably pretty excited about it! After all, this is the beginning of something new and wonderful. It doesn’t mean you can just start lugging boxes in though. There are still a few steps you need to perform to not only make sure the house doesn’t have major problems, but to complete the purchase of the house. Keep Reading

SHOW THEM THE MONEY

The first step is to provide something known as “earnest money”, also referred to as a good faith deposit. Basically, this is proof to the seller of the home you do intend on buying the house. There are other people out there who get a kick of time wasting, but thankfully you’re not one of those people. It is common now that once escrow is opened you will get wire instruction a wire you funds within 3 days.

LENDER

With the completed sales document you’ll take it to the mortgage lender in order to begin the loan process. Now, you’ve already received the initial approval for the set amount of money. The faster you do this the sooner the money can be transferred over to the seller of the home. It is a good idea to stay on top of the lender so you can monitor movement of the money. Usually this isn’t an issue, but from time to time a problem can occur or paperwork is misplaced. Staying on top of everything helps make sure you avoid any of these headache issues.

INSPECTIONS

While the people selling the house are probably perfectly nice individuals, you need to perform an inspection to make sure everything is on the up and up with the house. The inspection might find some major issues you need corrected. This can include everything from problems with the HVAC system to sewer line issue, rodents, chimney and others. The inspectors will also look over windows, the roof, the foundation and really every part of the home. They will make recommendations as to what needs to be fixed. Now, the original offer you put in is always “AS IS” however, once you do your inspections and are given a list of items that need to be dealt with you have options. It is common to ask the seller to do repairs or to come down in price because of those items that will cost you now or later. This is a negotiating point and not always one that is easy to get through and sometimes worth falling out of escrow over. Either way, inspections are essential and the most important money you will spend to make sure your offer on the house in worth it and you have a good understanding of the issues that are current and foreseen.

TITLE AND APPRAISAL

The Title Company issues up that nice, shiny piece of paperwork saying the house is yours. It’s pretty exciting, despite just being a piece of paper. They review history of the property and look for any liens that might be current. When it is good to go, the title is processed, which allows you to move onto appraisal. The appraisal will tell the bank that the house you made an offer on is worth it and give them the assurance they need to lend you the money for the property.

WRAP IT UP

All that is left is to obtain is your home owners insurance/warranties, which can be included in your monthly mortgage payment, and then turn on your utilities prior to your closing date. Here comes the part where everything is signed off and the house becomes officially yours! Get out your happy dance and now prep for the big move.