Home Offer Accepted, Now What?

You've finally had your offer accepted on your dream home! Now what? Today on the blog, we will be discussing the typical next steps of the home buying process once an offer has been accepted by the seller! 

Having your offer accepted is an exciting experience and one of the best parts of the home purchasing journey! But, before the deal is official, there are a few additional steps that will lead you to closing day.

1. Earnest Money Deposit- On every real estate transaction, you will be required to put down an earnest money deposit within a short span of time after your offer is accepted. This shows you are a serious buyer and acts a deposit on the property you have had an offer accepted for. The amount is ususally 1% of the sales price but this is negotiable in certain transactions.  

2. Home Inspection- The buyers will typically have approximately 10 days to schedule a home inspection of the home they are in the process of purchasing. This gives the buyers an opportunity to review the home and negotiate any possible repairs needed with the seller. In today's competitive market, we are seeing buyers waive the inspection to help their chances of an offer being accepted. We do always recommend an inpsection occur if possible! 

3. Appraisal- During the above steps, your mortgage lender will also be doing many tasks behind the scenes to get your underwriting process going. One of these is to order an appraisal of the home. An appraisal is a valuation of the property and what it is worth. If for any reason, your home appraises for less than you offered, you will have to negotiate with the seller or pay the appraisal gap. 

4. Mortage Underwriting- If you are using a mortgage lender, as most home buyers do, you will go through a process called underwriting. This process will confirm you are eliglible to purchase the home you have submitted an offer for. You have received a pre-approval at this point but until you have offically been cleared to close, you have not fully been approved by the lender. Your lender will reach out to you over the course of your underwriting to have you provide necessary documents such as paystubs, bank statements, job verifications, etc. All of these documents will be used to verify you meet the necessary requirements. 

5. Final Walkthrough- A final walkthrough of the home will usually occur the day before your closing is scheduled. This gives the buyer one last opportunity to make sure the house is ready for them to purchase and any repairs negotiated during the home inspection have been completed. Many buyers will have their home inspector peform another inspection at this time to confirm this. 

6. Closing Day- The most exciting day in the home buying journey! You will offically walk away as the owners of your new home once all the necessary documents and payments have been made. Your realtor and lenders will help schedule the closing appointment with a settlement company or attorney who will walk you through the legal paperwork required to be handled to close the deal. You'll also be required to have the necessary cash to close amount provided by your lender at this time. 

Once the above steps are completed, you will officially be handed the keys to your new home and beginning your new journey as a homeowner!