Under Contract to Close

You’re under contract, congratulations! Now, what do you need to expect from the deal flow, your agent, and lender? What do you need to do once you’ve successfully gotten an offer accepted? There are several moving parts all moving simultaneously once you go under contract. Let’s break down what is happening and when throughout the under-contract phase.

The first main deadline you need to keep on your radar is the due diligence deadline. This means that you have a certain amount of time to perform inspections, gather data and the results, and negotiate any changes to the contract or repairs needed before the deadline expires. As the buyer, you will need to do the following.
1. Go over the Seller’s Disclosures with your agent in order to gain any extra insight into the property’s history.
2. Set up the desired inspections on the house and get results in order to go over with your agent.
3. Strategize with your agent on what is most important in the inspection results and negotiate repairs/concessions if needed.
4. The second deadline to keep on your radar is the finance and appraisal deadline. This typically will be a later date than the due diligence and allows you and your lender to get all the documents needed to the underwriter. During the time period of going under contract to the finance and appraisal deadline, there are a few things the buyer needs to do.
  1. Provide any and all documents the lender asks for in order to get through the underwriting process. This may include but is not limited to: Tax returns, Proof of employment, work history, and extra reported income).
  2. Get the appraisal ordered and completed to ensure the lender will pay the amount needed to purchase the property.
  3. Get out of underwriting successfully with no more conditions required. Receive the clear to close from the lender.
  4. The settlement deadline is the last date that you need to pay close attention to. This date is when you and the seller will close at a title company. You will need to have homeowners insurance set up, be prepared to wire funds for the down payment and be available to close in person on the day of. This does not mean you own the house yet, but it represents the deadline to perform these last tasks to own the property. Once the title companies have balanced their numbers, have had both the buyer and seller sign everything, transfer the funds and record the deed in the buyer’s name, then the buyer is officially the owner of the property.

There are several other factors that go along with buying a home and a good agent should be helping you navigate them, remind you of deadlines, and provide advice on the best route in order to move forward smoothly. Some items that are easily overlooked are:

Keep track of your earnest money investment throughout the contract deadlines.
The investment value of the property being purchased. Is this property a good investment for the length of time the buyer will be owning the property? Is this in a good location? Does the buyer have a good exit strategy from the property?
When to start utilities so there is no interruption in service.
What to tackle first as far as repairs/improvements to the property after purchase.
What is the average cost of utilities per month and how to get those numbers prior to purchasing.

All of these little items are hard to keep track of while you are trying to focus on the main aspects of buying a house. It is so important to have a professional help you purchase a property, as there re multiple pitfalls and problems a buyer will face throughout the process.

We are always happy to help educate you as a buyer so you can make the best decision for you and your family. Coming from contribution is vital when picking attributes in your realtor. There should not ever be anything between yourself and your agent. Your realtor should be up to date with your goals and objectives, and be 100% on your team when buying a home. Let us help you find and accomplish your goals in real estate and prepare you for a better future!