You Have An Accepted Offer...

Congratulations, you are on your way to owning your very own home!  Follow these suggestions (and your realtor's advice) so that the pending offer will go as smooth as possible.

You will be asked for a down payment on the home you are purchasing.  You can choose to put down as much or as little as you want (depending on your mortgage), but remember, the more you put down toward the total price of your home, the less time it will take you to pay off and the less your mortgage payments will be every month.  

The deposit check will be cashed.  Assuming the sale goes through, this money will be applied to the purchase price of the home.  If for any reason the sale is not consummated, you will be entitled to receive all of your deposit back.

The period that you are "pending is often 7 to 10 days, but may be longer or shorter.  During this time, each condition specified in the contract must be completed satisfactorily.  By the time you have a pending contract, you have come to an agreement with the seller on the closing date and the contingencies.  Each contract is different, but most include the following: 

• Inspection contingency: this should be completed as soon as possible after the contract to purchase is signed as unsatisfactory results of the inspection may mean that you will want to cancel the contract.
• Financing contingency: once the contract is signed, you have a period of time to secure funding.  If for any reason you are unable to secure funding during the period of time granted to you by the contract (and the seller will not provide a written extension of time), you must decide whether you want to remove the contingency and take your chances on getting a loan. You may choose to cancel the purchase contract.
• Other conditions: such as the sale of a buyers home.

After conditions are removed, documents are sent to your lawyer.

The attorney will review the title report.  The title must be "clear" to ensure that you do not have legal issues regarding your ownership.

Here is a link to one of my favorite attorneys for your Real Estate transaction, Chau Nguyen:

Secure homeowner's insurance.  This will probably be required before you can close the sale.  It would be in your best interest to apply for insurance as soon as possible after the contract is signed.  It is not uncommon for the insurance company to inquire about the condition and materials within the home to activate the insurance policy.

Contact local utility companies to schedule to have service turned on when you take possession.

Schedule a final walk-through.  At this time, you should make sure that the property is exactly as the contract says it should be.  What you thought to be a "permanently attached" chandelier that would come with the property might have been removed by the seller and replaced with a different fixture entirely. 

You've Made It!!!

Once the sale has closed, you're the proud owner of a new home.  Congratulations!