So you've found your future dream home and your offer has been accepted. HGTV has done wonders in familiarizing folks with the home showing process, but everything in-between the home showing and closing remains a mystery to most buyers, especially young ones.
Here is a basic roadmap of what to expect from contract to close:
Obviously, this might be subject to change based off the offer you submit but it's safe to say this is a pretty standard outline to expect.
The Earnest Money is basically the security deposit and is your skin in the game. Usually due at the time of the offer or within a few days of getting your offer accepted. This is something that you can decide in your offer so if you are from out of town or know that you cannot drop off the earnest money check at the time of the offer then you should make your agent aware and discuss with them a desirable timeframe to submit the earnest money when putting together your offer.
Due Diligence, also known as the inspection period, is the first specific amount of days in the contract when you want to really decide if you are going to move forward with the property. This is when you would get all of your inspections done. We like to allow our clients enough time to not only get a general home inspection but also enough time to get any follow up inspections done before the due diligence is up. This is also something that is negotiable in the offer and should be discussed with your agent when working up your offer. Let's say you couldn't come to an agreement on repairs with the seller or you just got cold feet, well in Georgia, if you were to back out during the due diligence period, then you would not lose your earnest money.
Financing Contingency is the time period in which you should be approved or denied for the mortgage. If you were to be denied the loan within this time frame, then you would be protected from losing your earnest money. This is open to negotiation in your offer so it is a good idea to have a conversation with your lender to figure out what timelines they can meet. Once you speak to your lender then make sure you let your agent know your preferred contigency timeframes to put in the offer.
Appraisal Contingency is the time period in which your mortgage lender get's the home appraised. They want to make sure they aren't giving out a loan on an overpriced home. If the home doesn't appraise and the seller isn't willing to renegoatiate, and you are still within the appraisal contingency timeframe, then you may back out of the deal and retain your earnest money. This contigency is also up for negotiation, we recommend doing the same as the above, financing contigency, when deciding which is right for you.
Final Touches, this is the holding period prior to closing where you want to put the final touches on the deal like getting your home insurance finalized, scheduling your final walkthrough, and wiring the funds for closing.
CLOSING! The best part of the process. Almost a ceremonial as all you must do are sign the papers and receive the keys to your new home :)
If you have more in depth questions or are looking for an experienced Real Estate Team to take you from contract to close, contact us and Juniper Real Estate Team would be more than happy to help.