Hooray! Your offer has been accepted. Now, what can you expect?
It is time to start the Under Contract process, which can take anywhere from 30, 45, to 60 days depending on the home and the proposed terms in the contract. Your transaction coordinator and lender will help keep you organized and afloat with your deadlines as they approach.
TITLE COMMITMENT
Within one week of going Under Contract, you will receive a document called the Title Commitment. This will be sent from the title company showing chain of title for the home you are under contract on.
Title insurance begins with a search of public land records for matters affecting the title. Over the years, a home goes through several ownership changes. Title searches help uncover any errors before the property once again changes hands. Common Title Defects can include Fraud & Forgery, Liens for Unpaid Taxes, Outstanding Mortgages. Title insurers can help fix errors through remediation or title clearing. Your title policy is an important document that should be kept in a safe place in case any issues arise at a later time.
INSPECTION
One of the most crucial steps in buying a home is performing an inspection. Graham Group will recommend an inspector to do a full inspection of the home you are purchasing about one week into going under contract. It is recommended that you attend the inspection or at least a portion of it, should any questions arise along the way. The inspection could last anywhere from 1-5 hours, depending on the size of the home, the inspector, & how many inspections you are requesting.
After the inspection, you will be sent a detailed report of any findings. At this time, you can determine if you would like items to be fixed, repaired, or replaced on the Inspection Objection. Remember, inspection items should be left to things that affect health and safety. Asking to have the house painted blue is not an inspection item! *If there are many items found in the inspection that make you uncomfortable, you have the option to terminate the contract.
APPRAISAL
An appraisal will be required by the lender if you are obtaining a loan to purchase the home. The appraisal is to determine at which amount the bank will provide a loan, as they will only loan out for the actual value of the home. It is the listing agent’s responsibility to meet the appraiser at the home to show where they came up with the listing price. This can be explained by providing a list of comparable properties that sold of a similar amount, a list of showings & offers that were received, a list of recent upgrades or modifications, etc. The appraisal could come in low, high, or at value. We will guide you through the process if the appraisal comes in low.
LOAN MONITORING
By the loan termination deadline date, the loan needs to be satisfactory in the buyer’s subjective discretion. Specifically, “contract is conditional upon buyer determining, in buyer’s subjective discretion, that the availability, terms, conditions, and cost of such new loan are satisfactory to buyer.” By that date, if the buyer does not approve of the loan, they must deliver “written notice to seller to terminate the contract.”