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Home Buyer's Guide:
The To-Do List
Once contract is fully executed, the clock begins to tick as to deadlines.
Financing the Sale
Within 5 business days, you must submit your contract to a lender and begin the loan process. You may have already been pre-qualified or pre-approved for your loan. Now the loan officer will apply the loan to the specific property. The loan officer or loan underwriter may ask you for additional credit information. This is not uncommon. Please provide the requested information to your loan officer or underwriter as quickly as possible. You will be required to provide your loan officer with approximately $50.00 for a credit report and approximately $300.00 for an appraisal.
Earnest Monies
The good faith or earnest money is submitted to the real estate office along with the contract immediately. The good faith/earnest money check will be deposited in the Turf Town Properties Escrow account and held there until one of the following events happen:
1) Closing
Your good faith/earnest money is returned to you at the closing table and may be used toward your down payment or closing costs. The attorney preparing the closing statement will include your good faith/earnest money as a credit to you.
2) Mutual Release
Should you and the seller be unable to complete the sale of the property for a qualified reason, such as the inability of negotiating repair items or your inability to obtain financing, the good faith/earnest money may be released to the buyer, with all parties signing the release.
3) Court Order
Should either the seller or the buyer default on the contract and the parties seek resolutions by a court system, then the good faith/earnest money may be released based upon the court order.
Home Inspections
Within 10 days of contract acceptance, you, the buyer, have the option to have the property inspected. You will need to choose for yourself the inspection company or professional that you will rely upon for your inspection. Once the inspection is completed within the ten day time frame, we will submit a written 10 Day Inspection Report to the seller's agent within 4 days of receipt of your inspection report. Once this 10 Day Inspection Report is given to the seller's agent, the repairs, if any, are negotiated in good faith between the parties within 4 days. Situations may occur at times requiring more time to negotiate such as getting estimates from repairmen. Again, negotiating in good faith is the key to wrapping up inspection items. The sellers may agree to repair all items or some items or none of the items. On occasion, the seller may provide a repair allowance at closing and ask the buyer to make repairs on their own after moving in. Each sale is different. Any item(s) that the seller agrees to repair are to be completed before closing.
Termite Inspections
Most lenders require, and I highly recommend, a termite/wood destroying organism inspection. This inspection must be done before the closing. It is recommended that the home inspection and appraisal be done first and then the termite inspection be done next. There is no specific deadline from contract acceptance to have the termite inspection done but we do not want to wait too late into the process. The pest inspector will provide us with a written report, of which, I will take the original to the closing on your behalf. Based on the contract, if wood destroying organisms are found to be active at the property, then the seller, at their expense, is to treat the infestation by a professional and provide documentation to us that the property has be treated. If there is damage from a previous infestation, then if the repair to the damaged area does not exceed 1% of the sale's price of the property, then the seller is to make the repair at their cost. Should the repair costs be more than 1% of the sale's price of the home, then we will negotiate with the seller to resolve the repair cost issues. Our best hope is that there is no evidence of any active termite or wood destroying organism infestation.
Appraisal
The lender will contact an appraiser to appraise the property. The appraiser will view the property usually within two weeks of your loan application. The results of the appraisal will be given to your lender. Should the property not appraise for the agreed to purchase price, then, depending on your loan or contract, the price will be renegotiated or you will be released from the contract and continue to look for another home.
Insurance
You will need to speak with your insurance agent regarding homeowner's insurance or begin to shop for homeowner's insurance. The homeowner's insurance may be obtained from a company of your choice. The insurance agent will need to visit the property and take photographs of the home. They will issue you a homeowner's policy to be effective the date of the closing. Once you have chosen an insurance company, you will need to remind them of your closing date a week before the closing so they may finish any remaining work. They will need to provide proof of insurance either to the closing attorney, your lender or directly to you and you bring it to the closing. You will be required to purchase one year's insurance in advance. The lender will usually escrow additional months of insurance at the closing. You may pay for your year's insurance directly to your insurance company or obtain an invoice from your insurance company, we will need to inform the closing attorney of the amount of the invoice and they will collect the amount at closing and pay that invoice for you.
Utilities
Water, sewer, electric, gas, cable, telephone, etc. The appropriate utility company will need to be contacted approximately one week prior to closing. Some utility companies may require a deposit. You will need to ask each individual company their policy. Utilities should be transferred into your name effective the closing date. The Sellers are requested to leave the utilities on in their name until the day of closing to allow utilities for inspections and walkthrough. The goal is to have the utilities transferred and not be turned off and have to be turned back on. The telephone company is usually the only company that will not turn the telephone on in your name until the Seller first calls and requests that their telephone be turned off from their name. All other utility companies usually transfer the utilities into the Buyer's name with only a telephone call from the Buyer.
Final Walk-Through
The final walk-through is done within 24 to 48 hours prior to closing. This final walk-through is to verify that the items, if any, on the 10-day inspection report have be completed and that the property is in as good a condition as it was at contract acceptance. It is not a time of discovery or to bring up new items of repair.
Moving
Based upon your contract, your possession date is determined at the time of contract negotiations. If you are to obtain possession "with deed at closing", you will not get the keys to your new home until you have signed all closing documents. The keys will be given to you at the closing. You will need to coordinate your movers with the closing date and time in mind.
Closing Day!!!
Hurray!! Happy Day!! You will need to bring with you the following items to the closing: checkbook (with more than one check, just in case of an error), proof of insurance if not already provided to the closing attorney, any additional information that your lender's underwriter has requested at the last minute; and finally, the strength to sign what seems to be a million documents. (Note: Some attorneys require you show your driver's license, so bring your license with you.)
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