The past two blog articles we covered the beginning steps to becoming a home buyer and we are going to finish up with the last remaining steps! If you missed our past blogs, click HERE to read them! Now let’s dive right in.
In the previous blogs we’ve talked about getting your financial strategy in place, hiring a realtor, going out and looking at homes, writing a killer offer, and ultimately landing under contract. There are a few more things that have to happen before you get the keys to your house.
Due Diligence Period
Right after you go under contract you are going to get a ton of emails and deadlines. You’ll need to deliver what is called an Earnest Money Check, which is basically your deposit on the house. You’ll have inspections done, get an insurance quote, you’ll find out what the neighborhood is like, and a bunch of other stuff. The Due Diligence period is also a time where buyers and sellers will renegotiate some of the terms and settle on terms that both parties are satisfied with. Once the terms are settled you can then move on the the next, and final, step!
Getting an Appraisal
This step has to do with your lender. This is when an independent third party appraiser hired by the lender is going to go out to the house and justify the sale price. So let’s say you’re under contract for a home that is $300,000 your appraiser is going to canvas the neighborhood and jot down the most recent sales that are similar to the house that you’ve purchased, and they are going to make their best attempt to say that $300,000 is an appropriate price. If their appraisal comes in over $300,000 that’s great and you lucked out, if it comes in below then you as the buyer have a chance to renegotiate the sale price. Does not always work but it can, and this does not apply to cash buyers. The very last thing is getting your final loan approval from your lender and getting your loan officially underwritten and funded. Once that is all done you will end up at the closing table and get the keys to your new home!
If you’re considering buying a home and are in need of a realtor, please contact us!
