How selling your home works

My home has officially gone off the market! A few weeks ago my home went onto the market and as soon as it went on shortly after it came off with an accepted offer. My wife and I could not be more thrilled but now what? Let me tell you the next steps well take to make it to closing.

First the buyers had a home inspection contingency which was a 10 day time frame. They come through with their chosen home inspector and scour the home to see if anything pops up that they didn’t expect. The prospective buyers check the mechanics of the home and the structural integrity to make sure what they think they are buying is in good “health”. Luckily for us the inspection went great and we are on to the next step. If for some reason something came up in the report that was reason for concern this is where the buyers could negotiate the items be fixed or a reduction in price could be made.

Now on to the purchase and sale. I reached out to my attorney updating her on the good news that the offer was made, accepted and the inspection went well and we are in need of a purchase and sale agreement. At this point the transaction is taken to the next level and becomes more of a binding contract. Both party’s buyer and seller review the purchase and sale and agree on the terms of the sale and sign. A deposit is given over as collateral in case the contract is broken but is then applied to the buyer’s down payment at closing.

As time passes the buyer’s lender will conduct an appraisal to make sure the homes purchase price matches the value indicated by the bank. In the case of a mortgage the lending institution needs to verify the amount they are lending the buyer can be justified in the purchase. In the case of default the bank would want to be able to recover the money the buyer walked away from. If all goes well the buyers closing attorney will do a title search to make sure the property is being sold free and clean of liens and other problems that lie with the land.

If we have made it this far the light can be seen at the end of the tunnel because the closing is in sight. The date is set with a time and place and all the parties are notified and let’s hope you’re packed. One last final walk through just before closing is what takes the whole process full circle. The new buyers make sure what they saw almost 30 days ago is still what they thought it was with no damage and ready to become their new home.

The closing table is all that’s left with both parties sitting and signing away the home. It is a simple process with a lot of steps. As long as you can hit all the dates there is no reason you shouldn’t close on time and not lose your hair in the process.