Offer Accepted

After an offer is accepted the next step is to have a Home Inspection done.  The home inspector will check the home and property for any current issues or anything else that may be of concern.  Depending on what comes back on the home inspection we will decide to move forward with the contract, ask for repairs or cancel the offer.

Once the home inspection is done, you and your mortgage person will begin exploring your financing in more detail.  At this point a decision will be made on which program best fits the home and your situation. This will also be the time you will start gathering and providing her the necessary documentation to complete your mortgage application.  It’s also critical during your home search and buying process to NOT buy a new car, get new credit cards, charge up your current cards or quit your job!

Getting Your Loan Approved

Ordering an appraisal on your home is one of the first things that will need to be done in order for your loan to move forward.  The bank will order the appraisal and the cost of it will be included in your closing fees.  The appraiser will determine the value of the home, based off similar homes that have sold.  The home must appraise for the purchase price.  If the home’s value is determined by the appraiser to be less than the current purchase price the price will have to be re-negotiated or the buyer will have to pay the difference.

Once the appraisal has been done, the next step will be a title order.  A title search is a search of the public records to make sure the buyer can sell the home free and clear to you.

After the appraisal and title the next step will be having the loan submitted to an underwriter in the bank to review.  They will check all the documentation provided and make sure it conforms to the guidelines of the loan/program you and your loan officer have chosen for your financing.  Sometimes underwriters call back asking for you to provide additional documentation or to clarify certain items on your application. Just know that this is a normal part of the process.  Once underwriting has everything they need they will issue what is called a Clear To Close.  This means that full approval has been met and you can close on your new home.

 

Closing

Once there is a clear to close the bank puts together a package and sends it to the Closing Attorney.  The attorney receives the package and the closing is scheduled usually within 1-2 days.  At the closing you will be signing the paperwork to purchase your home and usually you receive the keys from the seller at this time.