The Truth About Buying a Home

So, you’ve been looking at properties and writing purchase offers for a while now. And, finally you have an accepted purchase offer on the property. What does that mean? What happens next? Here’s what you need to know about buying a home.

In simple terms, an accepted purchase offer means that you are “in escrow” on the purchase of a property. Congratulations! Now, the fun begins.

BUYING A HOME IN CALIFORNIA

When you learn that you have an accepted purchase offer, this means that it is time to do a number of things:

1. Your earnest money deposit will be sent to the escrow company. The check you gave your Realtor® will be provided to the escrow company, or you will be asked to wire your initial deposit to the escrow company. Your Realtor® or escrow officer will provide you with wiring instructions.
2. You will begin your due diligence activities on the property. This includes any inspections that you wish to undertake. Your Realtor® may be able to provide you with a list of local inspectors—home inspectors, roof inspectors, and pest control specialists among others. Now is the time that you should learn everything that you can about your future home. After all, you’d rather learn about such things as a leaky roof before closing and not afterwards.
3. You will receive disclosures from the seller. Disclosures are documents whereby the seller discloses all known material facts about the property. It is the seller’s responsibility to let you know about any material facts that may impact your interest in purchasing the property. You should read these documents in order to make a more informed decision about your home purchase.
4. Your lender (if you are using a lender) will complete the processing of your loan application. This may include collecting additional qualifying documentation from you, and also the ordering of an appraisal of the property.
5. The title company will conduct a title search. The title search and other research conducted by the title company will assure that you are purchasing a home with a clean title. Additionally, you will likely obtain title insurance on your property. Title insurance protects the buyer and the buyer’s lender from any old mortgages and liens that may appear after the property is sold.

Lots of things happen in the first 2 weeks after your purchase offer is accepted when you are buying a home. Don’t think that the looking was the busy part of the process. In fact, between the items on this list and your packing, you will probably be pretty busy prior to your move!

So are you thinking of buying a home? Call our agents at Broadpoint Properties for your questions. We are happy to assist you.