Your Home Offer Has Been Accepted! Now What? Closing Period Explained…
Cheers!!! You just put an offer down on a home, and it was accepted! This is HUGE and cause for celebration. But hold on one second...
The home-buying process isn’t over just yet. There are a couple steps left before the keys are placed in your hand. Keep reading to find out what’s next:
INSPECTION
The first order of business is scheduling an inspection. You should do this immediately after your offer is accepted.
The timeline to have your inspection done, review the report and possibly negotiate further with the seller, depends on how long your option period is. Your option period buys you time to get inspections done and negotiate any final terms or repairs with the seller.
How many days is your option period? In Austin’s hot market, many buyers are choosing a shorter option period of 3-5 days, depending on how many other buyers they are competing against for that particular home. Shorter option periods are enticing to sellers because it shows that the buyer is serious about wanting their property. If a buyer had, let’s say, an 11 day option period, they could be considering other homes.
Technically a buyer can break the contract within their option period and they would get back their earnest money and only lose the option money. In the case below, the buyer would only lose $200. Your Realtor will help you with all of this and will assist in finding a thorough and time-efficient inspector.
Inspections can last anywhere from 2-4 hours, and we urge all homebuyers to go and stay until the end of it so they can review the report with their inspector. It’s definitely in your best interest! A great Realtor will accompany you to the inspection, not only in support, but to also better understand the report themselves. This way they can more accurately negotiate with the seller.
NOTIFY YOUR LENDER
Soon after you go under contract, you will need to contact your lender. In your sales contract there is another date to watch out for besides your option period. Pay attention to how many days your financing contingency is. Financing contingency means your offer is contingent on being able to secure financing for the property. If your agent wrote in 12 days, you should secure financing before that. So, be sure to get with your lender as soon as you are under contract.
Last thing! If you by chance are reading this blog post earlier on in the home-buying process and either 1) aren’t having the best time with your current Realtor (signs you should break up!) or 2) don’t have a Realtor by your side yet, we highly recommend working with our agent team. Unlike a one-off Realtor…
Our team hosts regular Community Meetups on a monthly basis and will be readily available to answer your property tax questions or provide local contractor recommendations. You can get to know us, starting with a quick buyer consultation call.