Sellers

The Buyer will deposit the earnest money with the Title Company. The Title Company will “open title” and begin obtaining Title Commitment. If they find any liens or judgments on the Title Commitment, we will have to address those. If they are actually yours, they will have to be resolved/paid when we close the home, or we cannot close. If they are not, we will provide that proof and they will be removed.

You will receive a check in the mail for the option fee – cash it – it is yours to keep. The Buyer has a specific number of days (normally 7-10) to have their inspections completed and negotiated. If we come to an agreement on any repairs, we move forward. If not, the Buyer will terminate the contract and we seek a new Buyer. Remember, the Buyer can terminate the contract for ANY reason during the option period – so we are cautious during this period. Keep the receipts to any repairs made as we will need to provide those to the buyer. Once we are past our option period, we breathe a little easier.

The Buyer’s lender will schedule an appraiser to come out to appraise the home. The appraisal must be at least the sales price of the home. If not, there are two options. Either the seller reduces the price to the appraised value, or the Buyer makes up the difference. If we appraise low and do not come to an agreement, the Buyer will terminate the contract and we seek a new Buyer. If the Buyer has an FHA loan, that appraisal will stick with the home for six months. This is why listing your home at MARKET VALUE is crucial – we want to avoid any appraisal problems at this point.

If not already provided by the Seller, a survey will need to be done on the property to ensure the boundaries are correct. The survey will be ordered by the title company or the buyer.

The Lender is doing all the work to get the file ready to submit to underwriting and we are waiting on those THREE very special words – CLEAR TO CLOSE! This means the Lender has all the documentation they need and we have the green light to set the closing of the home. The Lender then prepares the Closing Disclosure, which is a line by line detailed itemization of all fees being paid for by the Seller and Buyer. You will receive a copy approximately 3 days prior to closing. It will advise you of the amount of proceeds you will receive from the sale of your home. This is the time to cancel utilities beginning the day after closing.

It’s closing day! The buyer will do a walk-through of the home to ensure all agreed-upon repairs done and that the home is clean and presentable. Closing takes place at the Title Company. The address to the Title Company is on Page 1 of your contract. Closings normally take about an hour total for both parties, but only about 15 minutes for the seller.

Funding takes place once all documentation is signed and reviewed by the Lender. This can take 20 minutes to a few hours – the Buyer will not be allowed to have the keys until the transaction has FUNDED. Note – you must be completely out of your home by the time we close unless a leaseback agreement has been made with the Buyer. Often closing dates are moved due to various reasons – usually because of the lending aspect of the sales. We try very hard to keep the dates firm, but sometimes it is not possible. Please keep in mind when scheduling appointments. If you are purchasing another home, we will attempt to “double close” meaning the close on the sale of your home in the morning, then close on the sale of the home you are purchasing in the afternoon. Again, this takes a lot of coordination along with aligning the moon and stars!