Seller Series: What happens once we're under contract? A brief-ish overview

Here's the knitty-gritty lowdown on what happens once we have a fully signed Purchase Agreement. Typically, it will take 30-45 days to close. But know that along the way there can be bumps in the road that cause delays: perhaps something unexpected came up during the inspection, or the appraisal takes longer than expected, or the buyers financing falls through---I'll be here to help you navigate any twists & turns in the road throughout the process!

If the Inspection Contingency is in place, the buyer has up to 10 business days for any & all inspections, renegotiations, or to terminate the contract & get their deposit back. The buyer needs full access to all areas of the house during the inspection--likely 2-3 hours.​

The Buyers lender will require an appraisal of the property to determine if the purchase price that has been offered is market value. This will likely be scheduled for around two weeks from today. The appraiser will schedule an appointment with me & I will be there to let them in & I will be there for the duration of their inspection which shouldn't take longer than 15 minutes. The appraiser will need access to all rooms including the attic & basement. The appraiser will be taking pictures of all rooms. It will take 7-10 days or more for the buyer to receive the appraisal report. 

Schedule the Smoke Detector Inspection: As required by the lender, the fire marshall will have to inspect the property to make sure that the smoke & carbon detectors are up to current code. I will instruct you on this process & what you need to do.

Buyers satisfaction of the Mortgage Contingency: if the buyer is securing a loan for the property they will need a mortgage. Once the Underwriter for the lender has reviewed all of their financial documents, taxes, employment history & verification of current employment, as well as the Appraisal Report, they will determine whether or not they can approve the Loan. If their application for the loan is approved they will be issued a Mortgage Commitment--this is usually a week and a half to two weeks prior to our target Closing Date. If their loan is denied then the contract will be terminated & we will find another buyer. If the loan is approved the attorneys will work on scheduling the closing.

Info to Submit to the Attorney prior to closing (typically the week of the closing): 

• Mortgage statement so that they can get the payoff info
• Water meter reading (take a photo of your water meter with the numbers visible)
• Oil tank reading (you’ll need an invoice from a company documenting how much oil is in the tank & current market value so that the buyer will reimburse you)
• Smoke Detector Certificate 

 
The Closing: the actual closing will take place at your Attorney’s office or at the Buyers Attorney's office.       You may or may not be there at the same time as the buyers. Your portion of the closing is pretty quick, it will likely only take 20-30 minutes. You should receive the final closing documents to review the day before the closing however, sometimes they’re unable to get you the document to review until the last minute. You should have a good estimate of your Net Proceeds early on in the process--the attorney & I can help you with this. Once the buyer has signed their documents & the updated deed has been recorded the funds will be transferred into your account. Congrats on your closing!!

​Wrap up: a day or two after the closing I recommend you call all of your utility providers to let them know that you have sold the house, including your homeowners insurance provider.