Offer Accepted! Now What?

Congratulations! You’ve found the perfect home, you’ve submitted an offer, and guess what? The seller has accepted. Nice! As the saying goes…”things just got real.”

Whether this is your first home or your fourth home, this is an exciting feeling. Don’t linger in the moment too long, however, because you have a few important next steps you’ll want to tackle sooner than later.

I usually explain these next 3 action steps as “your 3 homework assignments.” I call them your homework assignments, because even I as your agent can’t do them for you (sorry!). Let’s break down what you should be doing following an accepted offer.

• Schedule your home inspections

When you submit an offer on a property, I’ll present you with a variety of home inspections you can include as part of your deal. Some will make sense for your situation, others may not. Once an offer has been accepted, buyers must schedule these within an amount of time agreed upon in the contract. For the purpose of moving the transaction along and becoming aware of any issues with the home sooner than later, sellers typically like inspections to happen relatively quickly. Don’t know a good home inspector? Fear not. I have several go-to inspectors I can refer you to.

• Turn in your earnest money

First, let’s start with, “what is earnest money?” Earnest money, while technically not required, is highly recommended and is a very important part of your offer. It is the first bit of your down payment you are willing to contribute up-front to indicate to a seller how serious you are about purchasing the property. Earnest money can range from $500 to $1,000 on lower-priced homes, and from $2,000 to $5,000, or even higher, on more expensive properties. Earnest money serves as collateral for the seller, in the event you opt to back out of the purchase. Earnest money can be turned in along with an offer, or, most common on transactions I’ve worked on, within 4 days of a seller accepting an offer.

• Apply for your loan

If you aren’t paying in cash for your new home, your bank is going to need to know your offer has been accepted, and that you are ready to move forward with loan application. I will send your lender the purchase agreement and supporting documents, and your job will be to reach out to your loan originator to confirm you are ready to move forward. Like the inspection and earnest money check, most sellers will want to see this step taking place relatively quickly. On a typical purchase agreement, buyers have approximately 5 days to apply for their loan after loan application. An appraisal of your new purchase should then be scheduled within the next week or two.

As always, if you have questions about any of these steps, I’ll be available to help! Once completed, you will be well on your way to owning your new home!