Everything you need to know before signing a contract

Home Buyers. Found the house of your dreams? Now what?

When you sign the contract to purchase a home, not only are you agreeing on price, you are agreeing to earnest money, option periods, financing addendum, inspections, surveys, title insurance, and who pays for all these items. These are all negotiable in the state of Texas. It may seem a little overwhelming, but can be easy to navigate if we look at the timeline.

This is an example transaction timeline, these are all negotiable based on specific client needs and terms:

Day 0 - Fully executed contract, signed by both parties and delivered to the Title Company

Day 3 - Deliver the earnest money and option money to the escrow officer at the Title Company

Day 1 - 10 - Option period allowing buyers to hire inspectors and perform, due diligence on the property, all repairs of considerations must be finalized before the end of this period

Day 15 - Survey, if required, should be complete and provided to all parties

Day 20 - Home Owner Association documents, if required, must be delivered to the buyer

Day 1 - 21 - Buyer satisfied the terms of the financing addendum

Day 21 - Title insurance has been approved and reviewed by buyers

Day 26 - Lender has cleared the file to close and Title can prepare the final settlement statement.

Day 30 - Closing with Title

As a buyer, what can you do? One of the best things you can do is to work with a team of real estate and mortgage professionals that can help you navigate these steps and communicate with you throughout the process. Getting pre-approved by a mortgage company (not just pre-qualified), not only helps get through the mortgage process more quickly, it will also make your offer stronger!

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