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YOU'RE BINDING
We have come to terms and now you are officially under contract to purchase the property! Now what?
EARNEST MONEY:
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This is an area where you can stand out as a buyer. You will want to show the seller how serious you are and will want to make your Earnest Money deposit reflect how dedicated you are to purchasing the home. Our agent will be able to guide you in what will make your offer stand out. Earnest Money will be due just a few days from when we go binding and should always be paid in the form of a check from the account of the purchaser on the loan. Be sure to reference your contract for the deadline. You will need to take a photo of the check for your records and then send the check to the holder. In a typical market, we usually see 1% of the purchase price is offered as earnest money.
INSPECTIONS:
If the terms of the contract allow you a period to inspect the property, then you will want to move forward quickly and schedule all the inspections you wish to have done within the first 24 houses of going Under Contract. That way if issues are found we have time to negotiate repairs before your due diligence period expires and you are forced to purchase "as is". Some of the common inspections buyers choose to have done are radon, home inspections, surveys, termite, foundation, HVAC, septic and well. You, as a buyer, are responsible for your own due diligence and must determine which additional inspections, if any, are needed.
NEGOTIATING REPAIRS:
You've hired the inspector with the intention of learning more about the condition of the home. In the event they should find any item that needs to be further addressed, you do have a few options. Depending on the item, whether it be large or small, you may need to do a further investigation with a licensed professional in that field such as roof, plumbing, electrical, etc. In most cases, the inspection report, which is provided to us typically within a 24-hour period, is enough to be able to draft an amendment to address property concerns We use this amendment to either request that the seller make repairs or we ask them to provide money instead of repairs.
