Congratulations we now have an accepted contract on a house, but now what? Often contracts are accepted verbally by the seller’s agent first while signatures are gathered from the sellers. It can take 1 – 2 days for all parties to sign and return the contract, please be patient. Until we have an executed contract (which means everything has been signed by both the sellers and the buyers) we do not have an enforceable contract. Therefore, it’s urgent that a signed contract be received by all parties asap. We will stay on top of this diligently. Once a signed contract is received, the next steps are…
- The contract needs to be sent to your lawyer so the attorney review can begin. Us as your agents, we’ll take care of this for you. Once your attorney receives the contract he or she will begin the attorney review process. This involves looking over the contract and negotiating changes he or she wants to make. Expect to hear from your attorney within 1 – 2 days with any documents they need you to sign or changes to the contract they want you to look over.
- The contract needs to be sent to your mortgage lender. Again, if I am your agent, we’ll take care of this. This lets your mortgage lender know that you’re under contract and starts the process for getting you approved for the mortgage (remember, currently you’re only pre-approved). Be sure to respond promptly to your mortgage lender. They will ask you to fill out a lot of paperwork. Unfortunately, it’s not optional; it’s required and the quicker you can fill it out and get it back to them, the better.
- You need to schedule the home inspection. This needs to be done NOW.
- You need to write and drop off the first earnest money check. You will make earnest money check as directed by us once instructions have been provided and is either in the form of a personal check or a certified check (we’ll let you know which one you need). Usually it is dropped off at the specified location within 2 business day of contract acceptance. When you drop it off make sure you ask for a receipt. Hold on to the receipt and bring it with you to closing.
Questions? Call us at 708-860-03460 or email me at sammy(at)sellchicago(dot)net.
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