If you have stumbled on this blog 1st go to step one.

Congratulations your offer has been excepted!  Now this is where things can get a little tricky and you need a buyers agent to see you through allthe details. 

If a "regular sale"  meaning not banked owned or short sale and you have written your purchase agreement on a current GRAR purchase agreement, you will have 10 days for inspections.  This is NOT business days.  There are many home inspectors to choose from and they are not all the same.  They all offer many different services with various cost.  Shop around to see what suits your needs.

If you are working on a short sale or a bank owned there will be additional paper work (contract) for you to sign and your inspection period will vary. HUD homes, some banks will have you responsible for turning on all utilities for the inspection (cost paid by the buyer) and give you an amount of time that they can be on.  Make sure you read these contracts in full before signing.  Make sure you and your agent understand any changes that vary from the GRAR purchase agreement.  This contract does over ride the original and is legally binding. 

I have a few where the inspections are supposed to be done prior to the offer...........do not sign a thing till it has been done............ 

Things to look for but not everything (I have been selling bank owned my whole career and I have yet to see 2 bank contracts the same)

• Closing cost - Make sure it is what you and your bank estimated
• Title work
• Inspection period
• Changes to Close on or before date
• Charge Per Diem if you close later then on or before date
• As Is clause
• Lien and past bills that are due, who is responsible for these

READ - READ -READ

Once your inspections are done in the amount of time given you also have to make sure if their are any concerns to the condition of the property this is written up and addressed in the inspection period allotted.

Bank Owned are sold "As IS" however some banks are making repairs to make the sale happen.  Short sales and "regular" sales you can work out these issues with the home owner.

Once this is completed..........it is now time for our agent to do behind the scenes work, getting all paperwork filed,  he/she is checking with the lender to make sure we are on track, if seller is paying for closing cost and pre-paids all of your bills that pertain to this transaction should be turned in to the lender. There is a lot to coordinate to assure a smooth closing.

In the meantime you will need home owners insurance and it is now time to shop for the insurance.  They are not all created equal and have seen big spreads in pricing lately.  Shop for this as well.  Make sure you are comparing apples to apples on a policy. 

• What is you deductible
• Replacement or deprecation value
• Multi policy discount?
• How much is your hose insured for - Purchase price or replacement value

Once you have picked your coverage - either pay the premium or if seller paying your pre-paids turn in the DEC Page from your insurance agent to the lender to be included in cost to paid at close.

Next Week part 5 and final stage - The closing