NOW THAT YOU
HAVE A SIGNED PURCHASE AGREEMENT, WHAT'S NEXT?
Between the time the contract is signed and
the actual settlement of closings reached on the house, the buyers
and sellers go through various steps, Generally they include:
-
Buyer
meeting with the lender to apply for financing.
-
Inspection
of home being purchased
-
Appraisal
on the house for the lender to make sure the value
of the house is in accordance with the amount of the
loan
-
Buyer's
financing approved
-
Buyers
and sellers, through the sales associate, establish
the date for closing
-
Actual
closing is performed
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ESCROW
Once the buyer and seller agree upon the terms of the sale,
through the deposit receipt and any counter offers, escrow is
opened. Escrow is a neutral third party to oversee the transaction
from beginning to end. They assure no funds will change hands
until all the instructions have been followed. They will work with
a lender, buyer, seller and any other involved parties.
Once escrow is opened, unless otherwise instructed, the buyer's
good faith deposit will be turned over to the escrow company.
Escrow, in turn, will deposit the check into their trust account
or according to the deposit receipt instructions. Again, the
escrow company is a neutral third party who follows instructions
of the principles, or their agents. Both parties must agree to any
changes prior to escrow being able to implement the request.
The deposit receipt will be used to make up escrow instructions.
These "instructions" are to be signed by all principles
to the transaction. Within the escrow instructions are the
contingencies that must be met to complete the sale. There are
many possible contingencies to every escrow. Common contingencies
are the buyer obtaining a home inspection, the buyer's right to
approve any possible neighborhood restrictions (CC&R's), the
buyer's approval of the title report, and of course, the buyer
qualifying for and obtaining financing.
When all conditions are met, the lender will fund the day prior to
recording. When all conditions of the instructions have been met,
the escrow holder "closes the escrow" by recording the
documents.
THE LENDER,
TITLE, AND ESCROW COMPANIES ARE ALL AVAILABLE TO ANSWER ANY OF
YOUR QUESTIONS.
DON'T HESITATE TO CALL THEM!
THE
CLOSING DATE ON YOUR ESCROW INSTRUCTIONS IS A TARGET DATE ONLY.
Please do not make any final arrangements based upon this date
until closer to the actual date, and loan approval.
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