Here is an outline/time frame of what you will need to do
and what we will be doing once you are officially under contract.
Your initial deposit will be due within 5 days of signing the agreement of sale. This check will need to be made payable to the listing broker and, depending on your closing date, may need to be in the form of a cashier's check.
We are going to need to order title insurance for your purchase. We have an in-house title company we work with (Trident Land Transfer) so that everything can be done and kept track of right here in our office. In Pennsylvania, title insurance rates are regulated by the state so there is not much reason to "shop around" (in my opinion). So we will order title for you...unless you
ask us not to in a timely manner.
You will need to meet your mortgage commitment date per the agreement of sale, so the sooner you get working on this, the better. I have my favorite lenders-favored because of their competence and track record with
hundreds of previous buyers.
Side note - no matter which lender you choose, you will be sending and scanning and faxing more paperwork than you even knew existed...underwriters have really cracked down since the predatory lending/market crash fiasco a dozen years back so they will verify your information over and over again.
WE CAN RECOMMEND A FEW GOOD MORTGAGE REPS
You will need to schedule a home inspection. We recommend Brad from Smart Moves but you are free to choose any home inspector you like. You have 10-15 days (depending on the agreement of sale terms) to ask the seller to make repairs or give you a credit for any issues that may arise from the home inspection, so you want to schedule this ASAP.
WE CAN RECOMMEND THREE HOME INSPECTORS FOR YOU
Your second deposit will be due 10-15 days after the agreement of sale is fully executed. We will send you an email to remind you to send us a check.
If settlement is less than 30 days away, this will have to be in the
form of a bank or cashier's check.
If you are purchasing a condo, you will receive the condo docs and resale certificate about a week or 2 after going under contract.
READ THESE! It is important to find out what is going on and the rules and regulations of a building where you are purchasing a condo. You have 5 days to review these documents. If there is something in there that you cannot live with, speak now or forever lose your deposit! :-) If you are purchasing a house, this is a good time to speak to a homeowner's insurance rep.
We also have an insurance rep we like that has been helpful
to many of our buyers.
The countdown to closing is on...
We'll want to pick a time that is good for closing during business hours and schedule your settlement ASAP. 3-5 days prior to closing, you will receive an estimated Settlement Statement from the title company (and a Closing Disclosure from your lender, if applicable) letting you
know how much money you will need to bring to closing.
This will need to be a wire or cashier's or bank check.
PLEASE NOTE that we will NEVER email you wiring instructions. Wire fraud is on the rise in the real estate industry. If anyone asks you to send a wire in reference to a real estate transaction we are involved in together, please CALL to alert us immediately and DO NOT wire any money!