Step 8 to Buying a Home: I Have An Accepted Contract -- Now What?

FANTASTIC! You have an accepted contract on a house, but now what? It may seem like a lot of work went into getting to this point, but in reality, this is where the real work begins!

The day on which all parties have a copy of the signed contract is called the Binding Agreement Date. This is the date on which all of the contract timelines begin -- we will send you a list of the Important Contract Dates so that you can put them in your calendar (they're also in ours).

1. The contract needs to be sent to your mortgage lender. If we are your REALTORS®, we’ll take care of this. This lets your mortgage lender know that you’re under contract and starts the process for getting you fully approved for the mortgage (remember, right now you’re only pre-approved). We also want to make sure that your lender has all of our contact information, as we will be in close contact throughout the process.
   
   Be sure to respond promptly to your mortgage lender throughout this process. They will ask you to fill out a lot of paperwork and provide a lot of documentation -- it may sometimes feel like you're providing the same thing again and again. Unfortunately, this part of the process is not optional; it’s required and the quicker you can fill out the paperwork and provide all of the documents they need, the better. Also, we need you to read this quick two page document regarding the mortgage process
   
   
2. You need to schedule the home inspection. Click here for my list of recommended home inspectors. This needs to be done ASAP. 
   
   
3. You need to drop off your earnest money check. Typically. the earnest money check is made out to your REALTOR®'S brokerage and is either in the form of a personal check or a certified check (and in some cases, you can wire the funds). However, these details are negotiated in the contract, so we will remind you at the time of contract acceptance where the money goes and in what form. Usually it is dropped off at the seller’s agent’s office with 1 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. Click here to read more about the earnest money. (NOTE: ask us about the option to pay your earnest money electronically through our broker's secure website.)
   
   
4. Do your due diligence with regard to the neighborhood, school districts, and other information about the surrounding area. Similar to hiring a home inspector to inspect the home, you need to inspect the area around the home. Here are some resources you can use to dig a little deeper:

• Research the schools for which this home is districted.
• Look into the crime statistics for the neighborhood and surrounding areas (including the GBI Sex Offender Registry and the DEA Drug Lab Map).
• Check the property's likelihood of flooding using online tools that show current flood zone and probability of flooding, as well as projecting future possibility of flooding and the possible need for flood insurance. 

You will receive an email from us with reminders about all of the above items, and once all of those have been done, we’ll email you every few days and in some cases, for example during the due diligence period, every day) with additional next steps. Think of it as our friendly way of giving you homework to ensure a smooth transaction, to help you make sure everything gets done on time.

Questions? Call us at 404-994-2181 or email me at Maura(at)BuySellLiveAtlanta(dot)com.