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Buyers’ checklist once the contract is fully signed.
_______ 1. Finalize attorney review.
_______ 2. Set up your home inspection. It must be completed and a letter of any requests provided within 10 business days (usually) except for the radon which is 14 business days as that has to go to a lab.
_______3. Apply for your mortgage. The contract says you must apply immediately. You just have to do it within a reasonable time frame and it should be within 3 business days.
_______4. Make an appointment with the construction dept. of the town the property is located to get some information on the property. You will have to fill out an OPRA form. The acronym stands for Open Public Records Act. All buyers should perform their “due diligence” on the property. Sometimes sellers do not think that their contractor has obtained permits for work that is done on the property and do not realize the fine print of the work agreement specifies “owners responsible for permits”. Hopefully your sellers were on top of it and got them. Sometimes they are not obtained. That is what we need to find out. The first way is through my attorney review letter. Usually the attorney has a statement in there “sellers have obtained proper permits and approvals”. This could trigger information on permits etc. The second is your “due diligence”. The third is through the home inspection. Inspectors usually can tell if a finished basement was recent and done according to code. When you fill out the OPRA form, specify you want copies of all permits and approvals. It will cost you a minimal copy fee but it is worth it. If you are taking off of work for the home inspection, make a trip to the municipal building on the same day. You might want to call the town ahead and email or fax the OPRA form as sometimes they need time to get the file and copy what you need. You can make an arrangement to pay them the copy charge when you pick up the paperwork.
________5. Give in your second deposit. It is usually due within 10 days of completion of attorney review. It is usual for the sellers’ attorney to hold it, but sometimes the realtor or buyers’ attorney does. Check with your attorney.
________6. When the home inspection is completed, Attorney must get a copy of it for review. It is helpful if you send an email with a bullet point list of concerns. This way they can formulate a letter and email it to you and you can review it together.
________ 7. Be on top of your mortgage application. Keep all your papers in a special file. If they ask you for things once, twice or three times, don’t get upset, just send it again. The process is very stringent. You give your things to a loan officer. They collect it, give it to the processor. Once the processor has a complete file it will be submitted to underwriting. Once underwriting approves, your commitment is issued. Once the commitment is issued, it doesn’t mean you can close the next day. It usually takes 1-2 weeks to get the file “clear to close”.
_________8. Title work must be ordered. Usually attorney will order it once the home inspection is resolved so there will be no delay in the closing.
________ 9. You must inform attorney if you want them to order a survey. Surveys are very important. They cost anywhere from $575-$750 for a normal survey under an acre. Many lenders do not require a survey. Attorneys firmly recommend one because the survey can reveal things you did not know. Sometimes acreage is wrong. Example: contract specified the acreage was 1.4 acres. The survey revealed it was ¾ of an acre. The purchaser cancelled that contract.
________ 10. You must get your homeowners’ insurance and provide to your lender.
________ 11. Once the title, survey and homeowners’ insurance is provided to the closing department, the closing department will let attorney know they are clear to close. Once they do that they can set a firm closing date.
Please note:
Closing dates are target dates. There are many variables in every real estate transaction. Both parties do not know exactly what their circumstances will be. Sometimes the closing is delayed because the mortgage lender is not ready. Sometimes, the sellers cannot get movers. Make sure your rate lock does not expire on the day of the closing date in the contract as the date can fluctuate. A seller is not responsible to pay your extension fees if the rate expires and they close within a 10-14 day period. It is good practice to give yourself 2 weeks after the contract closing date for your lock in.
