It’s best to be very patient when searching for a home, waiting for just the right one that matches your vision, encountering properties online, in print, and on foot, waiting until just the right home appears in your sights. And then it’s best to pull the trigger quickly on submitting a written offer to purchase so it doesn’t get away to someone else. Usually after some brief negotiations, the offer is accepted by both Buyer and Seller. Upon acceptance of an offer, as a Buyers agent, I change hats from a market expert and search facilitator, to a transaction specialist and closing coordinator. As the home-search process began, I would have made sure you obtained a pre-approval for a loan by a lender you feel comfortable with…not a pre-qualification that isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, but a pre-approval where the lender has analysed your credit report and scores, and you have submitted all your financial data, with the lender approving your loan subject only to finding a suitable property in your price range. I always include a Buyers pre-approval letter when submitting an offer to the Sellers agent as the Seller will feel more confident about accepting the offer and taking the home off the market. If the financing is ready to go, then a Buyer is already about half-done on their end when an offer is accepted. As a Buyers agent, I watch all the details of the Purchase Agreement (Offer to Purchase) and make sure the process goes according to plan for the Buyer within the terms of the Purchase Agreement which is the last word on what will happen in the transaction. The title policies are ordered from a title company who will also close the sale. I supply the title company with all the information and documentation necessary for the buyers side of the transaction and coordinate the closing with the Sellers agent. I also stay in touch with the lender and Buyer to make sure the loan commitment is finalized and that funding of the loan is on track with the closing. Also, a commitment must be obtained for the homeowners insurance policy, to be in force on the property at the time of closing.
Beside financing and title work, the other major piece of the sale is home inspections. This gives the Buyer the opportunity to understand exactly what they are buying and approve the condition of the home. Every sale can be different as each buyer has different concerns and every home has potentially different issues that warant an inspection. Typically though, most buyers get a whole-house and a wood-destroying insect inspection. They sometimes want an interior air quality report too to detect levels of radon gas, and probably less frequently a lead-base paint inspection if the home was built prior to 1978 before manufacturers stopped adding lead to house paint. Typically, if the whole-house inspection reveals the possibility of mold or lead-base paint, then an inspection from experts in those fields can also be ordered. All inspections are usually completed within a week or two after an accepted offer, so the Buyer can study the results and respond in writing to the Seller if there are any major defects in a home that they feel they just cannot live. Under Indiana law, “Defect” means a condition that would have a significant adverse effect on the value of the property, that would significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants of the Property, or that if not repaired, removed, or replaced would significantly shorten or adversely affect the expected normal life of the premises. If there is a major defect that the Buyer feels must be addressed and the Seller is unwilling or unable to repair, the Buyer can terminate the agreement or waive the defect and continue toward closing. Homes are very complex, and there are almost always things that are not in perfect condition, but inspection negotiations are usually worked out one way or another between Buyers and Sellers.
With the loan on track, the agreement on inspections in the rear-view mirror, and me watching all the remaining details, there is nothing to do but coast into closing and get ready to enjoy your new home. Well, that is, after the packing and moving trucks are finished!
I’ve been wanting to post this photo for a while. Being Sunday I thought it was a good time. This building, 
