Real estate transactions can be lengthy and take a bit of hard work and effort. After listing your home and investing in marketing, it’s exciting to receive an offer meeting your standards.
However, once the offer is accepted, the process isn’t quite over yet. There are a few more essential steps needed to close the deal of selling your home.
It's essential to open an escrow account after accepting an offer on your home. This account acts as a neutral party to hold funds and documents until the real estate transaction is completed.
For example, if earnest money is provided from the homebuyer, these funds would be held in escrow until the home closes or an event happens forfeiting the money to the home seller.
Some homebuyers may put home inspection contingencies in the real estate purchase contract. This ensures the home is safe and up to standard before a homebuyer finalizes their purchase.
Being proactive as a home seller and getting a home inspection done before the buyer, allows for any issues to be addressed ahead of time. If an issue comes up during a home inspection from the buyer, this could slow down the overall process and even risk the sale.
Before closing the deal, a final walkthrough needs to be done and all paperwork is revisited to help answer any final questions and verify all facets are understood and agreed on. On average, closings take around 30 days to complete, which gives both the buyer and seller time to work with a real estate attorney to ensure all documents are correct.
Once you’ve accepted an offer on your home, sitting down with your real estate agent and attorney can help you navigate the final steps of the closing process to make sure the transaction is fair and profitable.
