THE OFFER HAS BEEN ACCEPTED--NOW WHAT? "THE CLOSING PROCESS" (edit/delete)

I recently posted BUYERS GET OFF THE FENCE, IT'S A GREAT TIME TO BUY, explaining what to expect when purchasing a home, including the search for the right home. This is PART II to help explain the escrow process once your offer has been accepted and it goes into escrow (California uses escrows companies verses an attorney as some states do).
Here are the next steps after your offer has been accepted:

LENDER IS NOTIFIED: You will call your lender and the loan process begins. I will send him/her the contract and he/she will keep me (your Realtor) updated as the escrow moves forward.
DISCLOSURES: The seller/s will provide you with disclosures about their home. IF the property is bank owned, you will not get disclosures. Read these disclosures carefully, as you will be asked to approve and sign/initial them (contingency).
INSPECTION PERIOD: Your Purchase Agreement states an X amount of days (the normal is 17 days) to have inspections done:Home Inspection, roof, septic, well, pest, etc. The seller may have agreed to pay for some of these. I will keep you posted on this TIME PERIOD, as this is very important. I will give you a list of local inspectors if you do not know of any. After you've had inspections you may, at that time, ask the seller to make any or all repairs. BUT keep in mind, the seller is not obligated to make any such repairs unless agreed upon in the original purchase contact. The seller must, however, have working smoke alarms in the home and have the water heater braced.
REMOVING CONTINGENCIES: Okay, the inspections are done, perhaps repairs have been made and all parities are satisfied and now it's time to REMOVE (sign off) contingencies which were stated in your Purchase Agreement. Such contingencies are: Disclosures from sellers, Title Report, Escrow Instructions, Inspections, appraisal, loan (though the loan contingency normally stays in affect until it is funded).
FINAL WALK THRU: Approximately 5 days prior to your closing date, we do a Walk Thur to make certain that the property is in the same, or better, condition as it was when your made the offer. This is not a contingency of the sale, however.
THE SIGNING: The escrow company and your lender will make an appointment with you, once all loan documents and closing statements are prepared, to come into their office and SIGN such documents. It is at this time that you will bring in a check (cashiers) for monies owed by you (down payment, closing costs, escrow and title fees). I WILL be here with you at this signing.
CLOSING: After signing the documents, they are then sent back to the underwriter (lender) for another once over and, if approved, the deed to the home will be sent down to the county recorders office and YOUR name will then go on it. YOU will receive a call from escrow saying "Congrat's" YOU ARE A HOMEOWNER.
KEYS. I make arrangements to pick up the house keys and deliver them to you.
CONGRATULATIONS!!!
IMPORTANT LINK BELOW:

For your Lake Arrowhead Real Estate needs, CALL: KAT DELONG, REALTOR.

BUYERS: GET OFF THE FENCE--IT'S A PERFECT TIME TO BUY!

Dear Buyers:
IT'S A PERFECT TIME TO PURCHASE PROPERTY. Prices in California (everywhere) have dropped (A LOT) to a more affordable level. We have more-than-enough listed homes ripe for your choosing. Don't keep waiting because you THINK prices will continue to fall. No one has a crystal ball showing us when the turn around in the housing market will occur. And, it will turn around.
Recently I posted SELLERS: HELP, ME, HELP YOU--SELL YOUR HOME, with a list for SELLERS to help get their home SOLD. Though this post is all about BUYING, you may find something of interest in my prior post, or perhaps you know someone who would benefit from it. Please feel free to pass it along.
That said; Let's get down to the PURCHASE process. BUYING A HOME is one of the most exciting things you'll ever do....and one the most expensive purchases you'll ever make. You NEED to be armed with as much information on this process as possible. Don't hesitate to call or e-mail me with additional questions or concerns. Remember, there are NO dumb questions.
Here's my list:
FINDING THE RIGHT REALTOR. It's extremely important that you feel comfortable and trust your Realtor. Do not take this step lightly. The right Realtor can make the difference between a good or bad buying experience. Check out my profile while you're doing your homework.
THE BASICS OF BUYING: Okay, you've chosen your Realtor (Me, I hope), now we get down to the basics. I'll explain the Agency Relationship, Residential Purchase Agreement, Financing, Earnest Money Deposit, making an Offer and the Closing process. (See term explanations below).
FINANCING; YOU need to speak with a lender NOW and find out exactly what you can or can NOT afford. You don't want to go previewing homes and find one you absolutely love, only to find out you canNOT afford it. I'll give you several names of professionals I know and arrange a meeting for you. Once this is accomplished, he/she will fax me a Pre-Qualification or Pre-Approval letter to go with the offer we'll submit once you find "The Right Home."
TELL ME YOUR CRITERIA: Share with me your wants and needs. You've probably already been surfing the Net and possibly have a good idea of what's out there. Tell me your favorite neighborhood. What style home you like? Do you want new construtruction or re-sale? Do you have children who will be attending the Rim 'O The World School District? Give me details!
PREPARING OUR SEARCH FOR HOMES: I'll pull up listings from my local MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (MLS) of homes you'd like to preview. We'll scale down your list to approximately eight (if possible). Anymore than eight homes in a day can be confusing. With our list of homes in hand, we'll head out on a house-hunting adventure.
KEEPING NOTES ON PROPERTIES YOU SEE: I'll give you a printout of each home we'll preview, so you can make remarks on each one. THIS IS IMPORTANT and this will also help you eliminate homes you are not interested in. YOU are narrowing down your list and getting closer to finding THE RIGHT HOME.
MAKING YOUR CHOICE: Okay, you've found a home you love! We sit down and discuss making an offer: Price? Earnest Money Deposit amount? Conditions? Time for closing? I fill out the Purchase Agreement, you sign and initial and I contact the Listing Agent and I begin negotiating for you. And...we wait for a response from the sellers.
OFFER HAS FINALLY BEEN ACCEPTED: Once your offer has been accepted and all terms are agreed upon by all parties involved, we open escrow. In the state of California, we have an escrow company; an unbiased third party who handles the transaction and all monies.
You are now getting closer to owning a home!!!
My Next Article will be ALL ABOUT THE ESCROW & THE CLOSING PROCESS! Stay Tuned.
IMPORTANT LINKS BELOW:
WHY USE A REALTOR?
REAL ESTATE TERMS & EXPLANATIONS
FIND OUT ABOUT YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD
RIM OF THE WORLD SCHOOL DISTRICT
LAKE ARROWHEAD CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
YOUR PIECE OF CALIFORNIA

For your Lake Arrowhead Real Estate needs, CALL: KAT DELONG, REALTOR.