August 27th, 2009 by Michael Oliver

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Share on Facebook Once you as a buyer hire a Realtor to help you with selecting a home and analyzing the marketplace eventually you will find a home you want to buy, so then what happens? The next step once you as a buyer find a property you want to buy is to place an offer on the home.

What’s needed to place an offer on a home for sale?

(Generally this is what is needed)

-Mortgage Pre-Approval to show the seller you can qualify for the home

-Copy of the Earnest Money Check (Earnest money is money that if the offer is accepted you deposit with a title company to show the seller you have something invested in the sale. If you as a buyer pull out of the sale after contingencies are waived you as the buyer would risk losing your Earnest Money Deposit.)

-Contract with your offer and terms filled out. (A real estate offer includes much more than just the “price” you are willing to pay, it includes closing dates, inspections timeframes, financing terms, additional clauses many things are included in an “offer” and no two offers are ever alike. This is why a good Realtor is worth a tremendous amount at this point.)

Those items correctly filled out are sent to the seller for them to review and then provide an answer. The seller could accept the offer, counter it, (change terms/ price of the offer for you as the buyer to review and respond to) or the seller can outright reject the offer. Let’s assume your offer is accepted at that point you as the buyer need to deposit your earnest money with the title company named in the contract (your Realtor should handle all this for you) and at that point (Upon contract acceptance) the clock starts for timelines named in the contract.

So what happens after my contract is accepted?

(Again generally speaking)

Inspections are next; two must have inspections that should always be completed by a buyer would be a general home inspection and a termite inspection. Other inspections may or may not be needed depending upon condition of home, type of home, features of the home you are buying.

Other possible inspections that maybe needed:

Pool Inspection

Mold Inspection

Roof Inspection

Electrical Inspection

Plumbing Inspection

Insulation Inspection

HVAC Inspection

For simple discussion let’s just say your home only needs a general home inspection and a termite inspection. Those two inspections according to the contract will have a set amount of days to be completed and then any repairs needed can be requested by the buyer to the seller. When the inspections are completed they will need to be paid for. Generally a home inspection will run about $300-$500 (depending upon home size and features being inspected) and a Termite inspection generally runs $50-$100. As already mentioned the contract should call for the option that the buyer can ask for repairs to be made by the seller to keep the sale process going. This is where many real estate purchases fall apart as the buyer (especially first time buyers) get upset over inspection items, keep in mind all homes have problems and issues wrong with them. The inspector’s job is to find as many issues as possible.  Whatever inspection items you as the buyer want repaired will be asked for in writing and then the seller has the right to fix the items requested, fix some of the items and then ask you as the buyer if that is acceptable, or to reject making any repairs (again as the buyer you have the choice whether to stick with the deal if this happens). Once these repairs are negotiated this will waive your (as the buyer) inspection contingencies. As the buyer you can also ask the seller for a credit off the sale price instead of repairs just depending upon the circumstances and what’s common in the local marketplace.

If you would like to read part of of these series please click here: http://www.sellingtucsonrealestate.com/blog/blog-post-first-time-home-buying-step-by-step-guide-part-1/

First Time Buyers, Home Buying Process, Tucson Real Estate, Tucson Real EState Home Buying Process