In Contract!

Holy shit they accepted your offer, now what?!?
This is the first real big celebratory moment of the home search. You have had an offer accepted that we worked to craft together and now is when the real work starts. So pop a bottle, smoke a fattie or do whatever it is you do to celebrate and get ready to roll your sleeves up and knock out some tasks.
 
1.) Deposit Earnest Money
This is when you either write a check (if you prefer and have checks) or wire the funds required by the contract to either your agents brokerage or the title company. This is a pretty easy one to knock out and usually is due within the first 3 days.
 
2.) Schedule Inspections- I will usually schedule inspections for my buyers. I give them options of inspection companies to choose from and then schedule them. I like the inspections to happen quickly so we already have the report back before we have even deposited earnest money. 
 
3.) Apply for the loan- Also due within the first week is to formally apply for the loan for the specific property you are in contract to purchase. You will have to provide your loan officer or their assistant with more financial documents than you likely have ever had to provide to anyone for anything. The lender will continue to ask for documents for various reasons until you are at the end of the loan process. This is completely common as underwriters are much  more strick than they were when shit hit the fan in 2008.
 
4.) Shop for Home Insurance- The lender is going to want a home insurance quote and it's your job to shop around and get one. Start with your current insurance provider and see if they offer a bundled deal with home insurance. Then shop two other insurance companies or brokers as well. Get the best deal to help make your payment lower. 
 
5.) Reivew the Results of the Inspection- After the inspection report comes in it is time to evaluate the results and decide what items are of the most concern to you. If your contract allows (Not and 'as-is' deal) you can come up with a reasonable list of the most important items you wish for the seller to address and submit it to them to either repair or provide a monetary credit for you to repair later.
 
6.) Lender Orders the Appraisal: If your contract is 'as-is' and it is busy season (spring-summer) you want to do this part in the first week. Under normal market conditions you would request that your lender order the appraisal. Once the appraisal is ordered it will take 7-14 days to get the results. As long as the appraisal is at or above your contract price, nothing further needs to be done. If your appraisal is below contract price then it will have to be presented to the selling party and they will have to either agree to drop the price, ask you to pay the difference in cash or ask to terminate the contract. Most often they just drop the price provided the appraisal isn't dramatically below contract price.
 
7.) Schedule Utility Activation- You are resonsible for verifying the utilities for the property and getting them activated on the day that you take possession. I can help you with this as I set up a timeline that gives you this info. You can do this when you are a few days away from closing. It is HIGHLY recommended to schedule your internet to be connected on the day you take possession far in advance. Some ISP's schedule weeks out and you don't want to be stuck without internet access in your new  house. 
 
8.) Final Walk-Through- A few days before you close you will also do a final walk-through of the property. This is to verify the home is still in acceptable condition or to make sure repairs that were requested have been made. This is a good time to measure the rooms if you haven't already. 
 
9.) The Closing- In real estate when you purchase a home the day and time you sign and the bank pays for the home on your behalf is called the Closing day. All buying partners will need their ID and to be present at the agreed location to sign paperwork. Depending on what the possession date is for the contract, this may also be when you get your keys.
 
That's it CONGRATULATIONS YOU BOUGHT A HOME!!  But wait, there is MORE!!
 
 
5 Things you need to remember to do before you move-in!
 
1.) Change of Address- Ok, first you need to go to the USPS and do a change of address, but you MUST also remember to change the mailing address for Amazon and all the other delivery services you use. (DoorDash, UberEats, all that shit.) MORE importantly. You have to tell your FAMILY. My mom mailed stuff to Tennessee for two years after I moved to Ohio. It was a little tough to get these things back.... So make sure EVERYONE has your new mailing address. Don't forget all of your bills that come in the mail. Get them all changed.
 
2.) Home Warranty Info- If you were able to negotiate a home warranty make sure you put this info somewhere easy to get to. I recommend Taping a copy to your Funrnace or water heater. 
 
3.) Order Furnace Filters- You won't have enough, and after all the dust has been moved around in the house with people moving out and in, you will need to change the one in the furnace SOON. Buy at least a 4 pack as you need to change it about every two  months. If you refrigerator takes water filters, order these too.  
 
4.) Gather City Contact Phone numbers- You never know when you are going to have to call the city for code enforecment, police, missed trash pick ups, permit inquiries, or to shut of your water at the street in an emergency (speaking from experience) Gather all these #'s and print them out and post them somewhere convenient.
 
5.) Pay Your Mortgage- Ok, this one might sound dumb as fuck but with all the stuff that is going on in your life you need to be mindful of your first mortgage due date. Tip: If you close on your home at the beginning of the month, it gives you more time before you first mortgage payment is due. Close say May 30th and your first payment is due July 1st. Close on June 1st and your first payment is due August 1st. Create your login to your mortgage servicers site and set up everythign to make your payments going forward.
 
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Ohio Home Buying Guide: The Offer Process>>(Current Page)

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    Matt worked with us for over a month to find the perfect property. He was readily available to see properties, often with very little notice. Matt is very knowledgeable about the Columbus market and also made great connections for inspections, etc. We were very pleased with our experience with Matt and would recommend him with no reservations.
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    The market is tumultuous, and navigation would have been impossible without Matt. We had a long search, seeing over 50 homes with multiple realtors, he went above and beyond any of the others. He is incredibly knowledgeable about each neighborhood we had an interest in, he answered every question we had about our loan. He relentlessly notices bad repairs some homeowners and flippers have made and gives fair warning to his clients instead of trying to trick anyone into buying a bad flip. Blatant honesty is rare in any business these days but Matt keeps it real! We were in a unique situation with our rental, it was riddled with mold and falling apart at the seams, as of one week ago, we officially got the keys to our new home where toxic growth in the walls is a thing of the past. We are now saving money compared to rent. The dog finally has a yard, she runs every day! I can breathe in my house now!! I can paint the walls if I want! Matt truly saved us from a hazardous rental and though the search was tough he stuck it out with us and kept a sense of humor and reality the entire time. Going forward, there will not be another agent that we work with unless we end up in different states or something. I cannot recommend him enough!

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    Matt Ward was the best realtor I could have asked for. He was effective, efficient and very focused. He helped me find the perfect home very quickly. He was supportive and extremely helpful in the negotiation and financing phase of the process. He provided accurate and helpful technical information about the properties we looked at, and gave me good advice on the house I have now purchased. I am very happy in my new location. I recommend him and his team very highly.

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    Matt was a pleasure to work with – friendly, responsive, and highly knowledgeable – for this first time investment home buyer. My search took us all over Central Ohio and Matt was eager to help every step of the way. Would highly recommend for anyone looking for their first investment home or residence!
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