Chicago First Time Home Buyer: The Seller Accepted My Offer, Now What?

Chicago First Time Home Buyer: The Seller Accepted My Offer, Now What?

Okay so the seller has accepted your offer after some great negotiation on your Realtors part. You have finally crossed one hurdle only to wonder what’s next? As a Chicago first time home buyer you have never been through this before so it is natural to wonder, what is next? I will outline the typical steps that my borrowers will go through once the purchase contract has been signed and accepted by the seller. Now I say typical because each first time home buyers experience can vary depending on their situation. Now this list of items will assume that I have already received your mortgage application along any other documents that I have requested.

Once i receive the purchase contract I will contact the attorneys as well as the Realtors in make an initial introduction. This is an important step since all of the professionals involved in the the Chicago first time home buyers new home purchase must work together. If your loan is an FHA loan then an FHA case number is ordered. At this time the appraisal is also ordered so that once the attorney reviews the purchase contract the appraisal can be completed. If the first time home buyer is having a home inspection performed then the appraisal is delayed until the home inspection is completed.

Once the appraisal is received your complete application along with the appraisal is emailed to the lender for an underwriter to review. Now the time for the underwriter to review your file can vary by lender, by the time of the year and by the time of the month. For example right now many of our lenders are 48-72 hours to review a loan. Once the underwriter reviews a loan they then issue an approval along with conditions. The conditions are additional items that the underwriter wants to review prior to issuing a clear to close. Some of the items that the underwriter may request prior to issuing a clear to close are:

1.  Title commitment from the seller.

2. Verbal verification of employment for all borrowers.

3. Proof of home owners insurance.

4. A copy of the cleared earnest money check.

5. Additional income verification

6. Additional comparable sales form the appraiser.

The list really can go on and on. Usually when we submit a file for a lender to review the only items that are needed are the title insurance, homeowners insurance and the verifications of employment prior to closing. Once I receive the approval back from the underwriter I will contact my borrower to go over the items that are needed in order to receive a clear to close. When the underwriter has reviewed the additional items that were requested and is satisfied with them the underwriter will issue a clear to close. A clear to close means that the underwriter is happy with the the first time home buyer’s application and we are ready to schedule the closing.

Now things will move pretty fast. At this point I will contact all of the parties involved to let them know we are ready to schedule the closing. Typically the attorneys will contact the buyer and seller to setup a closing date that is convenient for everyone. A couple of days prior to closing I will contact the borrowers with an estimate of the amount of money they will need to bring to the closing. Next up is the actual closing where the Chicago first time home buyer’s attorney will go over the loan documentation as well as some additional documentation. The actual closing usually does not take more than an hour or two at most. The primary delay on closings is waiting for the wire (funds) from the lender which can take longer depending on what time of the month the closing is taking place.

This pretty much wraps things up. If you have any questions regarding the information covered or are in need of a loan to purchase a new please complete the contact form below.