What to expect once you’ve accepted an offer

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This blog post will discuss what will happen once an offer has been accepted

The lifecycle of a new listing

Real estate listings are front loaded. What I mean by this is that most of the work for real estate agents and for home selling clients happen during the pre-listing and listing phases of the home selling process. We all know that before a home goes on the open market, there are a number of things that have to be done. From decluttering, minor repairs and improvements to photos, listing paperwork and marketing…it takes at least a week to get a perfectly good home on the market for sale. 

Selling a home is a process. Getting ready and listing are part of that process. Accepting an offer is another step further down the home selling process. But what happens after that? 

This blog post will talk about what to expect once you’ve accepted an offer.

What to expect once you’ve accepted an offer

The conditional phase

Now that our Kitchener-Waterloo market is more balanced, it is typical for initial agreements to be conditional for five business days upon mortgage financing and home inspection. That gives the buyer essentially a week to secure the mortgage with his lender, have the home inspected, negotiate any needed amendments, extensions, and changes to the original agreement.   

During this phase, the home can still be shown to other prospective buyers, open houses can be held, there is no “sold” sticker on the sign as the home is not ‘sold sold’ yet but ‘conditionally sold’.

The pending phase

Once the conditions have been satisfied, the home sale moves into the pending phase. When the status is changed to pending, the home will no longer appear on the MLS (realtor.ca). Nothing normally happens in the pending phase, except for a lot of waiting. The agreement may allow for one, two or even three walk throughs. These visits by the buyer are a chance for them to show the home to family members, contractors, and sometimes prospective tenants. It is a chance for the buyers to measure for furniture and window coverings…

Near the end of the pending phase, the lawyers will get busy with the sale, searching for clear title, preparing the paperwork and then a few days before closing, inviting the sellers in to sign the final paperwork.

A day or two before closing, the home buyer will often do a final walk through, ensuring that the property is still in the same condition as when purchased and that the chattels and fixtures are still present and still in good working order. 

Closing

Closing day (or completion) is when the sale become final. The financial institutions transfer the funds and then the lawyers invite the buyers in to pick up the keys. If the for sale sign is still on the lawn, it is removed. So is the lockbox. The sale price becomes public and will appear on the MLS (realtor.ca). 

🙂

Before the offer? What to expect when you are expecting to sell

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