Offer Acceptance

You get the call–your offer has been accepted!  Likely after they sent you a counteroffer, and you sent subsequent ones. Often an offer only has a few ping pongs, and other times it becomes illegible with all the changes.

Now what? Do a happy dance. It’s not a done deal, but it’s a big step. After the dance is done, call or email your mortgage broker. They will want to know how long you have to remove your subjects and have a copy of the listing sheet, property disclosure statement, and more information on aspects of the house such as hot water tank age, plumbing, heating and electrical data, age of the roof and more.

Once that is sorted, you can work through the rest of your ‘subjects.’ These are caveats you placed in your offer, which could be included but not limited to investigating the property with the city/township, getting a home insurance quote and approval, lawyer/title, home inspection and other inspections if needed - septic, property disclosure statement and financing which we already discussed. There are more, but these are the main ones.

If you have a township clause, get the appropriate paperwork from the seller's realtor (through yours), and attend the town in person or online. You are looking for anything unpermitted or unusual about the home and potential restrictions. If you have questions about the zoning and anything you want to build or change - now is the time to do so before you are committed. If you want to build a carriage home, run a business out of your new home, run an Airbnb, have goats, you name it - ask now.

Also, contact your insurance provider to get a quote and ensure it is insurable and affordable. Every home is different; distance from fire hydrants and coverage, location, and perils of specific sites can all change your insurability and premium. Best to find out now one way or another.

Contact a lawyer to ensure they are available for your pertinent dates, and have them review the property's title with you to ensure there isn’t anything unusual about the charges. Then arrange any required inspections on the home, such as home, septic and well.

Your realtor will guide you through the above and more. What’s next? Our blog From SOLD to Moving In…