once the mortgage offer letter is recieved and searches already carried out..?

Question

what happens next? how long before i need to sign contract and money exchange? as first time im buying property.

Answer 1

Hiya

A contract is drawn up between the sellers solicitor and yours, the points in the contract need to be agreed between both parties. (Your solicitor will check the conditions and terms of the contract and go through it with you point by point and get you to sign it). Details of the lease or freehold title for the property you are buying needs to be examined and checked by your solicitor and any caveats or covenants in these documents will be gone through with you too. (Things like you can't keep a hovercraft in the garden and other useful stuff!!)

After that has been done and all of the survey, aspects and land registry searches are completed, you are broadly ready to go.

The contract is exchanged with the sellers solicitor and this usually is where 10% of the purchase price is paid. After that completion is an agreed date up to 28 days maximum after exchange of contracts.

Completion day is when the funds are released in full to the seller, by your building society, estate agents fees are paid etc and you get the keys and take ownership of the property at an agreed time say 12.00pm. or similar.

After all this happens a few days later you usually get a statement from the solicitor highlighting all of the charges and the fees due and dispensed on your behalf etc.


There are a few minor other bits and bobs, but nothing much.


Hope this helps - good luck with the move!!

Answer 2

I'm not sure what you mean by this question, but I'll try to help.

Home sellers are anxious to assure themselves that a prospective buyer can "afford" their home, before they'll even consider an offer from that buyer. If I agree to sell you my house, and 3 months later, it turns out that no bank is willing to lend you that kind of money, I've got to start all over again, looking for a buyer, and I may have lost many other, more qualified buyers, while I was sitting around waiting for you.

One way that buyers demonstrate their bona fides to a seller is with the assistance of a letter commonly referred to as a "pre-qual". If you're ready to buy a house, you would approach a possible lender, and they would ask you a few questions about your income, your debts, and your other monthly financial responsibilities. Based purely on your answers, and with no real verification, the lender would issue a "pre-qual" letter to you that basically says something like "Based on the stated income that Mr. (or Ms.) X have claimed, we have "prequalified" this person for a mortgage of so-many dollars.

To be honest, a pre-qual is barely worth the paper it's written on, because the actual lending decision won't rely on a borrower's claimed income or claimed expenses - the lender will investigate credit reports and bank statements and income tax returns, and other documents to verify income and expenses, but nonetheless, shopping with a "pre-qual" in hand is seen as almost a neccesity in the modern real estate market.

When you've seen a property that you wish to make an offer on, your realtor will include a copy of the pre-qual with your proposed contract. The seller will review the terms that you've offered and either accept, reject, or counter-offer, proposing changes in some (or all) of your terms. Both sides will attempt to negotiate an agreement that works for everyone - if that agreement is reached, you have a deal.

When you make an offer on a property, there's more to the "Terms" of the offer than just the purchase price. With your realtor's assistance, you'll propose a closing date, a date on which the transaction will actually take place. Here, at the closing, all of the papers will be signed for the transfer of ownership, but as the buyer, you'll also sign a lot of documents related to your mortgage and other financing matters. In most states, convention holds that the buyer chooses the date of closing and the company that will handle the title and closing process. Having said that, however, sellers often have their own needs as to convenient dates for moving out (etc), and these terms are negotiated between buyers and sellers in order to reach a mutually acceptable agreement.

When will you sign? When the offer is accepted. When with the money change hands? At the closing. When will the closing occur? On a mutually agreed-upon date that was negotiated as part of the contract.

By the way, it will take some time for your lender to actually reach its lending decision and "fund" the loan. They'll order a title search, a survey, an appraisal, and other research that allows them to evaluate both your credit-worthiness and the value of the home that you're asking them to lend against.

If your realtor is not making you feel comfortable as a resource to help you understand this process, you might want to look around for another local agent. This hand-holding and explaining is a BIG part of what the agent is being compensated for. Though you're not paying their commission directly, it is passed on by the seller in the cost of the property, so you have every right to expect that your realtor is responsive and available.

Good luck!

Answer 3

This is a question for your Buyer Agent. They are up to date on your transaction. Local laws and custom prevail.
Call your Agent.

Answer 4

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Answer 5

AS SOON AS ALL PARTIES CAN SCHEDULE A TIME FOR THE CLOSING. GOOD LUCK!