Selling our home?

Question

We are selling our house and are now playing the waiting game ( the appraiser is coming out tomorrow, the inspections are going to happen next week after memorial day.)
We just signed the contract earlier this week.
At what point is our house officially under contract after the loan application of the buyers is through?
They are pre approved for it.
And is it common to move out before the closing?
When should I start packing?

Answer 1

You have a legal binding contract when all principal parties have signed the same documents and have personally taken delivery or, if Realtor(s) are involved, when Single party Realtor(s) have taken delivery for their prespective clients. (I am assuming that the paperwork has all the required elements to be a legal contract.) Usually the contract contains contingencies, for instance satisfactory inspections, appraisal, loan being successfully obtained, etc. Each of these contingencies must be met in a timely manner before the transaction can close. Check your contract for time limits.
I always tell my seller clients that it's not over until they get their money. Followup is critical. How is the mortgage application going? Are the required repairs being done, if there are any? Does the appraiser have any required repairs before he will let the mortgage close? If you have a real estate agent helpling you this is part of his job. If you have no representation, you need to take this work on yourself.
It's never totally safe to move out until you've received you check. You may have gotten a "prequalification" letter with your buyer's offer. Just remember this letter is usually just a statement that if everything works out as planned, your buyer can close escrow. It's no guarantee they will close.
In short, stay informed and somewhat flexible.

Answer 2

You are under contract when you and the buyer agree upon a sales price for purchase of your property and both you and the seller sign the contract.

Now there are some conditions that have to be met in order for the signed contract to be completed.

#1 The buyers to obtain the proper loan amount.

#2 The appraised value to equal or surpass the sales price.

#3 Certain inspection conditions to be met

Once these and other conditions of the contract have been met then the transaction closes as per the buyer and sellers instructions.

Since your buyer's have been pre-approved there should be nothing standing in your way. Lenders nor brokers give a person a pre-approval letter without checking credit, ability to pay mortgage payments. Normally the only things necessary to complete the process is an appraisal along with the sales contract and a property that meets the buyers sales amount.

It is normal to be prepared to move as you constantly check with the escrow closing agent to keep abreast of the completed things such as appraisal has been completed and accepted, inspections have been completed and accepted. The mortgage loan has final approval and a doc signing date has been set up.

If all these things are positive you need to have at least 80-90% of your stuff gone. Keep in contact with your closing agent. You real estate agent would normally tell you this, but they are afraid of receiving bad news so they will not call and ask the closing agent how it is going for fear they will encounter a problem and god know we don't want a real estate agent to encounter a problem.

Your real estate agent should be doing this, but by the sound of your question he/she is not doing this or you would not have asking the question.

I hope this has been of some use to you, good luck.

"FIGHT ON"

Answer 3

Be careful when you say your buyer is pre-approved. Ive seen many loan officers/realtors throw that word around.

I would ask their loan officer or real estate agent, what do you mean by pre approved? You cant have a final approval without know the price of the home and an appraisal. You can be credit approved. You can be DU or LP approved, approved subject to conditions.

I would ask what the conditions of their approval were. I dont see its a major issue with you starting to move out. But I would never, ever let them move in before closing.

Im not sure how busy your appraisers are in your area. But if they are truly approved and all you need is an appraisal. I would say it would take 48 hours for appraisal 24 hours for the underwriter to check off the appraisal. If they are truly approved you should be out by Wen next week.

Answer 4

Once buyer and seller have signed the contract, you are officially under contract.

There are all sorts of things that could happen do terminate the sale. Every day in Y A, several people ask about how to terminate their purchase contract because they got cold feet. Also, if the buyers have contingencies that aren't met, the sale could fail.

Pack your out of season clothes, things you don't use everyday and think positive. Hopefully your house will fly through to closing with no problems. It is not uncommon to move out prior to closing, but be prepared if the sale doesn't go through.

Answer 5

If you have loan contingency in the contract (meaning: a buyer can cancel contract, if they do not get a loan) then if they do not get a loan, they are out.
In general, you can sleep better, when ALL contingencies are removed, but I've seen deals canceled on the day of closing (what if a buyer dies? God forbid...)
You can start packing any time you want and even move out early, but NEVER let a buyer have the keys or even start moving their things in BEFORE closing. Your contract should have DOP (date of possession.) This is when a buyer gets the keys .