Congratulations! Now that the offer or counter offer has been accepted, your property is now “pending” or “under contract”. The contractual clock starts ticking as soon as mutual acceptance of the offer occurs, and the Buyer will be taking swift action to ensure that everything gets accomplished within the deadlines.
Stay Connected Timeline
After I have worked through the sale agreement with the Buyer’s Agent to verify contractual deadlines, I will email you a Stay Connected Timeline. There will be lots of little details to coordinate throughout this transaction, and the Stay Connected Timeline is a great reference to help you stay on top of all the deadlines. I will also send you a copy of the completed sale agreement for your records; please review these documents again, and contact me if you have any questions about what to expect as we move forward.
Opening Escrow
I will open escrow and deliver a copy of the sale agreement the title company. You can expect the title company to reach out to you within the first 2-3 days after I open escrow, as they will ask you to complete an online questionnaire to collect some of your personal data. Please let me know if you’re a veteran or have completed multiple real estate transactions in the past year, as there may be discounts available from the title company.
If you own the property as an LLC, Trust or are selling the property while acting as a Personal Representative of an estate, you will be required to supply additional legal documents to the title company. I will help guide you through what will be needed from you.
Earnest Money
Earnest money will be deposited by the buyer based on the terms of the agreement, but typically within 3-5 business days.
What is earnest money? The earnest money deposit from the buyer represents the liquidated damages available to the seller if you do not complete the purchase as specified in the sale agreement. If the transaction is terminated due to any of the contractual contingencies (a few examples include (a) if the buyer terminates during the inspection period, or (b) if the buyer's financing cannot be finalized due to qualification issues) then the buyer is entitled to a refund of the earnest money. The seller may have an opportunity to retain the earnest money after a terminated sale if the reasons are not related to the contingencies in the sale agreement.
Assuming that the transaction is performed according to plan (which is always our goal), the buyer's earnest money deposit will be applied towards their down payment or closing costs.
Let me know if you have questions at any point. I look forward to guiding you through this exciting process!
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