MORTGAGE BLOGBlog posted On March 20, 2025
It’s official…your home hunt is finally over! Now that your offer has been accepted and you’re under contract, you might think your job is finished. But there’s still more to come. Are you ready? Ready or not, we’re here to help manage expectations for your closing and lay out your next steps.
You’re more than welcome to celebrate; in fact, you deserve it! You’ve hit a major milestone in your home buying journey. However, be sure to set realistic expectations for yourself. You have the home inspection ahead as well as the entire mortgage closing process. Things can happen, structural issues can be discovered, closing dates can get moved, and hiccups can pop up with sellers, so you’ll need to make sure you’re prepared. To help you prepare, we highly recommend looking over your purchase agreement with your real estate agent.
The earnest money deposit is a portion of cash held in an escrow account during the home-financing process; the buyer pays this deposit in good faith in order to show their commitment to purchasing the property. It’s an escrow deposit that essentially holds your contract in place, and it will go toward your down payment and closings costs.
Hiring a home inspector to come evaluate your future home is one of the most important steps after going under contract. You’ll need them to check for any damage in the house that may require extra repairs from the seller — ones that could impact your closing timeline or your home offer in general!
An appraisal is different from the home inspection. An appraiser will come determine the value of a home. The lender requires this because they need to ensure the value of the home is equal to your loan amount. If the appraisal is lower than the sales price, renegotiations may be in order.
When going into the mortgage lending process, first-time buyers may be surprised how much documentation is needed from them. Don’t worry, it’s completely normal. Underwriters need to follow strict guidelines and often need extra bank statements, W-2s, verifications of employment, and other financial records. We will work with you to obtain title insurance and will require you to set up a homeowners insurance policy. Once everything has been sent in and approved, underwriting will finally issue Clear to Close (CTC), which is the golden word in this industry. It’s essentially the green light for closing!
Remember: Don’t open new credit! While you’re having your creditworthiness evaluated by a lender, you don’t want to open any new lines of credit or make any big purchases. This can delay the closing process, so hold off on buying things like a new set of living room furniture till after your closing.
Once your final closing date has been booked, you’ll want to complete one final walkthrough of your new home. Check that all repairs have been completed (if they were needed). Here’s a quick list to keep in mind during your walkthrough:
Once that’s done, off to your closing appointment!
And there you have it! Once you’ve checked over everything in your new home, you’re ready for your closing appointment. By now, you should have gone over your closing disclosures with your lender and agent, so you’re ready to brandish your finest Hancock signature and sign off on your mortgage closing documents. Once all the t’s have been crossed and the i’s dotted, you’re officially a homeowner! All your hard work has come to fruition.
We hope you found this brief overview useful. Next week, we’ll go more in-depth into the underwriting and closing process, but we wanted to give a general idea on what happens after you go into contract. There are many steps to obtaining a mortgage, but it’s all worth it when embarking on the massive milestone that is homeownership.
Source: Investopedia, Better Homes & Gardens
