When buying a home there are many different things that are scheduled and completed prior to sitting at the closing table. After an offer is submitted, buyers will typically schedule their home inspection and any other inspections they wish to have completed for the house. These may include a mold inspection, termite inspection, radon inspection, well and septic inspection or other inspections. You may be wondering what happens after the home inspection? Continue reading below to get a good idea of the steps after the home inspection.
Read Your Home Inspection Report
The first thing anyone should do after an inspection is completed is read their inspection report. A home inspection report is typically very thorough. It is very important to read through your inspection report to ensure you have a good understanding of what items need to be repaired. Not all the items in the inspection report are considered critical but it is important to pay close attention to any potential health or safety issues. A good home inspector will let you know any major hazards or safety concerns right away so you can consider your next steps.
Discuss Your Home Inspection with Your Real Estate Agent
After you have reviewed your home inspection and have a good understanding of if anything is potentially dangerous, or in need of major repairs in the home, now it is a great time to discuss your inspection with your agent. Some buyers will even have the inspector send a copy of the home inspection report to their agent at the same time they send it to them to make this process even quicker. This allows the agent to review what may need to be repaired to the home as well so they can best discuss what they should do next with the buyer.
Determine What You Would Like to Do?
If the inspection report reveals some major defects or major health and safety concerns you should then determine if you wish to continue with buying this house and review your offer to see what options you have.
Request Repairs Be Made
If the home has structural issues, plumbing issues, electrical issues, HVAC problems, a damaged roof, safety concerns or health concerns it would be an excellent reason to request these items be repaired prior to closing.
Wait For the Sellers Response and Negotiate or Walk Away
After the request for repairs has been submitted the seller may agree to your request and fix the issues or they may decide not to fix anything at all. If the seller decides not to fix any of your requests this is when you will have to decide if it is worth moving forward or not. The other option is that the seller will negotiate the repairs, for example, they may say they will pay for a portion of the repairs or only fix certain items but not others. This is also when a buyer should weigh all options to determine If it worth them moving forward with the purchase or walking away.
Home Appraisal
After the results from the home inspection are discussed and any negotiations are finalized, the next step in the closing process is typically the appraisal. This is very important to your lender as it determines the value of the home you are purchasing. If an appraisal report comes in for less than what you are buying the home for, more negotiations with the seller may have to take place or in some cases you may have to bring more cash to closing.
Prepare For Closing
Once the appraisal report is completed and any issues related to the value is addressed the next step is to just wait for closing. A title search for the property is typically completed and paperwork is finalized and submitted with your lender. You will also have to purchase homeowners’ insurance and submit it to your bank for closing. Once all the information is submitted for closing a closing date is set and the buyers, the lender, the agent and the sellers are able to complete the transaction.
As you can see from the above there are a lot of things that happen after the home inspection is completed. If you have any questions about these steps it is best to talk with your real estate agent to make sure you are submitting everything, they need to make the closing process as smooth as possible.
