What is the Next Step After a Real Estate Contract is in Place?

• Between the signing of a contract and closing, real estate transactions pass through specific phases before completion.
• Once a contract is agreed to by the parties, copies are sent to the buyers’ and sellers’ attorneys for review and approval. The next step is the home inspection which either finds the home satisfactory as it is, or lists necessary issues to be addressed or negotiated out. The buyer applies for a mortgage and works with the lender to get a mortgage commitment.
• At the same time, the seller gathers certain relevant documents, including a title search, survey, paid tax receipts, and any mortgage statements they might have – and provides them to their attorney who will update the title search and survey and send them to the buyer’s attorney. Once the buyer’s attorney reviews those title documents, they will undertake a title examination.

• As soon as the title examination is completed, the buyer’s attorney forwards a title report to the seller’s attorney and the attorney for the bank. It will outline the documents required to complete the sale and circulate them back to the buyer’s attorney for final review before closing.
• During that process, the buyer works with the lender to get the loan cleared to close as soon as the title documents have been examined, all title deficiencies addressed, and the loan cleared to close. Then, the parties proceed to the closing table.