You’ve been through the whole selling process – you hired an Orlando Realtor® who helped you arrive at the right price, you cleaned and staged your home, and you vacated the house for showings.
And now someone’s made an offer, and you’ve accepted.
So what happens next?
What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Home?
When you accept an offer, you start yet another wheel turning in the home-selling process. The next things that will happen are:
- The buyer’s inspector will come check out the home.
- You’ll decide whether to make concessions.
- You’ll have to wait for closing day.
The Buyer’s Inspector
The buyer will most likely hire a home inspector. The inspector will come to your home and check over everything, including the heating and cooling system, electrical system, plumbing and more. A typical home inspection lasts a few hours, and at its conclusion, the inspector will put together a complete report for the buyers.
The home inspector’s job isn’t to convince the buyer either way – he or she is impartial. The inspector’s job is to document how things are working in the house, and if there’s something wrong, to note it in the report so that the buyer can make the best possible decision about buying your home.
Sometimes buyers find things in inspection reports that they can use as negotiating points. For example, if the inspector discovers that there’s not enough insulation in the attic, the buyer may ask you to install more insulation in the attic or to come down on the price (because the buyer will have to fork over the cash to install more insulation).
If that happens, you’ll have to decide whether to make concessions or back out of the deal.
Deciding Whether to Make Concessions
When your buyer asks you to make concessions, your first step should be to talk to your real estate agent about them. Your Realtor may advise you to go ahead and make the concessions, or he might let you know that if you don’t, the buyer may back out of the deal and move on to another house.
The bottom line is that it’s up to you whether to make concessions. This is a negotiation process, and if you push too hard, you could force the buyer to walk away. If you don’t push back, you could end up taking a hit on the profit. It’s a delicate balance, and you should talk about potential solutions with your real estate agent before you make any decisions.
If there are plenty of other offers waiting in the wings, you may decide not to make any concessions at all.
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Waiting for Closing Day
Once you’ve signed all the contracts and everything’s good to go, you still have to wait for closing day. The buyer may still have to secure financing officially, sell his or her current home, or climb over other obstacles. Usually, the wait is between 30 and 60 days – although it can happen a lot faster (or take a lot longer).
Are You Buying or Selling a Home in Orlando?
If you’re looking for a new home in Orlando or one of the surrounding communities, check out our:
- Apopka homes for sale
- Baldwin Park homes for sale
- College Park homes for sale
- Colonialtown homes for sale
- Phillips homes for sale
- Longwood homes for sale
- Orlando homes for sale
- Oviedo homes for sale
- Windermere homes for sale
- Winter Garden homes for sale
- Winter Park homes for sale
If you’re selling your home in Orlando, we can help – we know how to market it to all the right buyers so you can sell it quickly and at the right price.
Call us at 407-529-4621 right now to learn about our premium property marketing services and how we’ll put them to work for you.
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