Home Inspection Archives

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).

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If you’re buying a home, you know it comes with a price tag – and the total cost is a bit more than what you list in your purchase offer. That’s because there are some fees associated with buying a home.

Here’s what they are.

10 Fees Associated With Buying a Home for Sale in Orlando

When you buy a house in Orlando or anywhere else, you’re going to encounter some costs. Some of them, like your earnest money deposit, you’ll get back; others are simply part of the cost of buying a home.

#1. Earnest Money

An earnest money deposit is money you give the seller to show that you’re serious about buying his or her home. (You don’t actually give it to the seller; you give it to your agent, who puts it in escrow.) After you close the deal, your earnest money deposit goes toward your closing costs, your first mortgage payment or your down payment.

#2. Down Payment

You’ll have to come up with a down payment to buy a home. For most people, the down payment is between 5 and 25 percent of the home’s total purchase price. The higher your down payment is, the lower your monthly mortgage payments will be.

#3. Homeowners Insurance

Your lender will require you to buy homeowners insurance. That way, if something happens to the house, your lender won’t lose its investment (and neither will you).

#4. Property Taxes

Everyone has to pay property taxes, which vary by location. The taxes typically go toward public services, such as police, fire and EMS, roads, sewage systems, and schools.

#5. Private Mortgage Insurance

Not everyone has to pay for private mortgage insurance. However, if you put down less than 20 percent of the home’s purchase price as a down payment, your lender will most likely require you to buy it. This insurance protects your lender if you default (fail to pay) your mortgage payments.

#6. Appraisal Fee

You’ll have to pay a professional appraiser to value the home you want to buy before the bank will give you the money. You can’t choose the appraiser or shop for the best rates; the lender chooses an appraiser it trusts for the job.

#7. Loan Origination Fees

Your lender will charge you loan origination fees to generate and process your loan. The lender will let you know how much the fees will be, and they may even be negotiable (so it doesn’t hurt to ask).

#8. Title Search Fees

You’ll have to pay an attorney or title company to make sure that the seller who’s selling you the home is its legal owner. The title search will also show if there are other problems with the title that could later affect your ownership of the home, such as liens.

#9. Home Inspection

Smart buyers have a home inspection before they lay down any cash to buy a house. The inspection will show you what issues the home has so you can use them to negotiate with the seller – or, at the very least, know exactly what you’re getting into.

#10. Closing Costs

You’ll have to pay closing costs when you actually close the deal on the home. These typically range between 2 and 5 percent of the home’s total purchase price.

Are You Buying a Home in Orlando?

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Explore our:

What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Home?

What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Home?

The Buyer’s Inspector

Deciding Whether to Make Concessions

Waiting for Closing Day

Are You Buying or Selling a Home in Orlando?

10 Fees Associated With Buying a Home for Sale in Orlando

10 Fees Associated With Buying a Home for Sale in Orlando

#1. Earnest Money

#2. Down Payment

#3. Homeowners Insurance

#4. Property Taxes

#5. Private Mortgage Insurance

#6. Appraisal Fee

#7. Loan Origination Fees

#8. Title Search Fees

#9. Home Inspection

#10. Closing Costs

Are You Buying a Home in Orlando?

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