What are the key closing dates for a buyer?
KEY CLOSING DATES:
- Offer Date
- Inspection Date
- Purchase and Sales
- Commitment Date
- Close Date
As a buyer, it is important to understand the parties that are involved on your behalf throughout the home buying process. In addition, the key dates throughout your journey and what to be cognizant of during each step. This article is particular to Massachusetts real estate transactions. Make sure to check with your real estate agent for the process, key dates, and action items needed for each stage.
Who’s involved in a real estate transaction?
As a buyer, the essential parties involved in most transactions will be as follows:
- Real Estate Agent
- Real Estate Attorney
- Lender
The following parties are involved in the majority of real estate transactions, but this is not always the case, depending on the transaction type and state where a transaction occurs.
The Real Estate agent is responsible for coordinating the entire transaction start to finish and ensure that all the pieces are moving in harmony during this period. If you have a good real estate agent, you should feel at ease and always knowledgable about what is happening next for your transaction.
The Real Estate Attorney is involved in a Purchase & Sales agreement along with any other closing documentation that will need to be formulated and completed for the transaction to occur. In some states
The lender is involved in the initial steps of getting pre-approval which is needed when submitting an offer and plays a role throughout to transaction period to verify your information, get a house appraisal and confirm they will be able to provide the loan.
Key Dates Explained:
Inspection: as the buyer, you can have the property inspected to see if there are any issues that were not visible to the naked eye. The inspection period allows you to consult with an inspector and make the decision if you want to move forward or not with no risk of losing your deposit involved.
Purchase and Sales: legal agreement between the buyer and the seller; usually comes a few days after the inspection and is written by your attorney.
Commitment Date: this is the period of time the buyer’s lender has to confirm that they are going to give the loan you were pre-approved for. Again this is to eliminate the risk of losing your deposit, in case the lender is not able to confirm your loan.
Closing Date: when the title is actually transferred; usually at the registry of deeds or an attorney’s office. The closing is the final step in the home buying process.
This article was created to shed light on the buying process and should be used for educational purposes only. It is important to always consult your real estate agent before taking any actions.
By Ari Lashkari, L&L Homes Team
