Once your offer is accepted and the contract is signed, the house hunt is over and the deadline management begins.
First come the earnest money, option fee, and inspections. At the same time, the lender and title company start working toward closing. After inspections, you may have decisions to make about repairs or whether this is still the right house. Then come the appraisal, loan approval, repair follow-up, final walkthrough, signing, funding, and keys.
Some of those steps happen in order. Several happen at once. The dates and responsibilities come from your contract, so your exact process may look a little different from another buyer’s.
Here is what buyers can expect after going under contract on a home in Bryan-College Station or the surrounding counties.
As soon as the contract is executed, Raylene sends an email that pulls the important dates, deadlines, and immediate responsibilities out of the contract and puts them into plain English. She follows up by email and text as those dates approach.
The first deadline arrives quickly. Earnest money and the option fee are generally due to the title company within three days after the contract’s effective date. Raylene confirms with the title company that the correct amounts were received and satisfy the contract.
Inspections are scheduled at the same time, and the executed contract is sent to the lender and title company so they can begin their work.
This is why the first few days can feel surprisingly busy. The contract does not ease into the process. It starts counting.
Raylene recommends vetted inspectors based on the property, but the buyer makes the final selection. For a typical Bryan-College Station home on city water and sewer, she generally recommends home, pest, and HVAC inspections and coordinates all three to happen together.
A pool, septic system, water well, acreage, older sewer line, visible foundation concern, or unusual feature may call for additional inspections. The right list depends on the house. Ordering every inspection known to mankind is not the goal. Getting the information that could change your decision is.
When the reports arrive, Raylene reviews them with the buyer. That conversation is not simply a tour of every item the inspector marked. The buyer needs to understand what matters for this particular house, price, financing, repair budget, and comfort level.
That may mean separating an older as-built condition from a current failure, deciding whether a specialist needs to take a closer look, or figuring out whether a major repair changes the value of the purchase. When actual costs would help, Raylene contacts vetted contractors and obtains repair bids.
From there, the buyer may decide to accept the home as it is, request repairs or another solution, ask for more time, or terminate while the option-period right is still available. Raylene helps the buyer weigh those choices and handles the negotiation with the seller’s agent.
The seller does not have to agree to every request, and the deadline keeps moving while everyone talks. Any repair agreement or option period extension must be negotiated and signed before the option period expires.
For the full explanation of that stage, see What Is the Option Period in Texas Real Estate?
Inspection negotiations get most of the attention because the buyer can see them happening. Plenty of work is also taking place behind the scenes.
The loan
For a financed purchase, the lender continues reviewing the buyer and the property. Buyers may be asked for updated bank statements, pay stubs, explanations, insurance information, or other documents. Quick, complete responses help keep the loan moving.
Raylene makes sure the lender receives the contract, amendments, receipts, and other documents coming from the real estate side of the transaction. She also watches the loan timeline against the contract deadlines.
Most financed purchases require an appraisal. When the closing timeline allows, Raylene recommends asking the lender to wait until after the option period before ordering it. There is little joy in paying for an appraisal on Tuesday and terminating over inspection findings on Wednesday. A short closing period or lender requirement may mean it needs to be ordered sooner.
If the appraisal creates a value or property-condition problem, the buyer may face another decision or another negotiation. A low appraisal does not automatically require the seller to lower the price.
Title, survey, and property documents
The title company researches ownership and prepares the title work needed for closing. Depending on the property and contract, the buyer may also receive a survey, HOA documents, restrictions, easements, tax information, or other records.
Raylene tracks those documents, reviews them for surprises, and helps the buyer identify anything that needs a question or follow-up before closing.
If a new survey is needed and the schedule allows, Raylene generally recommends ordering it after the option period. That can keep the buyer from paying for a survey on a home the buyer decides not to purchase. With a short closing, waiting may not be practical.
Insurance and repairs
A financed buyer will also need homeowners insurance that meets the lender’s requirements. The roof, claims history, coverage, deductible, and possible flood-insurance requirement can all affect the cost.
If the seller agreed to repairs, Raylene follows their progress and gathers available receipts, invoices, photographs, or other documentation. Depending on the work, the buyer may also choose to have the original inspector or another specialist reinspect it.
The closing date was considered before the offer was submitted. Once the contract is executed, it is an agreed date, not a loose suggestion that can slide because someone has work, class, travel plans, or an inconvenient Tuesday.
If Raylene sees a lender delay, unfinished repair, title issue, or other problem that could affect closing, she starts making calls. Some problems can be solved within the existing timeline. If more time is truly needed, she works to negotiate a written extension. The seller has to agree.
Buyers should plan work, school, travel, moving arrangements, and access to closing funds around the date in the contract.
Raylene schedules the final walkthrough and coordinates the signing appointment. The walkthrough is the buyer’s chance to confirm that the property is still in the expected condition, agreed repairs appear complete, included items remain, the seller has removed belongings as required, and no new problem has appeared.
A walkthrough is not another full home inspection. If a repair needs professional verification, a separate reinspection should be arranged.
If something is wrong, Raylene helps the buyer understand what information is needed and what choices are still available before signing.
At closing, the buyer signs the documents required to complete the purchase and, when applicable, the mortgage. Signing does not always mean the transaction has funded or possession has begun.
Funding, keys, and possession happen according to the contract and closing arrangements.
Once the transaction funds and possession is authorized, the home is officially yours. Now you may stand in the living room and discover that the sofa looked much smaller in your imagination.
After an offer is accepted, the checklist keeps moving, but so does the decision. An inspection finding, repair response, appraisal, title document, insurance cost, or loan condition can change what makes sense for the buyer.
Raylene’s job is to help the buyer understand what that information means for this purchase, compare the available choices, negotiate when needed, and deal with problems while there is still time to solve them.
Raylene Lewis is a REALTOR® with NextHome Realty Solutions BCS serving buyers and sellers throughout Bryan-College Station and surrounding counties, including Brazos, Burleson, Robertson, Grimes counties. Licensed in Texas since 2001, she helps buyers connect contract deadlines, property information, professional evaluations, and negotiation choices to the purchase that best fits their needs.
