Getting your offer accepted feels like the finish line. It’s actually the start of the real work.
Escrow Opens
Once accepted, escrow opens with a neutral third party who handles the funds and paperwork through closing. Your earnest money deposit typically gets wired within a few days of opening escrow.
Disclosures Arrive
The seller provides a set of legally required disclosures covering the property’s condition, known issues, and natural hazard zones. Read these carefully. This is where you first learn things a walkthrough alone wouldn’t reveal.
Inspection Period
You’ll typically have a defined contingency period, often around 17 days in a standard California contract, to complete inspections, review disclosures, and decide whether to proceed, renegotiate, or in some cases cancel.
Appraisal
If you’re financing, your lender orders an appraisal to confirm the home’s value supports the loan amount. If it comes in low, you, the seller, and your agents negotiate how to bridge the gap.
Loan Underwriting Finalizes
Your lender completes final underwriting and issues a clear-to-close once everything checks out.
Final Walkthrough
Shortly before closing, you do a final walkthrough to confirm the property’s condition matches what was agreed, and that any negotiated repairs were completed.
Closing and Keys
You sign final documents, the deed records with the county, and the home is officially yours, typically 30 to 45 days after your offer was accepted.
If you want a clear walkthrough of this process for your specific purchase, get in touch.
