The seller has accepted your offer, and now you just need to seal the deal. After choosing the home and securing the mortgage, Atlanta home buyers need to take just a few more steps to finalize this process. This is called the closing, and here’s an overview of what’s involved.
Locking in the Interest Rate on Your Mortgage in Atlanta
Typically, when you take out a mortgage, your interest rate is not finalized until the closing process. Once you sign all the paperwork, then the interest rate is finalized. Work closely with your mortgage broker to ensure you get the best interest rate for your needs. Most mortgage companies in Georgia offer a variety of different mortgages including ones with fixed and variable rates so that you can find exactly what you need for your unique financial situation.
Putting the Funds in Escrow
Atlanta mortgage brokers can answer questions about the specifics of how this step works, but essentially, when you put the funds in escrow, you are giving them to a third party. This helps to protect both the buyer and the seller. It ensures that nobody disappears with the funds, and it keeps the money completely safe until the sale is complete.
Checking the Legal Details
Do a title search to make sure the title is free and clear and that you’re not inadvertently buying a home with a lien on the title. Then, have a lawyer look over the small print of the closing documents.
Negotiating Closing Costs
When you finalize your mortgage, there may be additional fees or closing costs. For instance, you may need to pay a certain amount of interest upfront, or you may need to pay application fees or other costs. At BrightPath, we’re the no closing cost specialists. Ask us for more information about our no closing cost mortgages. Buying a home is an expensive process, but with no closing costs, you can save a little more.
Doing the Home Inspection
To ensure everyone is on the same page, you need to complete the home inspection. This ensures that the home is in good condition and that it doesn’t have any pest infestations. If there are any structural issues, you may want to back out of the deal. In other cases, you may want to use issues to negotiate a lower price. To be on the safe side, when taking out a mortgage, Atlanta buyers should ensure that the mortgage has a contingency that they can back up if issues show up during the inspection.
Checking Off Contingencies
As indicated above, you should work some contingencies into your purchase offer. That way, you can back out of the deal if it isn’t right for you. In addition to putting in contingencies about the inspection, you should put in contingencies about the mortgage interest rate and seller disclosures. At this point, if those elements are in place, you can remove the contingencies and complete the deal.
After that, you do a final work through and sign the paperwork. Then, the house is yours. To get started on this process, contact us at BrightPath. We can help you get the mortgage in Atlanta that is the best for you.