Key Dates in a Real Estate Transaction

Your off has been accepted, whether you are a Buyer or a Seller, and escrow has begun. A lot of people don’t realize that the real work starts when escrow begins. In escrow, there are three milestone dates in a standard California Residential Purchase Agreement that you’ll need to know about. Those numbers are 3, 17, and 21.

 

The first number to know about is 3. Once escrow is opened, the Buyer has 3 business days to get his or her earnest money deposit into escrow.

 

The next number is 17. You’ll have 17 days from the start of escrow to remove your Appraisal contingency. What does that mean? Well, your lender will send an appraiser out to the property to confirm that you are buying a home that’s worth as much as you are paying for it. The Buyer also has 17 days to remove the investigation contingency by reviewing the disclosures, HOA docs, and other reports that are provided by the Seller.

 

So how do you inspect the property? Well, we highly recommend that you bring in a third-party inspector to inspect the house whether it is a roof inspection, home inspection, and pest inspection. You really want to know what you’re buying. And at the end of 17 days, you’ll be able to remove that inspection contingency. I’ll do another segment about the investigation contingency because there are a lot of things to talk about on that.

 

The last number is 21 days – and that’s the big one! 21 days from the start of escrow you will have to remove your loan contingency. What does that mean? Your loan officer and underwriter need to have all the documentation together and approve the loan. Once that’s approved, then you’ll sign that contingency removal and it will be clear sailing to the close of escrow.

 

So to recap, the three milestone dates in escrow that you’ll need to remember are 3, 17, and 21. And don’t forget, your REALTOR will be with you every step of the way to keep you on track.