I am going to talk about our Michigan real estate contracts. Many of the larger real estate companies in Michigan have what I call generic purchase agreements that they use. They have been gone over by attorneys, and updated over the years to reflect the changing times. Items like faxed and authentisigned documents are allowed now. Many of these generic purchase agreements cover the major issues of title insurance, home inspections, home warranties, walk through before closing, maintenance of the home, earnest money, and how the buyer is going to pay for the home. All the major issues are usually in these generic purchase agreements. So it does not matter whether you are buying a home in Birmingham or looking at homes for sale on all sports lakes in Oakland County you most likely be using a generic purchase agreement because it covers all of the bases that we need. 'There are usually fill in the blank spaces to allow the buyers or sellers to have some leeway on their personal situation. If there is something unique we do an addendum to the purchase agreement to cover that situation.
The part we are going to talk about is the time line of the closing, the time line of when the mortgage is started and finished, the time line of the home inspection. Remember a contract is a legally binding document that all parties must adhere to. It's not up to you to not follow the contract. If you do not abide by the contract the other party may be able to void the contract, or even keep your earnest money. So it is very important that you follow the time lines.
I am going to talk about all three of these sections. Let's talk about the mortgage. Usually there is a time line of starting the mortgage and getting a committment from the bank. As a realtor I have seen any seller go after the buyer because they did not meet the time lines. It really is more of a benefit for the buyer to follow the time lines in the contract. Usually it says in the contract that you must start the mortgage within 5 days. As a buyer it is in your best interest to get the mortgage process started right away because banks and lenders move at their own pace. A delay in getting the mortgage started can cause a delay in closing. So get the mortgage started within the time period specified in the contract.
Next let's talk about the closing time line. A closing date in the contract is a TARGET DATE. What I mean by that is a closing date is not set in stone. It is a date all parties are working to close on. Sometimes banks and lenders take longer than expected and the closing date is missed. A seller cannot void the contract and go to another buyer if all parties are working in good faith to get to closing. Just because your lender is slow will not cause you to lose the home. However if you are not sending in the needed documents to the lender, then you are not working in good faith. The seller then has a right to void the contract. The key is for you the buyer to be doing the things the bank is requesting as quickly as you can. There should be no delays on your part.
The most important deadline or time line is the inspection. Usually you have 7 or 10 days from the signing of the contract to get a home inspection done. This is a very, very important date. If you do not get the home inspection done in that time period you basically lose the right to back out of the contract, you lose the right to inspect the home and to negotiate repairs or a reduction in price. So as soon as you sign the purchase agreement you should be looking for a home inspector. A delay here could be very, very costly and have you buying a home that has major issues. So time is of the essence. For more information feel free to go to http://www.Michiganlakerealestatehomes.com to find out more. Thanks and have a great day Russ Ravary
