So, you have now looked at homes, you have an accepted offer on a home, and you are now in your due dilligence process, an all-encompassing term where you get your inspections, financing, and everything done during this process. It used to be a contract where we wrote contingencies on individual items, but now, again, it’s an all-encompassing word.
So, the first thing you want to make sure of, especially if you’re financing, is to give yourself enough time to make sure your appraisal comes back on the property and that your loan has gone into underwriting. Just making sure that there is nothing that could be holding you up from getting the loan. So, that is your first and foremost item during this process.
#2 is home inspection. You might have gone through your home and it looks beautiful, but a home inspection helps reveal items that you may not see. It helps to know what you’re getting into. That’s also an item that can be negotiated during this process between buyer and seller if anything comes up.
Another item that is very important in our area is a termite inspection. We have a humid area down here so anything on a crawlspace, I always recommend to do a termite inspection. It will reveal any damage done by termites.
Depending where you’re buying, survey may be very important. In some historic areas of Southport, I actually ran into a situation where a neighbor’s pool was on the homesite that was being purchased. So, certain areas, you want to make sure that the property you are buying is actually the property that you are buying.
Another great thing to do during this process is to discover insurance costs. If the home you’re purchasing is in a flood zone or non-flood zone, so you can get all your figures together.
There are many other items that you can do during this process. It’s really on an individual basis depending on where and what you’re buying. But, again, Due Dilligence is an all-encompassing term and you just want to make sure that you’re getting the various items done during this process cause if you cancel after this time period you run the risk of losing your earnest money.
About Nolan Formalarie
Nolan Formalarie has been in the North Carolina Real Estate Industry for over 8 years and enjoys every minute of it. He is involved in every aspect of the industry including selling and purchasing residential property, home watch services, property management, association management and construction.
