Contract To Closing Timeline


Today I met with my Realtor to initial the changes the seller and I agreed to and to discuss the timeline from now until closing on the house. There isn’t a ton of stuff that needs to get done, but all of it is important. Luckily my Realtor is very organized and is going to make sure all of the necessary parties do their part so this deal will happen.

The next step for me is to get a home inspection. I’m hoping to have that happen no later than Wednesday. Since the contract says it has to happen within ten days I need to get it done or I waive my right to negotiate for the seller to address the issues.

After I get a home inspection that I’m OK with, the next step is to apply for a mortgage. I’m hoping to do this Thursday or Friday at the latest. I don’t think I’ll have a problem getting the mortgage approved based on my income or assets, but I do still have a concern with regard to moving money around.

I have to get a cashier’s check for a significant amount to give to the seller’s Realtor no later than Monday. The trouble is that the money for that check is sitting in my savings account. I was told by just about everyone under the sun not to move any money around before you apply for the mortgage. This is a problem. How the heck can I get a cashier’s check cut if the money is in a savings account, not my checking account? I need to transfer the money from my savings to my checking, which takes a day. Then I need to get the check cut. If I do that on a Saturday, will they date the check for Saturday? Most of the time when I bank on a Saturday they date things for Monday, but Monday is Labor Day, so will they date the check for Tuesday? If they do that, and it’s a day late, does that mean the contract will fall apart? My Realtor says I’ll be OK, but I’m really nervous about it.

I want to talk to the loan officer at the bank when I speak to him to schedule my appointment to apply for the mortgage to ask him about this issue. Since I’ll be applying for the mortgage at the same bank that I have my savings and checking account at, would it be OK to move that money before I apply for the mortgage since he’d be able to see the paper trail? I certainly hope so. Ugh, I’m seriously freaking out over that.

Assuming I get past the mortgage approval process and am able to cut the deposit check without issue the next step will be to shop for homeowner’s insurance. I have a few leads on that, and I don’t think it will be too hard to get a few quotes and choose someone.

After I secure insurance, I’ll need to call utility companies to let them know when I’ll be closing on the house so they can switch everything over to my name and ensure services will be connected.

The day of the closing I’ll need to get one more bank check for the final amount of closing costs, take a final walk through of the house and then sign the papers!

I think if I get past the whole “move money into my checking account so I can get a cashier’s check cut” problem, the rest will fall into place, but right now, that has me beyond paranoid.