What to Do After Your Offer Is Accepted on a House?

Once a seller accepts your offer, you have roughly 30 to 45 days to close, and the clock starts immediately. What to do after your offer is accepted on a house breaks down into a sequence of deadlines: wire your earnest money within days, complete the inspection in the first week or two, get your loan file and appraisal through underwriting, clear title, review your final numbers, walk through the property, and sign. Each step has a date attached, and missing one can cost you the deposit or the house.

Send the Earnest Money Deposit

Your first obligation is delivering the earnest money, usually within three days of signing the purchase agreement. The amount is typically 1% to 3% of the purchase price, so on a $400,000 home that’s $4,000 to $12,000.

The money doesn’t go to the seller. An escrow agent or title company holds it in a dedicated trust account, separate from any operating funds, and at closing the full deposit is credited toward your down payment or closing costs.

Whether you get the deposit back if the deal falls apart depends entirely on your contract’s contingencies. Cancel within a valid contingency (inspection, financing, appraisal) and the money comes back to you. Back out after a contingency deadline passes, or for a reason the contract doesn’t cover, and the seller typically keeps it. Both agents usually need to sign off on any release, and disputes over earnest money can end up in court. Treat every contingency date as a hard deadline, because that’s what it is.

Know Your Contingency Deadlines

Contingencies are the contractual escape hatches that protect your deposit. Most purchase agreements include three, each with its own clock:

  • Inspection contingency: a set number of days to have the home professionally inspected and either accept the results, negotiate, or walk away. Once this deadline passes without action, you’ve accepted the home’s condition.
  • Financing contingency: protects you if your mortgage falls through despite a good-faith effort to get approved. This window typically runs 30 to 60 days. If your lender denies the loan within the contingency period, you can cancel and recover your deposit.
  • Appraisal contingency: lets you back out if the home appraises for less than the agreed price and you and the seller can’t reach a new deal. Without this clause, you’d owe the difference in cash or risk losing your deposit.

Once a contingency deadline passes, your deposit becomes non-refundable for that issue. Your agent should be tracking the dates, but these are your deadlines and your money.

Schedule the Home Inspection

The inspection window is usually one of the earliest deadlines, commonly seven to ten days after the contract’s effective date. A licensed inspector conducts a thorough visual examination of the home’s major systems: foundation, roof, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, and built-in appliances. You’ll receive a written report documenting every defect and maintenance concern.

Even a well-maintained home will have a list of findings. The question isn’t whether the report has issues. The question is whether those issues change the math on the deal.

Responding to the Inspection Report

You generally have three paths, and you can mix them:

  • Request repairs. You ask the seller to fix specific problems before closing. This works best for clear-cut issues like a broken furnace or a roof leak. The risk is that the seller picks the cheapest contractor and you have limited control over quality.
  • Ask for a closing credit. The seller credits you money at closing, reducing the cash you bring. You get to choose your own contractor after move-in. Lenders cap how much the seller can contribute toward closing costs, so check with your loan officer before negotiating a large credit.
  • Negotiate a price reduction. The purchase price drops to account for needed work. This lowers your monthly payment slightly over the life of the loan, but it doesn’t put cash in your hand for repairs the way a credit does.

If the inspection reveals something serious and the seller won’t budge, the inspection contingency lets you cancel and recover your earnest money. Just act before the deadline expires.

Submit Your Loan Documents

Your lender needs an extensive paper trail before signing off on the mortgage. The centerpiece is the Uniform Residential Loan Application (Form 1003), the standard form designed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for residential mortgages.1Fannie Mae. Uniform Residential Loan Application (Form 1003) It captures your income, debts, and assets. Beyond the application itself, expect to provide:

Pull these documents together early. Paperwork delays are one of the most common reasons closings get pushed back.

What to Do if the Appraisal Comes In Low

Your lender orders an independent appraisal to confirm the home is worth what you’ve agreed to pay. If the appraised value matches or exceeds the purchase price, you’re clear to proceed. If it comes in low, you have four options: cover the gap in cash with a larger down payment, renegotiate the price with the seller, request a review of the appraisal if you think comparable sales were missed, or use your appraisal contingency to walk away with your deposit. The worst position is having waived the appraisal contingency in a bidding war and then getting a low number. At that point you either pay the gap or risk losing your deposit.

Once underwriting verifies your financial data and the appraisal clears, you’ll receive a “cleared to close” status. That’s the green light to schedule closing.

Clear the Title

While you’re handling inspections and loan paperwork, the title company is searching public records to verify that the seller has clear ownership. The search looks for unpaid taxes, outstanding liens, court judgments, unresolved mortgages, and easements that could restrict how you use the property. Anything that surfaces has to be resolved before closing.

Two kinds of title insurance come up. Lender’s title insurance is almost always required when you take out a mortgage. It protects the lender’s investment if a title problem emerges after closing, but it does nothing for you personally.4Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Lender’s Title Insurance? Owner’s title insurance is optional and protects your equity. If someone later sues claiming a prior right to the property, say an undisclosed heir or an old contractor lien, the policy covers your legal defense and financial losses.5Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Is Owner’s Title Insurance? You pay once at closing, and it lasts as long as you own the home. Most real estate attorneys consider it worth the cost.

Budget for Closing Costs

Beyond the down payment, closing costs typically run 2% to 5% of the loan amount.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. What Fees or Charges Are Paid When Closing on a Mortgage and Who Pays Them? Common categories include:

  • Lender fees: origination, underwriting, and credit report charges.
  • Appraisal and inspection fees paid to the professionals who evaluated the home.
  • Title charges: the title search, lender’s title insurance, and owner’s title insurance if you buy it.
  • Government fees: county recording fees to file the new deed and mortgage, plus any applicable transfer taxes.
  • Prepaid expenses: property taxes prorated through the end of the tax period, prepaid homeowners insurance, and prepaid interest covering the days between closing and your first mortgage payment.
  • Escrow setup: if your lender requires an escrow account for taxes and insurance, you’ll fund the initial reserve at closing.

Government-backed loans add their own upfront charges. FHA loans carry a mortgage insurance premium of 1.75% of the loan amount, VA loans include a funding fee ranging from 1.4% to 3.6%, and USDA loans charge a 1% guarantee fee.

Verify Every Wire Instruction by Phone

Wire fraud targeting homebuyers has become one of the most common real estate scams. Criminals hack into email accounts of agents, title companies, or attorneys, then send fake wiring instructions that route your closing funds to a fraudulent account. Once the money is wired, it’s usually gone within minutes.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau recommends several specific precautions.7Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Mortgage Closing Scams: How to Protect Yourself and Your Closing Funds Before closing, identify two trusted contacts, your agent and your settlement agent, and discuss the payment process with them in person or by phone. Consider agreeing on a code phrase only you and those contacts know. When you receive wiring instructions, call the trusted contacts at phone numbers you already have on file to confirm the account details. Never follow wiring instructions from an email without verifying them first, and never click links or download attachments from messages about your closing funds. Email is not secure enough for financial information under any circumstances.

Review the Closing Disclosure and Walk the Property

Your lender is required to deliver the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before the closing meeting.8eCFR. 12 CFR 1026.19 – Certain Mortgage and Variable-Rate Transactions This document lays out your final loan terms, monthly payment, interest rate, and a line-by-line breakdown of every closing cost. Compare it carefully against the Loan Estimate you received earlier. If the APR, loan product, or certain fees change significantly, the lender must issue a corrected disclosure and the three-day clock restarts.9Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure FAQs

The Final Walkthrough

On closing day or the day before, you’ll walk through the property one last time. This isn’t a second inspection. It’s confirmation that the home is in the condition you agreed to buy and that the seller has held up their end of the contract. Check that any agreed-upon repairs were completed. Verify that everything included in the sale (appliances, fixtures, ceiling fans) is still there. Run faucets, flush toilets, flip light switches, and test the HVAC briefly. Look for new damage to walls, floors, or the exterior. Confirm the seller has fully moved out and left the home broom-clean.

If you discover a problem, don’t sign and hope to deal with it later. Raise it with your agent immediately. Depending on severity, you may be able to delay closing, negotiate a repair escrow holdback, or adjust the terms.

Sign at the Closing Meeting

The closing meeting takes place at a title company or attorney’s office. You’ll sign the promissory note (your promise to repay the loan) and the deed of trust or mortgage (which secures the debt against the home). Payment for your remaining closing costs and down payment is made by certified cashier’s check or wire transfer. Personal checks aren’t accepted for these amounts.

After all signatures are collected, the lender funds the loan by transferring the mortgage amount to the settlement agent, who distributes the proceeds to the seller. Legal ownership officially transfers when the county recorder’s office files the new deed in the public land records. The seller then hands over the keys, garage remotes, and any access codes, and the home is yours.