• Target closing date; • Earnest deposit associated with the o ff er, as well as method of deposit; • Disposition of earnest deposit if deal falls through or fails; • Plans for adjusting taxes, fuel, and water bills between buyer/seller; • Who will pay for title insurance, land survey, home inspections, etc.; • Th e deed to be granted; • State-mandated legal requirements; • Attorney review of contract; • Any disclosures; • Th e time a ft er which the o ff er will expire. Something else to consider is contingencies. Many o ff ers are made contingent upon a factor or event that must be resolved before the o ff er moves forward. Th e two most common contingencies are fin ancing and home inspections. For fin ancing, the o ff er is made contingent on the fir st-time buyer receiving a s uffi cient mortgage loan from their bank, or for current homeowners, contingent upon the sale of their home. For home inspections, the o ff er is made contingent upon a satisfactory home inspection report. Th is might seem like a lot to remember and keep in mind when making an o ff er on a home. Th at’s because it is. And that’s why you need to hire and work with an experienced real estate agent, so you can gain the upper hand and have the power in the negotiation process, which we’ll discuss in Chapter 10. Step 9: Put Money in Escrow Part of the home-buying process involves putting money into escrow; the buyer is expected to put money into escrow in order to make the contract binding, which then helps the contract move 83
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