Before the offer: two pieces of paper
Your pre-approval (from the mortgage side) tells sellers you're real. And since the 2024 industry settlement, a buyer-representation agreement with your agent is now standard practice: it states what your agent charges, and that number is negotiable before you sign — not after. Ask what happens if the seller offers to cover part of it. Compensation offers no longer ride along on the listing database; everything is negotiated deal by deal.
The offer: more than a price
An offer is a package: price, your earnest-money deposit (a good-faith deposit, held by a neutral party, credited to you at closing — or forfeited if you walk away without a contingency covering you), the closing date, what stays with the house (appliances, fixtures), which fees each side pays, and your contingencies. Sellers weigh the whole package — a slightly lower price with clean terms and solid financing beats a higher price that looks likely to fall apart.
Contingencies: your legal exits
In hot markets buyers get pressured to waive these. Understand precisely what each waiver means: waiving inspection means buying what the seller knows and you don't; waiving appraisal means promising cash you may not have. Sometimes shortening a window is the sane middle ground between waiving and losing the house.
The inspection, and negotiation round two
Hire your own inspector (your agent can suggest names; the choice is yours) and attend the inspection — the walkthrough commentary is worth more than the report. Every house has findings; the question is which ones matter: roof, foundation, electrical, plumbing, HVAC (heating and cooling), and water intrusion are the money items. Then you have options: ask the seller to repair before closing, ask for a credit at closing and handle it yourself (often cleaner — you control the contractor), reduce the price, or — for genuine deal-breakers — use your exit.
Florida note: insurers here often require their own inspections (wind mitigation, four-point) before they'll write a policy — line those up early.
Disclosures: what the seller must tell you
Sellers must disclose known problems — what's required varies by state, and the forms are standardized. Read every line of the disclosure, and read it again after the inspection: "seller wasn't aware" and "inspector found in twenty minutes" is a conversation worth having. Federal law adds a lead-paint disclosure for homes built before 1978 — including a 10-day window to test for lead if you want it. (EPA's rule ↗)
Between contract and closing: the quiet month
While the loan processes (30–45 days, typically): the title company or attorney searches the title (confirming the seller actually owns it free of surprise claims) and issues title insurance; the appraisal happens; you finalize homeowners insurance (start shopping the day the contract is signed — especially in Florida); and you resist the one classic mistake — don't open new credit or make big purchases before closing. Lenders re-check right before funding, and new debt can kill an approved loan at the finish line.
Closing day
You'll get your Closing Disclosure — the final numbers — at least three business days before closing (federal rule); compare it line-by-line to your Loan Estimate and question anything that moved. Do the final walkthrough within a day of closing: agreed repairs done, house empty and in promised condition, everything that was supposed to stay still there. Then the signing marathon — every form is decoded in home-loan documents, explained — the money moves, and the keys are yours.
Who pays what (and what's negotiable)
Custom varies by state, but commonly: buyers pay lender fees, appraisal, inspection, and their title/escrow share; sellers pay their agent's fee (and, post-2024, whether and how much they contribute to the buyer's agent is explicitly negotiable deal by deal); taxes and utilities get split at the closing date. Almost all of it can be shifted in negotiation — "seller pays $X toward closing costs" is one of the most common deal-sweeteners in slower markets.