What do you need before making an offer?
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.
What goes into an offer besides the 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.
What are contingencies?
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.
What happens after the inspection?
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.
What must the seller 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 ↗)
What happens between contract and closing?
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.
What happens on 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 which costs, 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.
Questions people ask
What is earnest money?
A good-faith deposit that rides with your offer. It's held by a neutral party and credited to you at closing, or forfeited if you walk away without a contingency covering you.
Can you back out of buying a house?
Yes, through contingencies. Inspection, financing, and appraisal contingencies let you renegotiate or exit with your deposit if something real goes wrong.
When do you see the final closing numbers?
At least three business days before closing, on the Closing Disclosure. Compare it line by line to your Loan Estimate and question anything that moved.
Are agent commissions negotiable?
Yes. Since 2024, buyers sign a written agreement with their own agent, before touring, that spells out what that agent is paid and by whom. That number is negotiable before you sign, not after.