Congratulations, you are on the way to owning your very own home! Follow these suggestions (and your realtor's advice) so that the inspection period will go as smoothly as possible.

You will be asked for an earnest money check to put down on the home you are purchasing. Make sure that there are sufficient funds in your account to cover this check. The earnest money check will be cashed and put into a trust account once the purchase contract and the contingencies have been agreed to, by both the buyer and seller. Earnest money is also called a "good faith" deposit to show your commitment to the transaction. This deposit may vary by agreement, and goes into a trust account until the transaction is complete. You can choose to put down as much as you want, but a good general rule would be 1% of the purchase price. This is sometimes negotiable depending on how much you can afford to put down, and what the sellers are willing to accept. The earnest money stays in a trust account until all of the contingencies have been met and the contract has been fulfilled.

Assuming the sale goes through, this money can be applied to the purchase price of the home, used for closing cost, or may be cut back to the buyers in the form of a check. If for any reason the sale is not consummated, you may be entitled to receive all of your earnest money deposit back. In certain instances, the seller may be able to retain this money.

The time period to satisfy all of the contract contingencies is often 30 days, but may be longer or shorter. During this time, each item specified in the contract must be completed satisfactorily. By the time you have submitted the earnest check, you have come to an agreement with the seller on the closing date and the contingencies. Each contract is different, but most include the following:

1. Inspection contingency: this should be completed as soon as possible after the contract to purchase is signed as unsatisfactory results of the inspection may mean that you will want to cancel the contract.

2. Financing contingency: once the contract is signed, you have a period of time to secure funding. If, for any reason, you are unable to secure funding during the period of time granted to you by the contract (and the seller will not provide a written extension of time), you must decide whether you want to remove the contingency and take your chances on getting a loan. You may choose to cancel the purchase contract.

3. Offsite Conditions: For the purpose of this clause time is of the essence. The Buyer has the option to investigate offsite conditions, at Buyer's expense. Buyer shall have 3 (three) calendar days (Investigation Period) following written Contract acceptance to conduct offsite investigations related to the property. Seller and Seller's agents make no representations with regard to conditions located outside the boundaries of the Real Estate. Buyer assumes sole responsibility for researching conditions outside the boundaries of the Real Estate, Buyer assumes sole responsibility for researching conditions outside the boundaries of the Real Estate, such as but not limited to: crime statistics, registration of sex offenders, local regulations / development and any other issues of relevance to the Buyer. In making this offer, Buyer shall rely solely upon the Buyer's own inquiry with local agencies as to any off-site conditions in the area and is not relying on the Seller or any Realtor involved in the transaction. If Buyer is not satisfied with the results of the offsite conditions investigations and desires to terminate this contract, Buyer shall provide written notification that Buyer is exercising his/her right to terminate the contract, within the Offsite Inspection Period and the contract shall be null and void and the earnest money shall be returned to the Buyer upon execution by Buyer and delivery to Seller of a Termination and Release of Contract to Purchase.

4. A requirement that the seller must provide marketable title.

An attorney or title officer will review the title report. The title must be "clear" to ensure that you do not have legal issues regarding your ownership. They will check into local and state ordinances regarding property transfer and make sure that you and/or the seller have complied with them.

In addition to the contingencies, you will need to secure homeowner's insurance before you can close the sale. It would be in your best interest to apply for insurance as soon as possible after the contract is signed. Contact local utility companies to schedule to have service turned on when you close the sale.

Schedule the final walk-through inspection. At this time, you should make sure that the property is exactly as the contract says it should be. What you thought to be a "permanently attached" chandelier that would come with the property might have been removed by the seller and replaced with a different fixture entirely.

You've made it! Once the sale has closed, you're the proud owner of a new home. Congratulations!

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