Escrow Tips for Home Buyers

Congratulations, you are in escrow. This means you are on your way to home ownership. However, it is important to make sure the ensuing thirty plus days go by smoothly. Read below for some tips.  

Communication is Key It’s important to keep a constant and open line of communication with your agent, lender, and escrow officer(s). Ask your realtor to provide weekly updates on the status of what is pending. From disclosures and contingencies, to loan approvals and appraisals, there is a lot that will happen during escrow. It’s a good idea to make note of deadlines and to make sure to sign or turn in any documents and information that are due in a timely manner. Now is also the time to speak up, if you need clarification or further explanations. Keep track of everything and ask questions. There is no such thing as over-communicating, especially during escrow.

End your Search Once you are officially in escrow, stop your home search. It’s tempting to continue to look, especially if you’ve been searching for a long time. However, you’d be doing yourself a disservice. The market is constantly changing, and you might come across several new properties you think would have been a better fit, or more within your budget. But, you’d also take away the focus of getting through the escrow you are in, in a timely and sufficient manner. It might be helpful to delete home searching apps and unsubscribe from emails about new homes on the market. Since you've already found your home, the focus should be on escrow.

Don’t Spend (Too Much) If you've applied for a standard or conventional loan, it is important to try to keep your credit score and finances static. Making large purchases using credit may negatively impact your debt-to-credit ratio, and potentially put you in a different financial state than you were in during your pre-approval process. This could delay or prevent the loan from being approved. If you want to buy all the furniture for your new home, or a boat to park at your new dock, it might be wise to use cash, or to hold off until after the close of escrow. 

Next week's blog will feature tips for home sellers in escrow!