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Select your attorney carefully and get a REAL ESTATE attorney, not your uncles' nephew who does wills and estates and then have faith in him. A good real estate attorney is worth their weight in GOLD.
I'm also not being snippy (hard to convey tone here) but it doesn't sound like you are ready to buy a home. I realize this is a buyer's market, but it's really not fair to the other players involved to drag your feet now. How long do you plan to hold the contract up? Sounds like you have buyer's remorse already!
You can not really say we are dragging our feet if you dont know the full details about this purchase. We are not holding the contract up because we havent even seen it . I was only inquiring if it was OK to take it home and re-review. Did I say that I wanted to take it home and let it sit for a week? No. So dont assume.
I guess we arent the types to give our attorneys and medical professionals blind faith.
... instead of setting the closing date "on or about MONTH DAY, YEAR" set it "on or before MONTH DAY, YEAR." Reason being, if it says "or about" the Seller can drag out the closing date an additional 30 days, so if you're ready to move on the closing date (gave notice to landlord, etc.), you get screwed because you have nowhere to go and the Seller gets away with it. (PS: IF you choose "before" instead of "about" make sure YOU will be ready to move on that day and won't need delays!)
... make your closing contingent on the house being empty and whatever is staying staying (appliances, etc.) or whatever needs to be hauled away, hauled; plus that the house is totally unoccupied (so you don't buy the house and have to evict either the Sellers or their tenant) on a MORNING inspection of the house with an AFTERNOON closing. This way you know everything is in order and as promised at the house you are buying before you go and sign the contract instead of finding a mess afterwards.
... if the Seller wants to close, but still wants temporary possession of the house (they are not ready to move into their next house, etc.) I would be very wary of doing this because more often than not it will cause you trouble. Don't let them make their problems yours.
... instead of setting the closing date "on or about MONTH DAY, YEAR" set it "on or before MONTH DAY, YEAR." Reason being, if it says "or about" the Seller can drag out the closing date an additional 30 days, so if you're ready to move on the closing date (gave notice to landlord, etc.), .
Well, the sellers have an attorney too - my attorney asked if we were ok with "on or before June 30" and we were not. We had "on or about June 30" and closed on 7/22.
But that's what your attorney is getting paid for, right.
You can not really say we are dragging our feet if you dont know the full details about this purchase. We are not holding the contract up because we havent even seen it . .
I don't know all the details because you haven't provided them Nor did you say "we want to look at it and we'll send it back the next day".
You should be able to look it over in the attorney's office....they aren't that difficult to understand. Mostly boilerplate language.
And as pp said - make sure you use a real estate attorney.
... instead of setting the closing date "on or about MONTH DAY, YEAR" set it "on or before MONTH DAY, YEAR." Reason being, if it says "or about" the Seller can drag out the closing date an additional 30 days, so if you're ready to move on the closing date (gave notice to landlord, etc.), you get screwed because you have nowhere to go and the Seller gets away with it. (PS: IF you choose "before" instead of "about" make sure YOU will be ready to move on that day and won't need delays!)
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This could backfire if you are not ready to close by that date. Most delays today are because of the buyer. Banks are taking longer and longer to approve mortgages.
To reply to the OP's original question. Take all the time that you want to review the contract and get comfortable with it. You are the one who has to live with it once it is signed. Understand completely what you are signing. Ask your attorney about any language that you do not fully understand.
This could backfire if you are not ready to close by that date. Most delays today are because of the buyer. Banks are taking longer and longer to approve mortgages.
That's why I added the PS. Allow much more time if buying a "short sale," particularly if there is more than one mortgage on the property. If they are buyers in a shaky situation, there is more risk. If they have the downpayment, credit, income, and the house is appraised correctly, there should not be any major delays. If they don't have those things, then the sale may probably not go through at all. It takes a lot longer around here anyway to complete a transaction than probably anywhere in the country, so we're talking extra built-in months of waiting until the closing occurs from the get-go.
Most complaints I hear are because of the sellers, but actually because something goes wrong with the next house the seller is trying to buy so they try and drag the buyer into their problem, so that fits in with your theory.
I quickly googled what LTV ratio meant ( I hope I am understanding it correctly) . For ex: If we are paying $800K for the home and taking out a mortgage of $528K (34% down) . If the appraisal came back at $740K - LTV 71%.
Am I correct that based on that and assuming if we have high credit scores (800's) the bank would still give us the loan?
I asked one of the mortgage bankers I've had many dealings with and according to her, given the above parameters, you should have no problem proceeding with the purchase/mortgage application.
thank you everyone for your feedback . we signed the contract this morning at our attorneys office. didnt have to bring it home and review lol.
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Things you might want to think about ...
Nor did you say "we want to look at it and we'll send it back the next day".
