03/13/2026
Keys 🔑 Coffee ☕️ and Closings 🏡 with Kristine is back. This time, Amber and Zach are joining me to talk about their home buying journey. Perhaps you are thinking of buying this spring, but you don’t quite understand the process. Stay tuned!
1. Before they put an offer in on a house, they were preapproved with from MJW. They had to do things like have their income verified, have their credit checked, show their last couple years of taxes…etc
2. They also already put down their earnest money deposit. 💵 This normally is in the form of a check, cashiers check, money order, or potentially a wire transfer. This money will be held in an escrow account until closing, and the money will go toward the purchase price.
3. I always recommend doing a home inspection. 🧐
It’s not always required, but I think it’s important to see what’s going on behind the walls and in all the major systems. They have chosen to do an inspection. Depending on the home, other inspections may be needed. Well, and septic, termite, mold, etc…..
4. I didn’t mention this in the video, but we did order title work through Metropolitan Title Company. The most simple way to explain why we do that is to go check the history of this property and make sure nobody else secretly owns it 😉 or has claims on it.
5. Your lender is going to order an appraisal for you. Both you and your lender want to make sure that the house is worth what you are paying for it.
6. Once all of these steps occur, your file is going to go to final underwriting and you will be given what is called a clear to close. Your agent will set up a closing, normally at the title company. You will go and sign all of the documents, committing yourself to the loan and getting the property transferred into your name.
It’s quite the process! It can feel like forever between when you get that accepted offer and when you sign the paperwork to get your keys. 🔑 Good communication, submitting all your documentation right away, being quick about getting an inspection/appraisal are all ways that can help expedite the process. But when you do get the keys to your new home, it makes it all worth it! ☺️