Common Mistakes Buyers Make After Going Under Contract

Buyers tend to relax the day their offer is accepted. That is backwards. The contract period is when your earnest money is at risk, your deadlines are running, and your financing can still fall apart. Most of the expensive mistakes in a home purchase happen between contract and closing, and nearly all of them are avoidable.

Changing your financial picture before closing

Your loan approval is based on a snapshot of your finances, and lenders re-verify credit and employment shortly before closing. Buyers lose loans every year by financing a truck, opening a furniture store credit card, moving money between accounts without documentation, or changing jobs two weeks before closing. Until you have keys, make no major purchases, open no new credit, and tell your lender before you move large sums of money. A new sectional is not worth re-underwriting your file.

Treating deadlines as suggestions

Inspection or option periods, financing deadlines, appraisal contingencies, HOA document review windows – each one is a door that closes on a specific date. Miss the inspection window and you may lose your ability to negotiate repairs or exit the contract without losing earnest money. Calendar every deadline the day you go under contract and schedule the inspection within the first day or two, not the last.

Using the inspection report as a wish list

Every inspection report on every house – including new construction – lists dozens of items. Buyers who demand that a seller fix all forty-seven line items usually get a worse outcome than buyers who focus on the things that matter: safety issues, structural concerns, roof condition, and major mechanical systems near end of life. An experienced agent knows what sellers in your market will actually agree to and whether a repair credit serves you better than seller-managed repairs done cheaply the week before closing.

Assuming the appraisal is someone else’s problem

If the appraisal comes in below your contract price, something has to give: the seller reduces the price, you bring the difference in cash, you meet somewhere in the middle, or the contract terminates under whatever appraisal rights your contract actually gives you. Buyers who never discussed this scenario with their agent before offering are negotiating their most expensive term in a panic, on a deadline. Know before you offer what your appraisal contingency says, what waiving it would mean, and how much cash you could realistically bring if the number comes in light.

Ignoring the title commitment and survey

Most buyers never read the title commitment. Read it, or make sure your agent walks you through it. The exceptions section tells you what the title policy will not cover – easements running through the backyard where you planned the pool, mineral rights conveyed decades ago, restrictions that limit what you can build. If a survey exists or is being prepared, confirm the fence lines match the legal boundaries. Fixing an encroachment is far easier before closing than after.

Skipping the final walkthrough

The final walkthrough is not a ceremony. You are verifying agreed repairs were completed and documented, the systems still work, the appliances that were supposed to stay actually stayed, and the seller’s moving company did not put a hole in the wall on the way out. Walk the property as close to closing as possible, and bring the repair amendment with you.

During the walkthrough, run the systems, not just your eyes: heat and air, water at every fixture, the appliances, the garage doors. Take photos of anything wrong. If a problem surfaces, your agent can negotiate a fix or a credit at the closing table – after closing, your leverage drops to nearly zero.

Going quiet on your lender

When underwriting asks for a document, the clock is running. Buyers who take five days to send a bank statement should not be surprised by a delayed closing – and a delayed closing can put you in breach of contract, jeopardize your rate lock, and leave you paying for movers who have nowhere to deliver. Respond to lender requests the same day, even when the requests feel repetitive or invasive. They usually are both, and it does not matter.

Work with an agent who has done this before

A disciplined agent keeps the contract period boring, and boring is what you want. Pure Broker is built around experienced agents who already know how these transactions actually work. Find an agent who fits your situation.