Q & A

Contact your local lender or reach out to us and we can put you in contact with some of our preferred lenders to get started with the pre-qualification process. The main thing(s) you will need to know when you get started: how long you have been at your current job, how much do you have in the bank, do you have an idea of what your current debt is, and how far out are you wanting to look at buying?

Earnest money is a good faith deposit provided to the seller, held by the title company upon execution of an agreed upon contract to purchase a home by a buyer. This money usually reflects 1% of the total amount of the amount offered for the home that was agreed upon by both buyer and seller. 

Option money is the monetary amount provided by the buyer, to the seller, held at title until the time of closing that allows the buyer an agreed upon amount of time (1-10 days usually) to have inspections performed on the home. Within this time frame a buyer has the unrestricted right to terminate the contract if they so choose. The option money is non-refundable. 

Earnest and Option Money are due within 48 hours after both parties have agreed upon and executed the One to Four Residential Contract. This money is due to the title company and held by the title company. 

An appraisal is a comparable price analysis performed by a licensed appraiser in the State of Texas. It compares sold homes that are in the surrounding neighborhood of the home the buyer has a contract on that are also similar. It takes into consideration updates, variations in home sizes, the number of bedrooms/bathrooms and other competing factors to best determine the valuation of the home that is under contract. A common misconception is value is determined by price per sq foot of homes sold. It is not calculated that way. The appraisal assists all parties in knowing if the price was agreed upon by both the buyer and seller meet the same valuation that the appraiser has determined. The appraiser is an independent third-party contractor that provides the results to the lender. 

The process to purchase a home, once pre-qualified by a lender, can take anywhere from 30-45 days, depending on a few factors including: if the buyer finds a home they are interested in purchasing immediately.

After a buyer and seller have gone to the title company after 30-45 days of being under contract and signed that all the necessary documents to finalize the sale. The lender will then take a few hours (2-3) to process the file and provide “Funding Notification” indicating to all parties that the funds provided by the buyer, and the documents signed by both buyer and seller, satisfy lender requirements and the home can officially be handed over to the seller. Once this occurs the buyer can receive keys from the title company and move into their new home! 

Borrowing money with an agreement to pay back from a friend or relative to purchase a home is NOT allowed. You cannot obtain debt with debt. However, you can receive a gift of funds depending on the loan program. A gift of funds is given to the buyer without a requirement to pay back. The donor of the gift will be required to sign a “Gift Letter” stating that the money donated is a gift and not a loan. These funds can come from a relative, significant other, domestic partner, etc depending on the loan program. During this process the lender must verify that these funds are verified and documented. In most cases, the donor must provide proof that these funds have been in their account and have not been recently deposited causing the deposit to be sourced and explained where it came from. When you are obtaining gift funds to purchase a house, it is best to talk to your lender before depositing/accepting money or making decisions on gifts.