What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Bakersfield Home?

Getting an offer on your home is exciting. Getting an offer you want to accept is even better.

But for many Bakersfield home sellers, that is also the moment when the questions really begin.

What happens after you accept the offer? When does the buyer deposit their money? When will inspections happen? What if they ask you to make repairs? Who orders the appraisal? When do you sign everything? And, perhaps most importantly, when do you actually get paid?

Once an offer is accepted, your home enters escrow and the transaction moves into a completely different phase. There are deadlines to track, disclosures to complete, inspections to coordinate and several important milestones that have to happen before the sale is officially complete.

Here is what Bakersfield home sellers can generally expect after accepting an offer.

Step 1: The Buyer Deposits Their Earnest Money

Shortly after the contract is accepted, the buyer will deposit their Earnest Money Deposit, often called the EMD, into escrow.

The amount of the earnest money deposit is negotiated as part of the buyer’s written offer. It serves as a good-faith deposit showing that the buyer is serious about completing the purchase, and if the transaction closes, that money is generally credited toward the buyer’s purchase.

The California Department of Real Estate describes an earnest money deposit as money typically paid to escrow after entering into the purchase agreement. It also notes that whether a buyer can recover that deposit after canceling can depend on the contingencies and terms included in the contract.

This is one reason contingency dates matter so much.

Depending on the contract, a buyer may have contingencies involving inspections, financing, appraisal or other conditions. Your Realtor should be closely tracking those deadlines, any requests for extensions and the buyer’s written removal of contingencies.

For sellers, this is not something you should have to monitor on your own. A good listing agent should know exactly where you are in the contract and what deadlines are coming next.

Step 2: Paperwork, Paperwork and More Paperwork

Selling a home in California involves a lot of disclosures.

California sellers are required to disclose significant information about the property, and residential transactions commonly involve forms addressing the home's condition, known defects, potential hazards and other information that may affect a buyer's decision.

The California Department of Real Estate explains that, subject to certain exemptions, sellers of one-to-four-unit residential properties have statutory disclosure obligations. One of the best-known documents is the Transfer Disclosure Statement, which addresses the physical condition of the property and known issues.

If that sounds intimidating, it does not have to be.

Your Realtor will provide the appropriate forms, walk you through the process and help explain questions you may have about what information is being requested. Once completed, the applicable disclosures are provided to the buyers for review.

One important rule for sellers is simple: when in doubt, disclose.

Trying to hide a known problem is never worth the risk. Your Realtor can help you understand the disclosure process, and if a question goes beyond the scope of what a real estate professional can advise on, they may recommend consulting the appropriate legal or other professional.

Step 3: The Buyer Completes Their Inspections

This is often the part of escrow sellers worry about the most.

The buyer will generally have an opportunity, depending on the terms of the purchase agreement, to investigate the property.

Many buyers choose to have a general home inspection and a wood-destroying pest or termite inspection. Depending on the property or something discovered during the initial inspection, they may also order more specialized inspections involving the roof, HVAC system, plumbing, electrical system, foundation, pool, sewer or other components.

California DRE guidance specifically recommends that buyers consider professional inspections and notes that repair issues uncovered through those inspections can become part of negotiations between buyer and seller.

So what happens if the inspection finds something?

The buyer may submit a request asking the seller to repair certain items, provide a credit or make another concession.

The important word here is request.

An inspection report does not automatically create a requirement that a seller fix everything an inspector identifies. What happens next depends on the purchase agreement and what the buyer and seller are willing to negotiate. California DRE guidance describes this period as a negotiation. If a seller is unwilling to address requested items, the buyer's options depend on the contract and any applicable contingencies.

This is where an experienced Realtor becomes especially valuable.

Agreeing to everything may cost a seller thousands of dollars unnecessarily. Refusing everything on principle can also jeopardize an otherwise strong transaction. Your Realtor can help you evaluate the request, the severity of the issues, the strength of the buyer, your current market position and the risk of saying yes or no.

Sometimes the right answer is to make the repair. Sometimes a credit makes more sense. Sometimes the right answer really is no.

Every transaction is different.

Step 4: The Appraisal Takes Place

If the buyer is financing the purchase, their lender will generally require an appraisal.

An appraiser will visit the property and develop an independent opinion of its value, taking into consideration the property itself as well as relevant comparable sales and other market information.

Federal appraisal-independence rules prohibit attempts to improperly pressure or coerce the appraiser into reaching a particular value.

In other words, the seller, buyer, Realtors and lender cannot simply tell the appraiser what the home “needs to appraise for.”

Once the appraisal is completed, the report is delivered as part of the buyer's lending process. The buyer is entitled to receive a copy from the lender. The seller does not automatically receive the entire appraisal report, although the buyer or buyer's agent may communicate the result.

If the home appraises at or above the necessary value, this milestone may pass without much fanfare.

If the appraisal comes in below the agreed purchase price, however, another negotiation may begin. Exactly what happens will depend on the contract, the buyer's financing and whether an appraisal contingency remains in place.

Step 5: The Buyer Works Toward Final Loan Approval

While inspections and the appraisal are happening, the buyer's lender is working behind the scenes.

The lender is reviewing the buyer's finances, verifying documentation, reviewing the appraisal and completing the underwriting process required to approve the mortgage.

This is one of those stages where sellers may feel like not much is happening because they are not directly involved in every step.

But a lot is happening.

Your Realtor should remain in communication with the buyer's agent and monitor the transaction so you know whether important financing and contingency deadlines are being met.

This is also why an accepted offer is not the same thing as a closed sale.

There are still pieces that have to come together before the transaction reaches the finish line.

Step 6: The Buyer Completes the Final Walkthrough

As closing approaches, the buyers will typically conduct a final walkthrough of the property.

This is not meant to be an entirely new home inspection.

Instead, the buyers are generally verifying that the property is in the expected condition and checking that any repairs or other work the parties agreed to have completed have actually been done.

For sellers, this is also why it is important to continue taking care of the property while it is in escrow.

Just because contingencies have been removed or moving boxes are piling up does not mean the house no longer matters. The property still needs to be delivered in accordance with the contract.

For buyers, the final walkthrough is often when the purchase starts feeling very real. They may be only days away from getting the keys.

For sellers, that means you are only days away from closing, too.

Step 7: You Sign Your Closing Documents

Near the end of escrow, it is time to sign.

As the seller, you will receive closing documents and execute the documents necessary to complete the transaction. Certain documents affecting title require notarization.

The exact signing process can vary, but escrow will coordinate the documents and let you know what is required.

Meanwhile, the buyer will be completing their own final loan and closing requirements, and escrow will work to make sure everything needed for the transaction is in place.

At this stage, everyone is working toward one very important word:

Recording.

Step 8: The Sale Records With the Kern County Recorder

In Kern County, documents transferring title to real property are recorded with the Kern County Recorder's Office. The Recorder reviews documents for applicable recording requirements and officially records qualifying documents in the county's records.

For a Bakersfield home sale, recording confirmation is the moment everyone has been waiting for.

Once escrow receives confirmation that the transaction has recorded, the sale has officially closed.

Your home has a new owner.

Step 9: The Best Part: You Receive Your Proceeds

After everything that goes into preparing your house, putting it on the market, negotiating an offer, working through inspections, completing paperwork, packing and moving, this is usually the seller's favorite step.

Escrow disburses the funds from the transaction according to the escrow instructions.

Depending on how you have instructed escrow, your net proceeds may be sent to you by wire, issued through another available payment method, or potentially directed into another transaction if you are simultaneously purchasing another property and the transactions have been coordinated that way.

And with that, your home sale is complete.

How Long Does Escrow Take When Selling a Home in Bakersfield?

There is no single escrow timeline that applies to every Bakersfield home sale.

Your closing date is negotiated in the purchase contract, and the transaction may move differently depending on the buyer's financing, inspections, appraisal, contingency periods and any issues that arise along the way.

That is why the period after accepting an offer is just as important as everything that happened before it.

Getting an offer is one achievement.

Successfully getting that offer all the way through escrow and across the finish line is another.

An experienced listing agent should be managing the deadlines, communicating with the other parties, anticipating potential problems and helping you make informed decisions as the transaction progresses.

Thinking About Selling Your Bakersfield Home?

If you are considering selling a home in Bakersfield or anywhere in Kern County, knowing what happens after you accept an offer is only one piece of the process.

From preparing your home for the market and determining the right listing price to negotiating offers and managing the escrow process, The McCarty Group is here to guide you from start to finish.

Have questions about selling your home, your home's current value or what you could expect to walk away with after a sale?

Call or text The McCarty Group at 661-665-SOLD (7653) or visit TheMcCartyGroup.com to get started.