Any failures in these steps can cause a deal to fall apart. Your agent is as much a facilitator when it comes to what is termed "bumps a long the road" as she/he is the person responsible for getting you the offer. We have a saying in real estate that sums up to: "the work really begins with the acceptance of an offer".

Once both parties have agreed on a price, then each has a set of responsibilities to accomplish to allow the deal to proceed. Your respective agents work with you to ensure that the time line is honoured, or if required extended to allow compliance.

It is the responsibility of the purchaser to provide proof of financing within the set time line of the contract. This is a letter from the mortgage company stating that they will provide the funds on closing day. On occasion this step can fall apart very late in the process because of a late observation or requirement from the mortgage company. When this happens it is the most frustrating situation for you and your agents to deal with. Fortunately this is a very rare occurrence. The purchaser is also responsible for setting up the home and insurance inspections.

Home inspections can be professional companies, a relative or yourself for that matter. The inspection has for a purpose to appraise the state of the infrastructure. Roof, electrical, plumbing, foundation and other expensive components of a home. Although professional home inspectors will have a lengthy list of items they want to check, like whether the property grade slopes sufficiently away from the structure or if there are safety railings for the deck or stairs, these none critical items should be viewed as a to do list for the new home buyer rather then a deal breaker. Let's face it, you own a home, their will always be things that need to be done. Major components that are substandard however present additional large expenses and usually require immediate attention. When an inspection reveals up until then unknown issues with a major structural component, this can cause a buyer to rethink his or her position. Your agent can provide invaluable assistance in these matters. First, it is important to note that the home inspector (professionally trained or otherwise) is not an electrician, plumber or any of the other skilled set of labourer and can only expression concern over the findings. They should not quote you a repair price and if they do, you would be best served by getting industry professionals to appraise the situation. Usually your agent can recommend 2-3 tradespersons with reputable backgrounds to provide this service. Once a true price of repairs has be established, it is often customary to have the two side renegotiate. With a willing seller and buyer this can still be remedied. As an example, on one particular deal for which an offer price was accepted, it was found during the inspection that a large roof structure would need to be redone. After establishing the price of repairs, both parties agreed to split the cost. The deal closed with two satisfied parties. Insurance inspections are usually less problematic although just as important for without insurance there is no mortgage! Insurance inspections focus on items that may cause the insuring company to have to payout. Items that are focused upon would be the state of the electrical system, and any installed woodstove or fireplace. Are they up to code?

It is the responsibility of the vendor to ensure the oil tank is tagged and that a zero based water test is obtained. Should the oil tank fail, the vendor has to replace it prior to close. Your oil provider can assist. If a water test fail, it is up to the vendor to remedy this situation. Water test can be very finicky subjects and knowledge of proper steps (or lack there of) can often mean the difference between success and failure. We recommend speaking with Manderson Well Drilling http://www.driller.ca  or hiring WaterWise to do the test.

Once all of these items have been satisfied for both parties and within the time line; your real estate agents will request the signing of a removal of clause form and send the entire file to your respective lawyers. Law firms, although they maybe in possession of the documentation from the very onset, will usually wait for the agents to send a removal of clauses before beginning the task of verifying the property. This is to avoid handing you a bill should the deal fail to get through any of the steps above.

Having completed all the steps above, parties meet with their legal representative on the appointed day to arrange the final distribution of funds and transfer of titles.

Now that was easy wasn't it! In actuality it was. This synopsis represents a pretty straight forward transaction in the real estate world. Hence the saying that the work only begins with the offer process. Having a trusted real estate agent and lawyer by your side can prove to be invaluable to you for more reasons than would be apparent on the surface.