In this article
- Key Takeaways
- The Role of Contingencies and Risk Mitigation
- Why Waive a Contingency?
- When Is It Safe to Waive Contingencies?
- Major Contingencies in the Pre-Approval Process
- Financing Contingency
- Inspection Contingency
- Appraisal Contingency
- Waive the Financing Contingency and Reduce Risk With an Upfront Approval Guarantee
- An Upfront Approval Guarantee Plus a Mortgage Calculator Georgia Residents Need
When you’ve found the perfect Georgia home, it’s natural to feel a sense of urgency around finalizing the purchase. But there are many elements involved in buying a house, from the inspection to finding the best mortgage rates in Georgia.
For some people, the entire home-buying process can take anywhere from a few months to a year. That’s a long time to wait to start a new chapter. If this isn’t an option for you, there are ways to expedite things – and it starts with preparation.
Confirming your financial readiness, taking advantage of mortgage pre-approval options, and waiving contingencies is a great way to strengthen your offer. This puts you at the front of the line and speeds up your home-buying journey.
Key Takeaways
- Expedite home-buying by confirming financial readiness, securing mortgage pre-approval, and waiving contingencies.
- Contingencies protect against financial loss if issues arise during inspection, appraisal, or loan approval.
- Waiving contingencies can speed up closing and strengthen your offer but should be done cautiously.
- Waive contingencies if the property is new or well-known, market value is clear, and finances are strong.
- Major contingencies include financing, inspection, and appraisal, each offering specific protections.
- Waive financing contingency only if loan approval is certain to expedite the process.
- Inspection and appraisal contingencies offer negotiation opportunities but can delay the process.
- The Moreira Team’s Upfront Approval Guarantee can further mitigate risks and streamline buying.
The Role of Contingencies and Risk Mitigation
In a perfect world, closing on a new home would go over without a hitch for everyone. Unfortunately, there are several points in the process where the deal could fall through. The inspection may reveal hidden issues, the home appraisal could fall short of the asking price, or you could get rejected for a mortgage loan,
Contingencies in a home purchasing contract help protect you and the seller from losing money if one of these things happens. Essentially, they’re terms that help mitigate risk for both parties.
For example, you may use a mortgage calculator Georgia homeowners trust to get an estimate on the interest you’ll pay on a loan. However, if there are issues with your credit or debt-to-income ratio, you may not get the rate you were expecting – you may even get rejected for the loan altogether. In this case, a financing contingency allows you to walk away from the deal and keep your deposit.
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Why Waive a Contingency?
If you’re trying to expedite the home-buying process, waiving certain contingencies may be a good idea. Doing so shows the seller you’re serious about the deal. This strengthens your offer and gives you a leg up on other potential buyers.
Waiving contingencies also simplifies and streamlines the closing process. With fewer terms, you and the seller can move forward quickly without unexpected delays or errors.
When Is It Safe to Waive Contingencies?
Because purchasing contingencies mitigate risk, you need to ensure your situation is appropriate before waiving them. The last thing you want to do is make yourself vulnerable to financial loss.
Use the following points as a checklist to decide if waiving contingencies is a good idea:
- The property is a new build or you’re familiar with the condition of the home.
- You know the market value of the property.
- Your income, credit score, and debt-to-income ratio are strong.
- You’re buying the home with cash.
Before making a decision, use our mortgage calculator Georgia home buyers trust. It will give you an accurate idea of your monthly mortgage payment given a home’s price, taxes, and other factors.
Major Contingencies in the Pre-Approval Process
If you’re ready to get the ball rolling, getting pre-approved is a smart first step. This involves your lender evaluating your financial standing to decide how much you’ll qualify for.
While pre-approval strengthens your offer and speeds up the home-buying process, it doesn’t guarantee you’ll get the loan. There are also contingencies involved. Here’s a breakdown of the primary ones you can expect.
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Financing Contingency
This clause allows you to cancel the purchasing contract if you don’t get fully approved for the loan. With this in place, you’re under no obligation to buy and can reclaim your earnest money deposit.
Financing contingencies have deadlines you must adhere to. There are also other terms such as the loan amount and interest rate. This is another situation when our mortgage calculator Georgia residents love will come in handy.
Sweetening your offer by waiving the financing contingency is a good way to shorten the timeline of your buying process. However, it’s best to do this only if you’re sure you’ll get approved for the loan.
Inspection Contingency
Another common clause in a purchasing contract, the inspection contingency helps ensure the home you’re considering is in good condition. It lets you back out of the deal if an inspector finds that the home has major issues like foundation problems or faulty plumbing.
You can use the inspection as leverage to negotiate for a lower asking price. It’s also common for buyers to ask the seller to fix the problems before proceeding with the closing. And while this benefits you financially, it prolongs the process.
In today’s competitive market, waiving the inspection contingency makes your offer more attractive to sellers and can get you into a home quicker. However, only consider doing this if you’re 100% certain the home is in tip-top shape. You can also seek out previous inspection reports to determine if it’s safe to waive the contingency.
Appraisal Contingency
Knowing you’ve overpaid for a home after a closing can sting. An appraisal contingency protects you from this. This clause lets you back out of the deal if a licensed appraiser finds that the home’s value is less than the asking price.
A low appraisal is also a good opportunity to negotiate. You could ask the seller to come down on their price and walk away with your earnest money if they refuse.
If you’ve done your market research and know the value of the home and neighborhood, waiving the appraisal contingency is an option. Eliminating the need to schedule an appraiser and have them inspect the property could shorten the home-buying process by several weeks.
Waive the Financing Contingency and Reduce Risk With an Upfront Approval Guarantee
If you’re having trouble deciding whether waiving contingencies is worth a quicker closing, there’s another option to consider. The Moreira Team offers an Upfront Approval Guarantee that adds fuel to your offer and mitigates risk for you and the seller.
Using this program gives the seller total confidence you’re getting the financing you need. A lender verifies your assets, credit, and qualifying income before you make an offer. When you approach a seller, you have a fully underwritten approval in your back pocket.
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This is much more powerful than a pre-approval that’s only based on credit and unverified income. With the Upfront Approval Guarantee, your bank records, credit scores, assets, income, and tax statements all get verified for up to 120 days.
The program also helps you budget by letting you know exactly how much you’re approved for. Combined with our mortgage calculator Georgia homebuyers need to try, you can get a birds-eye view of your long-term financial standing.
Finally, the program gives you the freedom to waive the financing contingency. This helps you stand out to sellers and can reduce the purchasing time by a week.
An Upfront Approval Guarantee Plus a Mortgage Calculator Georgia Residents Need
If you’re ready to buy a home and you mean business, the Moreira Team can help you expedite the process. Our mortgage professionals can advise you on the right loan for your situation and get you set up on our Upfront Approval Guarantee program. It’s the smartest way to mitigate risk when moving quickly to buy a home.
Start by using our mortgage calculator Georgia residents have turned to again and again. This will help you determine a home’s affordability and set a foundation for making the right financial moves in the future.