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- homebuyer's guide >
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- what happens and when
Get a home inspection
You should get a home inspection shortly after your offer is accepted and well before closing.
- A prepurchase home inspection, performed by a professional, is a visual examination of the readily-accessible areas of a home to provide an accurate evaluation of its condition.
- This evaluation will be presented to you in a comprehensive report so you're fully informed about the state of the property prior to purchase.
While a home inspection is not required by Chase, it is highly recommended.
- A home inspection allows you to potentially discover any unknown flaws or problems with the house.
- Depending on the nature of the issues, you may want to ask the seller to fix the problems or give you some additional price concessions.
- In some situations, you may even want to consider rescinding your offer if the problems are too extensive or too difficult to fix.
Locking in your interest rate
At some point before your closing date, you'll need to select a loan type and lock in (or freeze) your interest rate.
- You can typically lock your interest rate for 30, 60 or 90 days, depending on low long you anticipate it will take before you can close the sale.
- Locking your interest rate protects you from increases in interest rates that may occur while you're waiting to close the sale. However, it will also prevent you from enjoying a lower interest rate should interest rates go down before your closing date.
- Even the professionals have a hard time predicting whether mortgage rates will go up or down, so once you've found a mortgage and monthly payment that you find attractive, it can be a good idea to lock it in so you'll know exactly what to expect at closing.
Next steps in your mortgage application
While you are getting the home inspected, Chase will be actively working to process and complete your mortgage application. A team of experts will work together to deliver great service and ensure that your mortgage is processed quickly, accurately and efficiently. In most cases, your loan officer will be your primary contact, although you may at times be contacted by other members of our team. Learn more about the mortgage team.
Here's how the closing process works:
- A loan officer will review your information and request any additional documentation that may be required.
- A home loan analyst will place orders for a property appraisal, a survey of property boundaries, a flood determination and a title search and title insurance.
- The underwriter will review all your information and grant a final approval on your loan.
- Finally, the closer will assemble the closing package and ensure that all fees and other closing payments are accurately documented.
In most cases, the closer will establish an escrow account for payment of necessary insurance and real estate taxes. As the final step, the closer authorizes the mortgage funds for disbursement. Typically, either your closer or your loan officer will contact you to schedule a date and time for the closing.
