From Offer to Close - here are the most common steps in a home sale or purchase.  Remember these are just rules of thumb.  Your Buyer Agent will help you draft the offer that is most appropriate for yours and the property's situation.

Offer to Purchase - This is the initial stage that allows you to put the property under agreement in order to get the sellers to take the property off the market and halt marketing activities while you have time to do your due diligence and decide if you want to move forward with the purchase.  The property is usually taken off the market after you have submitted an deposit on the property and after the seller has fully executed the Offer to Purchase.

Due Diligence - One of the unique benefits to purchasing real estate over investing your money in other investment vehicles is that it is a tangible asset.  None only can you see it and touch it, but you get to kick the tires on it before you commit to buying.  The following are the most common contingencies and/or due diligence you would want to perform prior to making a larger commitment on the property.  It is important to keep in mind that not every transaction will require each one of the steps below.

• Home inspection - a licensed, independent home inspector conducts a home inspection.  The inspector's job is to find any visible defects in the house or on the property.  The home inspection reviews the home for major structural, mechanical or other defects
  • The buyer can elect to put more money down
  • The buyer and seller can re-negotiate
  • The buyer's mortgage lender will not approve the loan and the buyer can withdraw and get all deposits returned.
  • Another appraisal is performed and the lender may accept it, reject it, or use it in conjunction with the first appraisal.
• Pest inspection - While a home inspector will generally look for evidence of wood boring insects, they are usually not experts, and thus, if you are concerned there may be a history or you want to ensure there hasn't been past activity, you would hire a Pest Inspector.
• Radon inspection - Radon is an invisible, carcinogenic gas that is emitted from the ground.  A radon inspection will test for Radon levels above the safe, allowable amount.
• Lead paint inspection - You have the option to inspect for the presence of lead based paint.  For properties built prior to 1978, a lead paint test would be advised if a child under the age of 6 will be residing there.
• Environment inspection (21E) - There may be reason due to history to test the soil the home is built on for any hazardous contaminants. 
• Title V - Septic Tank certification - This is performed when purchasing a single family or multifamily home that has a septic system on the property.
• Review leases (if applicable) - When buying investment property for income purposes, you should review the leases that are in place.
• Review cash receipts (if applicable) - Also for investment property, you want to ensure that not only are there valid leases in place, but that the tenants have paid the rent and are up to date and paid on time.
• Satisfactory Review of Condominium Documents - When buying a condominium, you always want to review the condominium documents including the Master Deed and Declaration of Trust, any Rules and Regulations, Financial Statements, minutes to condo association meetings (if available) and any accountants' audits or reports (if available). 

Execute a Purchase and Sale Agreement - After you have performed your due diligence and done your inspections, if you are still interested in purchasing the home, you will sign a second, more detailed contract call the Purchase and Sale Agreement.  You usually make an additional deposit upon the execution of this agreement.  The additional deposit is a confidence booster to the seller because it indicates that you remain committed to purchasing the property if you are approved for a mortgage and the there is clean title to the property.  It is also a confidence booster to the seller because it indicates the amount of money you are willing to risk if you breach the contract.

Appraisal - Because the mortgage lender is usually taking the vast majority of the risk, it will perform an appraisal of value to protect against overpaying.  If the property does not appraise at the value the buyer and seller agreed upon, the most common things that can happen are:  Appraisal laws have changed dramatically recently and there are constantly many new wrinkles added.  Your Buyer Agent should be up to date with these changes and able to guide you through this maze.

Mortgage Contingency/Commitment from Lender - A pre-approval letter is not a formal commitment from a bank.  After verifying all of your information including your income, employment, your assets, your liabilities, the value of the property, etc. the bank will issue you a formal commitment letter.  In the event the lender rejects your application for a mortgage, the buyer, on or before the date indicated in the Offer to Purchase and later in the Purchase and Sale Agreement, may withdraw from the transaction and have all deposits returned.  There are many more details that need to be followed to ensure you receive either a timely commitment letter or a rejection letter on or before your mortgage contingency date.  Your Buyer Agent will advise you on the proper steps to take.

Title Search - A search of the properties title history will be run to ensure that there are no encumbrances or liens on the property that may prevent the seller from selling the property to you with a clean title.  The mortgage lender, before loaning the money, wants to ensure that title insurance can be taken out on the property.

Final Walk Through - Before the walk through, the buyer will want to perform a final walk through of the property to inspect it one last time and make sure that any items the seller was supposed to fix or remove have been.  The buyer will want to test the systems one final time to make sure nothing has changed since the home inspection and the last time the buyer has been in the home.

Closing - You're finally there.  The buyer just needs to sign the necessary documentation and the sale needs to be recorded at the Registry of Deeds in the county in which the property is located.