Following a Buyer, Part 2: Suvir & Pragya
The Quiet Week (and Why Quiet Is Good)
This is the second part of a series following one real purchase from start to finish, with the buyers' blessing. Suvir and Pragya are family. Part 1 covered the search, the offer and due diligence.
AFTER THE WHIRLWIND
The first two weeks of a purchase are a whirlwind. There are tours, an offer, a counter-offer, inspections, quotes, and a weekend spent turning a pile of reports into an amendment. Due diligence ended on Monday evening, September 21, and the week that followed was the opposite. It was mostly other people doing their jobs while we watched the checklist get shorter.
That's how it should feel. If the week after due diligence is dramatic, something usually went wrong earlier. The work that makes it calm happens up front: reading the disclosure, getting real quotes, and asking the HOA the awkward questions before the deadline instead of after.
Here's what happened, and what each step actually means.
THE APPRAISAL
What it is. The lender hires an appraiser, usually through a management company so the lender can't lean on them, to give an independent opinion of what the house is worth. The lender will only lend against the lower of the price or the appraised value. The appraisal was ordered the morning due diligence ended, the appraiser visited on Wednesday, and it came in. We're good.
Who it's really scary for. Everyone talks about the appraisal as the buyer's nail-biter. In practice, a low appraisal lands hardest on the seller. Think about where the seller is by this point. They've usually already given ground twice: once on price when the offer was negotiated, and again on repairs or credits in due diligence. A low appraisal sends everyone back to the table a third time. The options are rarely pleasant: the seller comes down again, the buyer brings more cash to cover the gap, they meet somewhere in the middle, or, if the contract allows it, the deal falls apart. A seller who has already made concessions is being asked to make another one.
For a buyer, the protection is in the contract. That's one of the reasons we talk through the appraisal and financing terms before the offer goes in, not after.
What drives it. The appraiser leans heavily on recent comparable sales nearby. This is where the offer strategy from Part 1 paid off. We priced the offer from the comps rather than the list price, so the number we agreed to was one the appraiser could support.
THE FINANCING CONTINGENCY
What it is. In Georgia, the financing contingency is the window in which a buyer can walk away, without losing their earnest money, if they can't get their loan. Suvir and Pragya's lender had already issued a conditional approval, and their financing contingency ended on Thursday with nothing outstanding.
It isn't the only thing protecting your earnest money. People often assume the appraisal and financing move together, but in the contract they're separate, each with its own deadline. The appraisal contingency usually runs longer than the financing contingency, so the buyer is still protected if the appraisal comes in low after the financing window has closed. Title works the same way: if the attorney's title search turns up a problem the seller can't clear, the buyer can still get out. The dates that matter are the ones in your contract, so know each one, not just the first.
What "conditional" means. A conditional approval is the underwriter saying yes, provided they receive a list of final items: updated pay stubs and bank statements, explanations for anything unusual on the file, proof of insurance, and so on. It's normal, and it's not a warning sign. The one piece of advice I give every buyer: don't change anything between now and closing. No new credit cards, no car loan, no job change and no large unexplained deposits. The lender checks again right before closing.
HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE
The lender and the closing attorney both need proof of homeowners insurance before closing, and Suvir and Pragya already have theirs in place and sent over.
Two things I'd pass on. Shop it early. Insurance premiums have climbed sharply in Georgia over the last couple of years, and the quote can change your monthly budget more than people expect. Home insurance was one of the three topics that came up again and again at last week's Georgia REALTORS® candidate forum. And make sure the lender has it too, not just the attorney. The closing attorney reminded us of exactly that this week, and it's an easy thing to miss.
THE CLOSING ATTORNEY
In Georgia, an attorney runs the closing. Ours has the file, has the executed amendment from due diligence, and has collected Suvir and Pragya's information sheet. This week we've been settling the closing time with the attorney's office and the sellers' side. Picking a time sounds trivial, but it isn't always. Both sides have schedules, moving trucks and, sometimes, another closing the same day that depends on this one.
WHERE THINGS STAND NOW
• Due diligence: ended September 21.
• Appraisal: in. We're good.
• Financing contingency: ended, nothing outstanding.
• Loan: conditionally approved; final conditions being cleared.
• Homeowners insurance: in place, sent to the attorney.
• Closing: late October; time being finalised.
WHAT I'D TAKE FROM THIS
• A calm middle is earned at the start. Real quotes and honest disclosures in due diligence are what make the following weeks boring.
• The appraisal is the seller's risk more than the buyer's, provided the buyer's contract is written with it in mind.
• Know every contingency date in your contract. Financing, appraisal and title each have their own timeline, and your earnest money is protected by more than one of them.
• Change nothing about your finances until after closing.
• Get insurance quotes early, and make sure both the lender and the attorney have the policy.
NEXT TIME
The last loan conditions, the final walkthrough, closing day, and the keys.
