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If something is not nailed down (or sometimes even if it is), don't assume it comes with the home. This includes appliances, window treatments, light fixtures, and so on. These items are considered personal property, not part of the house, so you and the seller need to agree about which items stay with the home (called conveyances) and which move out with the seller. Unless your purchase agreement spells out that the refrigerator, washer and dryer, dishwasher, and so on stay with the home, the seller has no obligation to leave them for you.
The divvying up of closing costs varies by area, and your agent will work with you to explain which costs are customary for you to pay and which the seller usually picks up. This section of the purchase agreement is where you ask for a seller concession to help with closing costs or for the seller to pay for closing costs that are usually the buyer's responsibility.
Between signing the purchase agreement and closing, you need get into the home several times: to inspect the building, measure rooms and windows, try out paint samples or fabric swatches, walk through one last time, and so on. You'd be surprised at how often buyers find it difficult to gain access to a home they're in the process of buying. Add a clause to your purchase agreement that gives you the right to reasonable access at reasonable times with a certain amount of advance notice, such as 72 hours.The key word here is "reasonable." Until you close on the property, it's still the seller's home, so don't go overboard with demands to get in and take yet another look around.
Several weeks - or several months - may pass before you're ready to close on the property. Your purchase agreement gives an outside date for the closing. Your agent can help you choose a realistic one. Thirty days is typical.
In most sales, the buyer takes possession of the home immediately after closing. Sometimes, though, you or the seller need to make special arrangements. You may need to move into the home before the sale because you've already sold your old home, for example, or the seller may need to remain there for a while afterward. If that's the case, include a rental clause that spells out the rent you or the seller will pay and the length of the rental agreement.
Your purchase offer comes with a time limit, usually 24 to 48 hours. If the seller fails to respond within that time, your offer expires. Although there may be situations when you want to give the seller more time (perhaps the seller is out of town and the listing agent needs more time to get in touch), 24 hours is usually plenty of time for a seller to accept or reject your offer or respond with a counteroffer. You don't want to spend several days tied to an offer that a seller might reject when you could be looking at other homes.
