After you accept an offer on a Northern Virginia home, ratification starts the contract clock. The buyer delivers earnest money, applies for financing, and schedules inspections. Then the lender's appraisal and underwriting and the title company's title work run toward settlement. Your executed contract, not a market average, sets every deadline.
What happens after you accept an offer on a Northern Virginia Home?
Once you accept an offer on a Northern Virginia home and the contract is ratified, a series of deadlines starts running. The buyer delivers the earnest-money deposit, applies for financing, and completes inspections. The buyer's lender then orders the appraisal and moves the loan through underwriting while the title company works on title. Every one of those dates comes from your executed contract and its addenda, so the first job is to get the fully ratified contract and calendar everything in it.
Key Takeaways
- Ratification starts the contract timeline, so the Date of Ratification and every deadline in the contract and addenda should go on a calendar immediately.
- NVAR's 26-day average days on market for August 2026 measures the time before ratification, not how long an already-ratified Northern Virginia sale will take to reach settlement.
- Under Virginia REALTORS® guidance, the broker must deposit earnest money within five business banking days of receipt, and the contract controls when the buyer must deliver it.
- A financing-contingent buyer under the Virginia REALTORS® contract must submit a written loan application within seven days after ratification, which makes it your first real financing checkpoint.
- The buyer's lender orders the appraisal, and a low value can lead to a price negotiation, extra buyer cash, a challenge to the valuation, or another remedy your contract provides.
What happens in the first days after ratification?
The first days are about paperwork and proof: get the ratified contract, build a deadline calendar, and confirm the earnest money was delivered. Nothing here is complicated, but missed details early create stress later.
Build your deadline calendar
Identify the Date of Ratification and mark every date in the contract and each addendum. Deadlines differ depending on whether your sale includes financing, appraisal, home inspection, home-sale, or document-review contingencies. I walk my clients through this calendar the day the contract is ratified, because the dates are easy to misread when you're also planning a move.
Confirm the earnest-money deposit
The earnest-money deposit is not automatically due at the same moment in every transaction. Your contract identifies the amount, the escrow holder, and the delivery deadline. Separately, Virginia REALTORS® guidance says the broker must deposit the funds within five business banking days of receipt, including when the contract uses an extended deposit date.
Don't accept "it's on the way." Ask your listing agent for written confirmation that the deposit was delivered and placed in escrow.
Watch the financing application
Under the Virginia REALTORS® contract's financing terms, a financing-contingent buyer must submit the written loan application and any lender-required property-insurance application within seven days after ratification. Confirm the exact language in your own contract. Ask your agent whether the application is in, whether a preapproval or loan-status update has been issued, and whether the buyer has supplied the documents the lender requested.
How do inspection, appraisal, and financing contingencies work after ratification?
Each contingency gives one party a defined right and a defined window, and your executed contract controls both. Here's the order they typically land in, with what you should be watching at each step.
| Milestone | Who drives it | What the seller monitors |
|---|---|---|
| Ratification | Both parties | Fully ratified contract, Date of Ratification, calendar of every deadline |
| Earnest money | Buyer delivers, broker deposits | Written confirmation of delivery and escrow deposit |
| Loan application | Buyer and lender | Application submitted within the contract's window, preapproval or status update |
| Home inspection | Buyer's inspector | Access, repair requests, credits, termination rights under the addendum |
| Appraisal | Buyer's lender | Value compared with contract price, remedy under the contract |
| Title work | Title company | Payoff information, liens, ownership documents |
| Underwriting and closing disclosure | Lender and buyer | Final loan approval, buyer's receipt of required closing documents |
| Settlement | Title company, both parties | Deed signing, funds, recording, possession terms |
What should you expect during the inspection period?
What the buyer can do after inspecting depends on the contingency you signed. Know which of these three you have:
- An inspection contingency: the buyer may be able to request repairs, negotiate a credit, terminate, or proceed unchanged, depending on the addendum.
- A right to inspect without a termination right: the buyer can look but has limited ability to walk away.
- An "as-is" provision: the terms of the contract spell out what, if anything, you owe in response to findings.
Provide agreed access through your listing agent. Keep receipts, permits, warranties, and records for any completed repairs, because they make repair negotiations faster and cleaner. Before you answer a repair request, talk to me. The response you give shapes whether the buyer stays in the deal.
What happens if the appraisal comes in low?
The buyer's lender, not you, orders the appraisal, and it exists to support the lender's collateral and underwriting decision. If the value comes in below the contract price, the parties may negotiate a price change, the buyer may bring additional cash if permitted and financially feasible, the buyer may challenge the valuation, or the contract may provide another remedy. Your appraisal deadline and remedy come from the executed contract and addendum, so read them before the appraisal is scheduled, not after.
Which financing milestones should you monitor?
An initial preapproval doesn't mean the loan is cleared to close. The lender still has to complete underwriting, verify requested information, issue final approval, and give the buyer the required closing documents on the applicable federal timetable. Ask for status updates through your listing agent, and pay attention if the buyer is slow to supply documents. That's often the earliest sign of a settlement-date problem.
What should you watch on your Northern Virginia Home sale through settlement?
Your priorities in the final stretch are title cleanup, payoff information, understanding which closing charges apply, and following the contract's settlement and possession terms. The title company coordinates most of it, but you can prevent delays by responding quickly.
How does title work affect your closing date?
In Northern Virginia, settlement is commonly handled by a title company, though the parties may use another authorized settlement agent. Title work can surface liens, unreleased deeds of trust, judgments, easements, probate issues, or unreleased permits that must be resolved before the deed can be recorded.
Promptly provide what the title company asks for:
- Lender payoff information
- Identification and marital or ownership information
- Association or condominium contact information
- Any documents that affect title
A delayed payoff statement, an unresolved lien, a missing heir, or an unreleased prior loan can all push settlement back.
Which closing charges should you ask about?
Closing charges fall into categories, and the executed contract and the title company's settlement statement control who pays what. Categories include the Grantor's Tax, the Regional Congestion Relief fee, the Washington Metropolitan Transportation Tax, recording charges, title-search and title-insurance charges, lender charges, association charges, prorations, and any repair credits you agreed to.
Virginia's recordation tax statutes in Chapter 8 generally place the state recordation tax on the grantor unless the parties arrange otherwise. Virginia Code § 58.1-802.4 provides for the Regional Congestion Relief fee and says the grantor pays but the parties may agree the grantee pays all or part. Don't assume. Confirm the allocation in your contract. For a deeper breakdown by category, see my guide to seller closing costs in Northern Virginia. I also run every seller a net proceeds sheet before we finalize strategy, because your walk-away number is what actually matters.
What happens on settlement day?
Before settlement, the buyer confirms the final amount and wiring instructions with the title company using independently verified contact information. At settlement, the parties sign the deed and other closing documents, the buyer delivers the required funds, the lender funds the loan when applicable, and the deed is recorded. Don't transfer possession or hand over keys outside the contract's settlement and possession terms.
One caution for any Northern Virginia home seller: NVAR's 26-day average days on market for August 2026 describes how long homes took to reach a contract. It tells you nothing about your timeline after ratification, which is set by your contract's settlement date and contingency deadlines. If you want a step-by-step view from the seller's side, my Northern Virginia seller timeline covers it, and what really matters when selling a Northern Virginia home explains how these steps fit the bigger picture.
FAQ
What happens immediately after my offer is ratified in Northern Virginia?
You obtain the fully ratified contract, identify the Date of Ratification, and calendar every deadline in the contract and addenda. The buyer's earnest-money deposit and loan application come first. Your listing agent should confirm both in writing.
When does the buyer have to deliver the earnest-money deposit?
The deadline is in your contract, and it isn't the same in every transaction. Separately, Virginia REALTORS® guidance says the broker must deposit the funds within five business banking days of receipt. Ask your agent for written confirmation that delivery and deposit happened.
What happens if the appraisal comes in below the contract price?
Your contract and appraisal addendum control the outcome. The parties may negotiate a price change, the buyer may add cash if permitted and feasible, the buyer may challenge the valuation, or the contract may provide another remedy. Talk with your agent before responding so you understand your options and your net.
What happens at settlement if the buyer's loan is not ready?
It depends on your contract's settlement date, any extension language, and the financing contingency. Don't release possession or keys outside the contract's terms, and talk with me before you sign any extension so you understand what it changes.
Who pays the Grantor's Tax, Regional Congestion Relief fee, and Washington Metropolitan Transportation Tax?
The statutes set default rules, but the parties can often allocate certain charges differently in the contract. For the Regional Congestion Relief fee, Virginia law says the grantor pays but the parties may agree the grantee pays all or part. Confirm every allocation in your executed contract and the title company's settlement statement.
Ratification isn't the finish line. It's the start of a contract clock, and the sellers who stay organized and responsive usually reach settlement with fewer surprises. If your Northern Virginia home sale is coming up, or you've just accepted an offer and want a second set of eyes on the deadlines, I'm glad to walk through it with you. Get a free home valuation and we'll talk through your timeline and your numbers.
Equal Housing Opportunity. Real estate licensees in Virginia are regulated by the Virginia Real Estate Board. This article is general information, not legal, tax, or financial advice. Confirm your own numbers with your title company, tax advisor, or lender.