What Happens After Your Offer Is Accepted in Seattle?
Mutual acceptance starts a 30–45 day sprint of deadlines: earnest money, inspection, appraisal, loan approval, walkthrough, then keys. The sequence explained.
The moment both parties sign — “mutual acceptance” — your offer becomes a binding contract, and a clock starts on every deadline in it. Over the next 30–45 days for a typical financed purchase, you’ll deposit earnest money, complete inspections, clear the appraisal and final loan approval, do a walkthrough, sign with escrow, and get keys when the deed records. Miss a deadline and you can lose protections; hit them all and the process is surprisingly mechanical.
The sequence, in order
Most Washington purchase contracts count deadlines in days from mutual acceptance. Here’s the typical order of operations:
Days 1–2: earnest money goes in. You wire your deposit to the escrow company named in the contract (call escrow to verify wire instructions by phone — wire fraud targets exactly this moment). What the deposit does and when you can get it back is covered in our earnest money guide.
First ~week: inspection. If you kept an inspection contingency, you’ll book the inspector fast — the contingency window is short. After the report, you proceed, walk away, or negotiate repairs or credits with the seller — all within the contingency window.
Also early: seller disclosure and title review. You’ll receive the seller’s Form 17 disclosure and a preliminary title commitment. Read both; each comes with its own short review window.
Weeks 2–4: appraisal and underwriting. Your lender orders the appraisal and pushes your file through underwriting. Your job is responsiveness — send documents same-day, and don’t open new credit, change jobs, or move large sums of money without talking to your lender first. Underwriters re-verify late in the process, and a new car loan can sink an approved file.
Final week: signing, walkthrough, funding. You’ll sign your loan and closing documents at escrow a few days before closing (Washington closes through escrow companies, not attorney closings). Do the final walkthrough as close to closing as possible — you’re confirming the house is in the agreed condition and negotiated repairs are done.
Closing day: recording, then keys. “Closing” in Washington means the deed records with the county after your loan funds. Keys typically follow recording confirmation — usually afternoon, not morning. The details are in when you get keys after closing.
What can still go wrong (and what protects you)
Three failure modes account for most blown deals: the inspection reveals more than you’ll accept, the appraisal comes in under the contract price, or financing falls through late. Each has a matching contingency, and whether you kept those contingencies was decided when you wrote the offer. If you waived some to compete, your protection is thinner — know which exits you still have. The full map of legal exit doors is in can you back out of buying a house in Washington.
One more quiet risk: doing nothing. The contract’s deadlines bind you too — if your contingency window lapses without action, the protection usually lapses with it.
Related questions
Can the seller still take a better offer after accepting mine? Not unilaterally — mutual acceptance binds the seller too. Later offers can only sit as backups unless your contract contains a bump/kick-out provision tied to a contingency of yours.
How long do I have to deposit earnest money? Whatever the contract says — commonly within a couple of days of mutual acceptance. It’s a hard deadline; missing it puts you in breach on day two.
When should I schedule movers? Hold off on nonrefundable bookings until your loan is fully approved and you’ve signed. Closing dates slip for mundane reasons; build a few days of slack.
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