What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Home in Georgia?
What Happens After You Accept an Offer on Your Home in Georgia?
TL;DR
Once you accept an offer and both parties sign the GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement, the clock starts on Georgia's attorney-managed closing process. The buyer's Due Diligence period — typically 7 to 14 days — gives them the right to exit for any reason while you're locked in. After that, the process moves through appraisal, underwriting, and title work before closing day, usually 30 to 45 days out. Knowing what to expect at each stage — and what decisions you'll face — makes the difference between a smooth closing and a stressful one.
What "Under Contract" Actually Means in Georgia
The contract is signed. You've agreed on price, terms, and a closing date. It feels like the finish line — but what happens over the next 30 to 45 days will shape your final outcome just as much as the offer itself.
Georgia's closing process has a few features that catch sellers off guard, especially if they've bought or sold in another state. Closings here are handled by a licensed real estate attorney, not a title company. That attorney holds the earnest money in escrow, conducts the title search, prepares the deed, and manages the closing table from start to finish.
Once the GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement is fully executed, the buyer has 48 to 72 hours to deliver earnest money to that attorney's escrow account. In Cobb County, most contracts in the $400,000–$600,000 range call for $5,000 to $10,000 in earnest money. That deposit protects you — but only after specific milestones are passed.
If you're thinking about listing in Kennesaw, Marietta, or Acworth, you can search current listings and get a feel for the market here before we talk strategy.
The Due Diligence Period — Your Most Important Window
The Due Diligence period is where most sellers get surprised, and it almost always works against the ones who aren't prepared for how it actually operates.
In Georgia, the Due Diligence period is a buyer option period. The buyer can terminate the contract for any reason during this window — no explanation, no documentation — and receive a full refund of their earnest money. It typically runs 7 to 14 days in the current Kennesaw and Marietta market.
Here's the part sellers often misread: during Due Diligence, you're locked in and the buyer isn't. You cannot accept another offer as the primary contract. You can take a backup offer, but your home is effectively off the market. You must make the property available for inspections. And you cannot exit the deal.
After the Due Diligence period ends without termination, the tables turn. The buyer is now committed — with real financial consequences if they back out. That shift is the moment the deal genuinely stabilizes.
One more timing detail that matters: if the buyer sends an Amendment to Address Concerns in the final hours of the Due Diligence period, it does not extend the clock. The period ends when it ends, regardless of open negotiations.
Navigating the Amendment to Address Concerns
After the inspection, many buyers will send an Amendment to Address Concerns — Georgia's standard mechanism for requesting repairs, credits, or price adjustments based on what the inspector found.
What sellers get wrong: they treat the amendment as a demand. It isn't. It's the opening of a negotiation, and you have three real choices when it arrives.
You can agree to the requested repairs. You can counter — offer a closing credit instead, agree to a partial scope, or propose a price adjustment. Or you can decline entirely and let the buyer decide whether to proceed as-is or terminate during their remaining Due Diligence time. You are not required to fix anything.
The GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement is a default As-Is contract — meaning you're not automatically agreeing to make repairs. The Amendment to Address Concerns is how the buyer formally requests changes to that default. Your leverage in that conversation depends on how much Due Diligence time remains, what the market looks like right now, and whether you have a backup offer.
How you handle the amendment is one of the decisions where local expertise matters most. I work through this negotiation on listings across Kennesaw, Bridgemill, Seven Hills, Marietta, and Acworth — reach out at masoudpour.com if you want to talk through your situation before an offer arrives.
What Happens in the Final Weeks Before Closing
Once Due Diligence ends without termination, the process moves into appraisal, underwriting, title work, and closing prep — all running more or less simultaneously.
The appraisal is ordered by the buyer's lender, typically in the first week of the contract. If it comes in at or above your contract price, the transaction continues without disruption. If it comes in low, you're back at the negotiating table. Appraisal gaps are one of the more common late-stage complications in Cobb County's current market.
The closing attorney is simultaneously running a title search at the Cobb County Superior Court Clerk's office. Most Georgia titles clear without issue, but if something surfaces — an old HOA lien, an unresolved judgment, a boundary dispute — it gets resolved before closing.
Your preparation checklist is short but time-sensitive. Get your mortgage payoff statement as soon as the contract is executed. If your home is in an HOA — and most Kennesaw and Marietta communities are, including Bridgemill, Legacy Park, Brookstone, Seven Hills, and Hamilton Township — request the estoppel letter and transfer paperwork immediately. HOA processing takes 7 to 10 business days. Waiting until the week of closing is a common, avoidable source of delays.
Closing day itself is straightforward. You'll sign the deed, review the settlement statement, and sign a few title affidavits — usually 30 to 60 minutes total. Your proceeds are wired the same day the deed records at the courthouse, typically the afternoon of closing day.
Total timeline: 30 to 45 days for a conventional financed sale. Cash purchases close in 10 to 21 days. FHA and VA loans typically run 45 to 60 days.
Ready to Talk Through Your Kennesaw or Marietta Listing?
The sellers who navigate the contract-to-closing process most smoothly are almost always the ones who understood what was coming before the offer arrived. If you're preparing to list — or you're already under contract and want a clearer read on where things stand — I'm glad to walk through it with you.
Search listings and explore neighborhoods in Kennesaw, Marietta, and Acworth to see what buyers are comparing yours against — or visit masoudpour.com to learn more about how I work with sellers across Cobb County, Cherokee, and Paulding.
Schedule a 15-Minute ConsultationFAQs
Q: Can a seller back out after accepting an offer in Georgia?
A: Once both parties have signed the GAR Purchase and Sale Agreement, the seller is generally bound to the contract. A seller who backs out without legal justification can face a lawsuit for specific performance — meaning a court could order the sale to proceed — or a claim for damages. Mutual rescission is an option if both parties agree, but sellers should treat the signed contract as a binding commitment.
Q: What happens if the buyer walks away during the Due Diligence period?
A: The buyer can terminate during the Due Diligence period for any reason and receive a full refund of their earnest money. The seller typically retains the Due Diligence fee if one was negotiated — this is a smaller, non-refundable amount paid directly to the seller at contract. Once the property is released, it goes back on the market.
Q: Do I have to agree to repairs the buyer requests in Georgia?
A: No. The Amendment to Address Concerns is a negotiating document, not a requirement. You can agree, counter with different terms, or decline entirely. The buyer then decides whether to proceed as-is, keep negotiating, or terminate if they're still within the Due Diligence window. Once Due Diligence ends, declining a repair request carries considerably less deal risk.
Q: What happens if the appraisal comes in below the purchase price?
A: You and the buyer negotiate. Options include the buyer covering the gap in cash, you reducing the price, or meeting somewhere in the middle. The GAR contract's appraisal contingency provisions give buyers certain exit rights if the home doesn't appraise — how it plays out depends on what was negotiated upfront and whether you have a backup offer available.
Q: How soon do sellers receive their proceeds after closing in Georgia?
A: In most Georgia closings, the closing attorney wires your net proceeds the same afternoon the deed records with Cobb County — typically within hours of the closing appointment. Recording happens at the Cobb County Superior Court Clerk's office. Same-day wiring is the standard expectation; delays are rare.
