@Shannon K. Of course. I got the statement from a Fannie Mae purchase addendum.
As far as how to get a house under contract, this is how it typically works for me and my clients:
1. Get a Realtor - as a buyer you should be able to find one without any costs.
2. Find a house.
3. Have your Realtor prepare the documents for you to submit an offer. You will need to provide your pre-approval letter to your Realtor so that he/she can submit it with your offer.
4. Unless you submit a full price offer, there will likely be some back and forth negotiations.
5. Once you and the seller have come to an agreement, your Realtor will prepare the documents to reflect all the agreed upon terms.
6. *You will need to sign the documents, and submit earnest money.
7. Once the documents are also signed by the seller, you have the house under contract!
*Between steps 5 and 6 is when I am contacting my private lender and providing them with everything they need to make a decision about whether to lend to me or not. This way I know if I need to terminate the contract before I provide any earnest money funds. Typically 2 days max before you need to have the docs signed and earnest money funds. This is not a lot of time, but if you are lucky and get a property under contract late Thursday afternoon, you can usually stretch it out until Monday.
*****Each state is different, so you should work with a Realtor to help guide you through the home buying process or consult an attorney to draft your specific contract needs.
I've also found that if you submit and offer pursuant to "other financing" instead of cash, than you typically do not have to provide 10% in earnest money - just a reasonable amount based on the purchase price.
