The Home Buying Process: How Long Does It Take?
The home buying process is stressful. Even if it’s a buyer’s market, it’s still stressful to find a home you love, negotiate an offer, gather all of the necessary documents, and then just…wait. Once you agree on a purchase price and the terms of your offer, give all of your documents to your lender, and have the inspection and appraisal, it’s a lot of waiting around for other people to do their job.
Unfortunately, once you do your part, it’s out of your control. You have to wait until others do their part in order to close on your new home. The waiting process can be a bit easier, though, if you know how long buying a house takes.
While every situation is different, there are some averages that can help make the waiting process a bit more bearable. Read on to learn how long the process takes.
The Early Steps
The first step you want to take in your home-buying process is getting pre-approved for a loan. During this process, the bank will approve your finances and credit score and give you a tentative pre-approval for a certain amount. This process can be quick and only take a day or two if you have everything ready for them and have a responsive lender.
Finding a Home
The internet has made finding a home much easier, as you can look at a home ahead of time online. Go to www.suncitylincolnhillshomesforsale.com for some amazing homes available in Lincoln, CA.
This is where a large amount of variation comes in. You might find a house that you love quickly, but your offer may get declined in favor of a better offer. This could go on for weeks, or even months, until you get an offer accepted.
In a buyer’s market, however, you could find a home you like, make an offer the same day, and be under contract in a number of hours. Once you make an offer, the seller usually has a short time period, maybe 24 to 48 hours to respond (depending on what you request in your offer).
The Waiting Game
Once your offer is accepted, you’ll likely want an inspection, which usually takes place within 7-10 days after the offer is accepted. Then, the waiting game starts. You’ll have to provide all of your documents to your lender (think bank statements, tax returns, W2s, pay stubs, loan statements, etc.) and they’ll send the information to the mortgage underwriter.
Typically, this process will last 30-45 days, but it is also possible for things to get held up along the way. You could do everything right and be delayed by a mortgage underwriter who hasn’t given a clear to close yet.
The Home Buying Process
If you’re keeping track, the answer to this question isn’t as cut and dried as many people would like. The home buying process could take as little as a month or two or could take many months depending on what kind of home you want and what’s available.
The best thing to do throughout the process is to be patient, expect delays, and recognize that if things can go wrong, they often will. Learn to roll with the punches so you don’t stress yourself out.
If you found home buying tips helpful, be sure to check out more of our real estate articles before you go.
