There are many steps involved in getting a home. Several financial and legal processes must be fulfilled. Dong all of these can take up to six months, or in some cases, as little as one.
Getting preapproved for a mortgage, requires that you submit documentation on your assets, income and, most important, credit history. Doing this can reduce the time needed to buy a new home as you will be managing much of the needed paperwork ahead of time. The application can take up to a few days, but you can reduce this time by having the required documentation ready ahead of time.
After the application process is done and you’ve been preapproved, the search for properties begins. The amount of time here can very greatly depending on a number of factor that go into your search. Your needs and what is available will make the difference between a few days and a few months.
An offer will go out from your real estate agent after you choose the house you would like to buy. In typically one to three days, you’ll get a response from the seller of approval, rejection or a counter offer. Rejections or counter offers can make this step take even longer. You may also require, or even want to do, an inspection of the home. Many buyers will want to do this and it can take up to 14 days. If any major issues or problems are found, that can delay or cancel the process. Required repairs can also add on more days.
The closing process doesn’t start until after the buyer’s offer is approved, the home is inspected and the appraisal done. This can take a month if you went through the preapproval process, or an average of 50 days, so do not expect to be able to move in instantly. Just like in the preapproval step, you can speed this up by having the necessary documents ready to go.
