How Long Does It Take To Buy Your Home?
Are you planning on buying a new house? With this article, you can find out how long it takes from the time you make the offer to becoming an owner.
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From Offer to Ownership, How Long Does It Take to Buy your Home?
Are you supercharged to own your first house? We know you must have saved a lot of money to make the home-buying dream a reality. You must have resisted the urge to travel to the most exotic locations and shunned splurging money at fancy dining restaurants, just to save some money. But owning a house can make all those sacrifices worth it. House is life’s biggest purchase.
It is time for you to plunge into buying a new home, but how long the buying process will take? Let’s find out the time it takes from the time you make the offer to become an owner.
The home buying process can vary from 2 to 6 months. But first thing first, how much are you ready to pay for a home? Follow the step-by-step guide to find out how long it will take for you to own a home.
Do I need mortgage pre-approval?
You should always prepare before buying a home. With pre-approval, you will know the maximum amount you can borrow from a mortgage. You need to get all the documents ready and start looking for lenders to get a pre-approval. It might take a few days or up to a few weeks to get the pre-approval after you find the lender.
After you get the pre-approval done, it is then time for you to look for a house. Take out a few days to scout through all the shortlisted houses. It is an important decision, and it might take up to 10-12 weeks to find the best house and the best price. Finding the perfect home might take from a few weeks to a few months.
Making an offer
Make an offer once you have found your dream home. Work alongside your agent on price negotiations and the terms of the deal. You need to attach a letter of pre-approval from your lender while making the offer to the agent. This process might take up to a week.
Down payment and mortgage loan insurance
The next step is to put down a certain amount of money upfront towards the purchase. This amount is called a down payment in real estate terminology. If the down payment is less than 20% of your home’s price, it is imperative to get mortgage loan insurance. It protects your mortgage lender if you cannot pay the mortgage because of an unexpected event like death.
You need to know how much time it will take for you to arrange the money for the down payment. Get covered with the mortgage loan insurance before you sign the contract with your lender.
Home inspection
As soon as the lender accepts the contract, get in touch with a home inspector. A home inspection process may take up to 2 to 3 hours. The home inspection process will give you the general maintenance report, which will be handy in the future.
Closing process
Once you find the right mortgage and the home fitting your budget, you now need to close the deal. Keep aside between 1.5% and 4% of the home’s purchase price as a closing cost. It takes 50 days on average to close a deal and about 1 or 2 hours to sign all the closing documents and get the keys.
Well done, congrats! Now you are the proud owner of your dream house. Get ready to move in and build your beautiful life around it.
While buying a new home, keep the process on track by being in constant touch with your lender. While applying for pre-approval, don’t forget to check your credit report and score. Gauge the moving costs when moving to a new home.
Check out ‘First-time home buyer’s guide’ to get well acquainted with the home-buying process.
