General Timeline For Buying Your Home

Our clients come to us at all stages of preparation for buying a home. Some have yet to save their down payment funds, some have credit issues that need to be repaired, some are relocating and need to buy a house this weekend and close in three weeks. Anything within that continuum is workable and we will adjust these timelines to best serve your individual needs. A typical timeline for buying a home usually goes something like this:

Week 1: At our first appointment, we will:

Sit down, often via Zoom, for a relaxed conversation about the how the whole home-buying process works.
Talk about your criteria for your perfect house.
Address any questions or concerns that you have so you feel educated and ready to make informed decisions.
Talk about money, including the various costs associated with purchasing real estate and the timeframes in which the money will be needed.
Get you connected with mortgage professionals (if financing is needed) and get you on the path of determining your comfortable monthly payment and price range.

Weeks 1-2: After our initial appointment, we will:

If you will be financing your home, we will assist you in getting your pre- approval letter from a mortgage company and ensure that you have been given monthly payment information as well as estimate of the cash you will need for closing. This will determine the price range of the houses we will be looking at.
Set up a detailed custom search on MLS to help find properties that meet your criteria.
Schedule a block of time to go out and look at houses for the first time!

Weeks 2-6:

This is the most variable time frame because sometimes a buyer finds their dream home on our first trip out, and other times we see over 50 houses before the right one comes along. On average, I find it takes between three and five trips out (generally approximately once or twice a week over 3-5 weeks) for our buyers to both find a house that they want to purchase and also to feel educated enough about the housing market and inventory to feel ready to write an offer. In the highly competitive market we are in right now, it is not uncommon for the first offer, or several offers, to not be accepted. If we find ourselves in a multiple-offer situation, although we will do our best, it is always a possibility that the seller may select another buyer’s offer. This situation may extend the length of time it takes to find the right house. Whether you have a deadline you need to meet (such as the end of a lease), or no deadline at all (living with family to save money), we will help you to navigate your home purchase on your schedule. You will never get pressure from us to “just buy something”. We don’t want you to just buy a house, we want you to buy the right house!
During this time frame, we generally like to sit down together again via Zoom and go through the Purchase Agreement and other relevant forms, as well as discuss the later steps of the home-buying process so that you feel prepared and understand everything you will need to sign once we identify a house you would love to buy.

Weeks 6-7:

We find the house you love, write and negotiate an offer, and our offer is accepted.
Once we have received a fully executed copy of the purchase agreement (signed by both the buyers and the sellers), it is time to get our inspection(s) scheduled. The inspections are generally performed within five days and the whole inspection process (including negotiating the results) is generally within roughly seven after “final acceptance”.

Weeks 7-8:

We have the inspections performed and negotiate any repairs with the sellers.
Once the inspection contingency removal amendment is negotiated and signed, we will give your lender the go-ahead to order and get the appraisal performed on the property. The appraiser is there to verify for the bank that you are paying no more than fair-market value for the property and that the house is in a condition that is acceptable to the bank. The loan type you are using will determine the minimum property condition the bank will find financeable. Required repairs are called “work orders” and may be ordered by your lender.
While we wait for the inspections and appraisal to be completed, you will be working closely with your loan officer to gather the documentation required to process the loan. The list of items required is lengthy, and has gotten longer and more intrusive, due, in large part, to governmental regulations and oversight that has been put in place for buyer protection since the “Great Recession”. Take a deep breath, drag out those dusty file boxes and gather the documents for your lender! Ridiculous as they sometimes seem, they are mandatory and the faster you provide them, the smoother the process will be.

Weeks 9-11:

This is the quietest time during the home buying process. Behind the scenes we will be working with your lender, title/closing company and the listing agent to handle the myriad issues that may arise during any transaction and to properly deal with the necessary paperwork.
You will be packing and preparing for your closing and your big move! This is a good time to meet at the house for measuring or photos if they are needed, or to show your excited family the house if you “just can’t wait” until closing! Sometimes, the sellers will let us in for one more showing during this timeframe (though they are under no contractual obligation).
There will likely also be additional paperwork required by your lender during this period. As your file goes through underwriting there is often a second list of items your loan officer needs to collect from you. Be aware of this as you are packing. Generally, your paperwork should be one of the last things packed and once boxed, the box should be kept accessible.
Somewhere during this timeframe, your lender will provide a letter showing that your loan is fully underwritten and ready for closing. This is referred to as a “Written Statement” in the Purchase Agreement. We will provide this to the listing agent to remove our financing contingency. Often there is a deadline to complete this and we will work with your lender to ensure we adhere to the terms of the Purchase Agreement.
You will contact the utility companies, including gas, electric, water and sewer, cable, and phone to set up your service for the date of closing.

Week 12:

You will be provided with a Closing Disclosure (CD) from your lender, which is the spreadsheet upon which all the financials of your real estate transaction are written. You will receive this document at least three days before our closing. Once you have received the Closing Disclosure, your lender will advise you of the dollar amount needed for the cashier’s check (which is generally how you bring your down payment funds to the closing).
We will perform a final walkthrough before the closing to ensure that the sellers have completed any required repairs, that the personal property we negotiated is still in the house (such as the appliances), and that the house is still in substantially the same condition as it was at the time the purchase agreement was written.
The closing happens! Pre-pandemic, the buyers and sellers typically sat down together in one room to sign all the necessary documents, but as of 2020 we have been doing our closings separately. Most often, the seller conducts their signing of documents a week or so before the closing. On our scheduled closing date and time, you will meet with your closer to sign your documents and, in most cases, will leave closing with your new house keys. In some situations, if negotiated in the Purchase Agreement, the sellers may retain possession of the property for a brief period to finalize their move into their new home. The seller will likely be unable to close on or move into their new home until after their closing with you.
You move in and live happily ever after!

You’ve done it!! Overall, the process from our first meeting to a successful closing will probably last about 3-6 months, give or take, unless you need the process to go at a different pace. The process is infinitely adaptable and will be tailored to meet your specific timeframe and needs.