Buying a home can require a certain amount of patience. After all, it’s not as simple as driving up to a house with a for sale sign, knocking on the door, and handing the owner a check for the cost of the home. Unless, of course, you have a few hundred thousand dollars in cash on hand.
If you do happen to be one of the few who can pay for a home in cash, and you know exactly what you’re looking for, you could theoretically find and purchase a home in a week or two.
But that’s hardly the norm.
For most people, home buying is a multi-stage process, and the window of time each stage takes can be hard to predict. Especially the initial stages.
Searching, Hoping, and Saving
Depending on how particular your needs are, finding a home you like can take months in itself. Buying a home is a very big decision, and the last thing you want to do is rush into it blindly. That’s not to say you can’t find a great home early on. Especially if you have a good realtor on your side. Just know this can take a while as you wait for new homes to hit the market.
Depending on your current financial situation, you might need a few months to even a year+ to save for a down payment and potential closing costs. If you’ve already got that taken care, and you’ve found a house or two you’re interested in, we can move to the next step.
Making an Offer They Can’t Refuse
Once you’ve found your home, you can have your realtor make an offer. You will most likely make an offer lower than the listing price, and the owner will probably make a counter offer. In addition to price, you’ll often need to come to terms on closing fees, small fixes that might need to be made before the purchase is finalized. Typically, a home inspector will also be brought in.
On your offer, you can add an expiration date to it to push the seller into action and narrow down the time frame. Once your offer is accepted, things become a little more predictable.
Closing the Deal
When the purchase agreement is finalized, the actual “buying” part begins. As the loans are drawn out and further inspections are made into the home, the agreement, and your finances, you mostly play the waiting game. You can generally expect this period to take 45-60 days.
If you’re prequalified for a loan, it could go faster. If it’s a short sale, it will probably take longer.
Assuming there are no hiccups in the loan process, you’ll close on your home, set a move in date, and you’ll be ready to go.
How Can I Buy a Home Faster?
As we said before, the time-frame for buying a home can be a little unpredictable. But the best way to make sure it goes as quickly and smoothly as possible is to have an experienced real estate agent on your side. From searching to visiting open houses in San Diego to closing the deal, your agent will have a profound impact on the efficiency of the buying process.
At Metro San Diego Realty, we’re the first to see homes for sale as they hit the market. And we’re here for you all 7 days of the week. Contact us today, and we’ll make sure you find your future home as quickly as possible.
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