Saturday, April 27, 2024

The Closing Process: What Home Buyers Can Expect

how long does closing on a house take

The title company will transfer the title, and the home will officially be in your name. During the closing process, a title company, working in the interest of you and your lender, will perform a title search to ensure the seller owns the right to the property and can legally sell you the home. The company also looks for existing liens on the house to prevent new homeowners from getting hounded by the previous owner’s lenders for unpaid debts.

Applying for a mortgage

The disclosure stage typically takes a few days and is completed by the mortgage lender. The lender must supply the loan’s terms, including estimated monthly payments, fees and other closing costs. The closing process will take about a month or longer, but your closing day will take about 1 – 2 hours of a home buyer's time. You typically won’t need more than 2 hours to tie up loose ends and certify your purchase, marking the final steps to buying a house. Closing costs are the fees paid to your lender and other third parties to close on your loan.

Need Assistance Buying a House With Cash?

To make sure you don’t forget anything on such an exciting day, create a list and check off your items as you pack them. One of the last steps before you sign your closing papers should be to look over the property one last time. You want to make sure that no damage has occurred since your last home inspection. You should also verify that the seller has completed the required fixes and no new problems came up.

How to Find A Real Estate Agent (For Buyers and Sellers)

You don’t have to be at the mercy of your lender’s timeline — provided you choose the right one. During high volume times for the mortgage industry — such as the current coronavirus refinance boom — lenders become strapped for resources, and quick communication is often the first thing to go. “Getting back to you can mean they approved you for a loan, or they’ll come back after three to five business days and say, ‘Oh I need more information from you,’” she says. We talked to Jessica Sanchez, Head of Mortgage Operations at HomeLight, to walk us through why exactly the mortgage takes so darn long, and what you can do to speed up the process. The final walk-through is a step every homebuyer should participate in.

Open escrow: 0 extra days (bundled into contract of sale)

It also makes it easier to locate and send any forms requested at the last minute, which can help you avoid holding up the process. Our guide will help you know what to expect on closing day and how to prepare ahead of time, so you can get to the table faster and avoid any roadblocks on your path to homeownership. Such contingencies must be removed in writing by specific dates stated in your purchase offer, a process known as active approval. However, in some purchase agreements, contingencies are subject to passive approval (also known as constructive approval). That means they are considered approved if you don’t protest them by their specified deadlines.

This content is created independently from TIME’s editorial staff. If all goes well (as it usually does), you will eventually leave your home closing with a stack of documents (which you should save) and the keys to your new home (finally!). If you find an issue during your walk-through, bring it up with the sellers as soon as possible. There’s no need to panic; at worst you can simply delay the closing until you resolve it. In a vast majority of cases, Donaldson says there aren’t any unwelcome walkthrough surprises as long as the seller has maintained that the property is in good working order before closing.

We wouldn’t even bother writing this section if the work was over, however. Take time to celebrate, but after that, reassess your new financial realities — your future homeownership expenses as well as the closing costs that may have set you back more than planned. Making an offer and having it accepted works a lot like any other home sale — unless you’re asking for a cash discount. If the seller has an urgent need to close quickly, they might be willing to negotiate a lower price in exchange for a quick close. Buying a home is a large financial transaction with many legal ramifications.

how long does closing on a house take

Multiple parties control different aspects of closing, but you can always ensure you do your utmost to facilitate the process. For example, follow up with necessary documentation on the same day it was requested. Instead of hurrying through your disclosure paperwork, peruse it for errors. The final step of closing is putting the home’s title in your name, which legally makes you the property owner.

If you still wish to proceed with the purchase of the home, you could consider negotiating with the seller to have them pay for the repair or take the cost to fix it yourself off the purchase price. Typically it takes 30 to 45 days to close on a house, depending on a few factors like how fast it takes to get a home inspection and whether or not you are pre-approved for a mortgage. Closing on a house can take from a week to 60 days, depending on the property type and whether you are paying cash or financing the purchase. A real estate deal is generally a long and stressful exercise that involves many steps and procedural formalities. Closing on a house occurs when you sign the papers that make the house yours, but before that fateful day arrives, a long list of things has to happen. This article describes the 12 steps that must be taken between the moment your offer is accepted and when you get the keys to your new home.

Discovering Home Defects Post-Sale - FindLaw

Discovering Home Defects Post-Sale.

Posted: Mon, 11 Dec 2023 08:00:00 GMT [source]

Appraisals help ensure that you pay what your new house is actually worth. If your appraisal comes in lower than the home's sales price, your lender may need to decrease the amount you can borrow so they’re more likely to recover their investment in case of foreclosure. Other options include the seller considering a lower selling price or your lender requesting a second appraisal. On closing day, you’ll be greeted by a pile of legal documents that need your signature. Many of these documents are legally binding agreements, so you must read through them to ensure they’re error-free and you fully understand all terms. Review each cost carefully ahead of time and compare it to your original Loan Estimate.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in political science from Michigan State University, and a master’s degree in public administration from the University of Michigan. One of the most common delays can happen during the appraisal process. Get familiar with some common causes of delay to anticipate and avoid any issues that may arise.

A standard inspection can cost $300–$400 or more, and you'll need to pay this up front.Work with your agent to schedule your inspection. Depending on the home's location and condition, you may want additional inspections, such as sewer, termite, or roof inspections. The closing agent conducts the settlement meeting and makes sure that all documents are signed and recorded and that closing fees and escrow payments are paid and properly distributed. Even if your initial home inspection went smoothly, it’s still a good idea to do a final walk-through right before you move into the new house. It is always possible that damage could have occurred between the first inspection and your move-in date.

To keep the closing process going, the seller and buyer must agree on how to address the concerns from the home inspection. Solutions include the seller completing repairs on the home, lowering the price, or mitigating the closing costs for the buyer. In a competitive market, a seller might decide to take no action because they believe the house will sell anyway. As a prospective homebuyer, you may be well acquainted with the pain of making it to closing day. Few things are more frustrating than finding your dream home only to have your loan application gummed up in underwriting because of a missing document. However, going in well-prepared for the endeavor of buying a home can help alleviate some of the anxiety that comes with closing on a home.

There is no definitive timeline, as many of these will be happening at the same time, but here's a general idea of the steps involved and how they work together. However, none of the many steps required of the buyer are particularly difficult, and in most cases you'll have help from your realtor. Be sure to do all you can to avoid any roadblocks or delays in the closing process.

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