If you’re thinking about buying a home, knowing the answer to the question of “how long does it take to buy a house?” could be a crucial factor in your trek to home ownership.
In addition to establishing a reasonable home buying budget – feel free to use our mortgage payment calculator for help – knowing how long before you have keys in hand will help new home buyers better plan and prepare.
Throughout the following, we’ll walk through the home buying process timeline, broken down by various milestones for every step.
How Fast Can You Buy a House?
Unlike most things today, buying a house isn’t a “point-and-click” kind of purchase. Cash buyers working directly with the owner of a property can complete a sale and submit paperwork to transfer a title or deed in as little as a day, but most of us need to get pre-approved for a mortgage loan first as part of the buying a house timeline.
We understand that not everyone starts the process the same way – some have saved extensively for years, others find a house they love, and then try to put all the pieces together from there, plus many other scenarios. Without further ado, let’s dive into the home buying process timeline.
Getting approved for a home loan: 1 to 2 weeks
The answer to “how long does it take to buy a house?” begins with getting preapproved for a home loan. This involves a detailed assessment of your assets, income, and credit history by a mortgage lender.
Some lenders are extremely easy to work with and will provide digital tools that make securely sending these documents a breeze. With that said, different employment situations can impact getting approved for a home loan. For example, those who are self-employed will need a bit more documentation about their income, as well as accepted tax returns for the previous 2 or 3 years.
Assuming you can provide a mortgage lender with all the documents their underwriters require, the pre-approval process should take 1 to 5 business days.
A pre-approval is generally good for 60 to 90 days. Also, you can apply with other lenders for up to 14 days from your first credit check for a home loan without impacting credit with multiple hard inquiries during your home buying process timeline.
Completing the offer process: 2 weeks
Assuming you’ve found a house you like and a realtor you plan to work with, with a mortgage pre-approval on hand, your real estate agent can send your purchase offer to the seller.
The back-and-forth on the offer process can vary extensively. For example, some may find themselves lucky when offering slightly less than the asking price, only for the owner to accept the offer within 24 hours.
Normally, the amount of time until an acceptable offer is generated averages 2 weeks. During this period, the buyer and seller communicate through their realtor until an acceptable dollar amount for the sale and any extra terms (e.g., a carpet or flooring allowance, installing or repairing a home feature, etc.) have been thoroughly discussed.
Once accepted, there are just a few steps left on the home buying process timeline.
Appraisal, home inspection, and final repairs: 2 to 3 weeks
Both the appraisal and home inspection can take several hours to an entire day once scheduled. In most cases, home inspectors and appraisers who work closely with a respectable realtor are readily available and will usually attempt to complete their jobs and produce necessary reports in about a week’s time. Generally speaking, you have about 10 days to complete the inspection once an offer or counteroffer has been accepted – most inspectors will issue a report within 24 hours after performing the inspection.
However, it should be noted that in some cases (and depending on the kind of mortgage), certain repairs will need to be completed by the seller before the house can be sold. To learn more about the kinds of things that come up during an inspection, check out these home inspection tips, and keep in mind that these can extend how long it takes to buy a house.
Closing process: 2 weeks
Once the home inspection and appraisal are complete, as well as any outstanding repairs, the closing process can begin! This is the final step on the buying a house timeline.
Your real estate agent will typically tell you once there’s a green light, and you’ll schedule your official closing date. Usually, a realtor will send over copies of all the paperwork to be signed during closing at least 72 hours prior to closing time – the process itself can take about 1 hour to sometimes 2 hours, just depending.
After you’ve signed all the paperwork, your realtor will hand you the keys to your new home and you’ll be all set to start moving your things!
