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Did you know the average homebuyer took 73 days to close on a home after the first visit?\u00a0That is true according to a data-driven\u00a0study by Redfin<\/b><\/span>.<\/p>\n If you’re a buyer or seller in the real estate business, you might be\u00a0asking the question, ‘How long does it take to close on a house?’ <\/i>Well, you’ve come to the right place.<\/p>\n Closing on a house can be a daunting and intimidating process if you don’t know what to expect.<\/p>\n Fortunately, after reading this guide the home closing process will be predictable and repetitive for you.<\/p>\n We dive into everything from the amount of time it takes to close on a house to a step-by-step\u00a0guide on what it means to close on a property.<\/p>\n Let’s dive right in! We hope you enjoy\u00a0How Long Does It Take To Close On A House!<\/b><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Closing on a house, also referred to as settlement or completion, means that both parties to a real estate transaction have fulfilled their obligations as outlined in a purchase and sale agreement, resulting in a\u00a0transfer of ownership from the seller to the buyer of a property.<\/p>\n At this final stage in the transaction, a number of things take place in a short amount of time. A title or escrow company<\/b><\/span> is engaged to facilitate the closing process. Primarily, the deed is recorded, and funds are transferred from the buyer to the seller of the property.<\/p>\n It\u2019s an exciting time when both sides finally come together \u2013 having worked through days, weeks, often months of uncertainty and due diligence to get to this point…<\/p>\n Closing on a house usually involves the following parties:<\/i><\/p>\n The closing process starts at the initial contract signing and can be drawn out much longer than intended. Closing on a home can be subject to delays, contingencies, along with many other variables that can sour a deal and cause it to go south.<\/p>\n In the next section, we\u2019ll cover the steps to close on a house.<\/p>\n “The best time to buy real estate was 5 years ago, the next best time to buy is today.” -Anonymous<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/p>\n Here\u2019s a playbook that includes the steps to close on a residential house:<\/p>\n For most buyers, this means getting pre-approved for a home loan by a mortgage lender. You can expect to fill out a lengthy application, run a credit report<\/b><\/span>, check your credit scores, discuss mortgage rates, provide income statements, paycheck stubs and other financial information.<\/p>\n Popular lenders include: <\/i><\/p>\n The\u00a0results of the pre-qualification stage of the mortgage process will determine how much purchasing power you have. The size of loan you qualify for will ultimately\u00a0dictate the price range of house you\u2019ll be shopping in.<\/p>\n Additionally, make sure you have enough liquid funds available for the down payment and closing costs<\/b><\/span> of your home purchase.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you may choose to close on a\u00a0house entirely with your own cash, borrow\u00a0private money<\/b><\/span>, or\u00a0other financing.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve secured your funding source, it\u2019s time to house hunt!<\/p>\n Connect with several real estate brokers in the area you\u2019re looking to buy to help you locate your ideal house. You can also look at home listing sites like Zillow<\/b><\/span>, Realtor.com<\/b><\/span>, Trulia<\/b><\/span> and Redfin.com<\/b> to find houses on your own.<\/p>\n Check out at least 5 homes and attend multiple open houses before making an offer. <\/i>This way, you\u2019ll get a feel for property values in an area.<\/i><\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve identified a house that fits the bill, make an offer! Here\u2019s where a great real estate agent can help out tremendously.<\/p>\n Buyers should expect to make multiple offers before getting one accepted. Here’s a short\u00a0video that discusses what happens after an offer is accepted:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When your offer is accepted by the seller, you open escrow on the property. This entails choosing an escrow agent and title company, submitting your earnest money deposit to a trust fund account, reviewing property disclosures<\/b><\/span>, locking in mortgage rates, completing your loan process, and moving forward with the closing process.<\/p>\n Compared to other parties in the transaction, mortgage lenders require the longest amount of time to close on a house and are often the source of delays in\u00a0closing on a home.<\/p>\n While they are optional, most buyers will perform a professional home inspection<\/b><\/span> before they close on a house. This is a good idea in case you discover any damages, repairs needed, or other factors that materially affect the value of the home. Depending on the results of your home inspection, the initial offer you\u00a0made to purchase the home may need to be adjusted.<\/p>\n Nearly all lenders will require an appraisal of the home. An appraisal is when a third-party licensed valuation professional prepares a report that suggest the market value of the property in its present condition.<\/p>\n The lender will make a loan based on a percentage of the appraised value \u2013 also know as the loan to value ratio<\/i>.<\/p>\n Your contract may\u00a0include\u00a0a number of contingencies, which allow you to terminate the agreement if certain conditions are not met to your satisfaction. These contingencies may include: home inspection, appraisal, mortgage loan, insurance, and clear title.<\/p>\n If any of these conditions are not met,\u00a0you can walk away with your earnest money deposit<\/b><\/span> refunded. Assuming you are satisfied with the results of your due diligence, you may remove your contingencies and proceed to closing on the home.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve satisfied your due diligence and removed all contingencies \u2013 you\u2019re ready to close on a home! Review and sign every disclosure, promissory note<\/b><\/span>, settlement statement, and other paperwork to seal the deal.<\/p>\n A closing disclosure or HUD-1 Settlement Statement<\/b><\/span> is often used as a primary closing document to represent the transaction. Here’s an image of a portion of the HUD-1:<\/p>\n Once you sign and approve, transfer your purchase funds to the title company and you\u2019ll soon receive the keys to your new property! Congrats, you’ve now completed your home purchase.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the most widely available options for home buyers is using a conventional loan<\/b><\/span> to fund the purchase. Conventional loans\u00a0traditionally require at least a 20% down payment, though there are now programs that allow\u00a0only 3% down.<\/p>\n Conventional lenders generally need at least 30 to 45 days to close on a house.<\/b> Big banks, such as Chase, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo are notorious for taking\u00a0more time to close home loans than smaller, local banks, lenders, and credit unions.<\/p>\n That said, of\u00a0all the financing options you have to close on a house, a conventional loan might be the most popular among all the products available. The length of time it takes to close with a house largely hinges on the ability of the lender to get the deal done in an efficient manner.<\/p>\n The best way to make sure the closing process moves as quickly as possible when using a conventional loan is for the buyer to have all their ducks in a row before going into escrow.<\/p>\n This means getting pre-approved by the lender of choice, having all required documents on hand, and being readily available throughout the process to answer questions and promptly provide the lender with any information they need.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Closing on a home with a VA Loan requires additional steps which can cause the closings to take longer than a conventional loan closing. VA loans generally take around 40-50 days to close.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n The additional steps include obtaining a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) to make sure you are qualified to receive the loan. Also, a VA appraisal is ordered to ensure the house meets the VA\u2019s Minimum Property Requirements<\/b><\/span>.\u00a0The VA appraisal ensures the house is a safe, habitable, and structurally sound investment, but can take up to 10 days to complete.<\/p>\n VA Home Loans are guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)<\/b><\/span>, though they are funded by private banks and mortgage lenders. VA loans are reserved for members of the Selected Reserve, active duty service personnel, veterans, and even certain categories of spouses.<\/p>\n Although it takes longer to close on a home with a VA loan, many believe it\u2019s worth the extra hassle because you can buy a home with 0% down and secure below-market interest rates!<\/p>\n Here’s a video from Bank of America covering how VA home loans work:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In summary, the steps to obtain a VA Loan are as follows:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n After an appraisal<\/b><\/span> is completed, it usually takes at least another 1 to 2 weeks to close on a home.\u00a0When the appraisal is\u00a0submitted to the loan officer, it takes some time for the lender to process the appraisal, make adjustments to the loan if needed, and satisfy any remaining conditions in order to get the mortgage approved.<\/p>\n If the property doesn’t appraise for at least the\u00a0contracted sales price, there may be delays in closing on the home. Since the lender will only lend money\u00a0up to a certain percentage of the\u00a0property value (see: loan to value ratio<\/b><\/span>), the parties of the transaction must decide who makes up the difference.<\/p>\n Several\u00a0options exist at this point.<\/p>\n It may take a few extra days to determine\u00a0the path forward, which may involve several rounds of negotiations.<\/p>\n The purpose of the appraisal is to determine the current market value of the property\u00a0that is being used as collateral for the mortgage loan. Most lenders require this because they want to make sure the underlying\u00a0security behind the loan is worth more than the amount of the loan.<\/p>\n In case the borrower defaults on the loan, the lender can take back or foreclose on the property<\/b><\/span>. The appraisal ensures the lender that they\u00a0can sell the house and recoup their investment in the mortgage loan without taking a loss.<\/p>\n You can see how offers that\u00a0are not contingent on\u00a0appraisals\u00a0simplify the process of closing on a home.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you pay cash to close on a house, it can take as little as a few days to complete the transaction. If you\u2019re willing to waive your right to an inspection, appraisal, financing contingencies<\/b><\/span>, or any other agreements that make your commitment to the transaction conditional, you can simply sign closing documents, wire money to the title company,\u00a0and\u00a0transfer ownership.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can complete all of your due diligence before entering a binding contract to purchase the property. The downside\u00a0of going this route is that you could potentially miss out on the deal if another buyer enters a purchase agreement with the seller while you\u2019re doing your homework.<\/p>\n The truth is that if you pay cash to close on a house, you can close as quickly as needed for the transaction. However, most buyers will offer with contingencies and a timeline that provides adequate time to complete their inspections and due diligence.<\/p>\n Cash home buyers<\/b><\/span>\u00a0often market their ability to close quickly, which usually ends up being around 1-2 weeks.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The length of time it takes to close on a house after an offer is accepted entirely depends on what is stated in the completed purchase and sale agreement.<\/p>\n A designated close of escrow date is agreed on, which usually hinges on the type of capital<\/b><\/span>\u00a0<\/b>the buyer is bringing to the closing table.<\/p>\n Buyer\u2019s closing with VA, FHA, and Conventional loans will generally take 30-60 days to close on a house after an offer is accepted.<\/p>\n If a buyer is funding the deal with cash or using alternative financing such as private or hard money, then it can take as little as one week to close on a house after an offer is accepted.<\/p>\n The actions that consume the most time after an offer is accepted are getting mortgage loans closed, property inspections, title examination, and home appraisals<\/b><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Generally, the time it takes to close on a house and move in can range from as little as a week to several months – it is ultimately determined by the circumstances of the buyer and cooperation of the seller.<\/p>\n If\u00a0a buyer is on a tight timeline and needs to move in quickly, the ideal situation is a quick escrow period of less than 30 days,\u00a0while purchasing\u00a0a vacant or furnished house.<\/p>\n Purchasing a vacant house means that the seller has completely\u00a0moved out of the property\u00a0prior to closing, so the buyer\u00a0may take possession immediately. This ensures no delay after closing and the buyer is\u00a0able to move in promptly.<\/p>\n In some circumstances, the seller may need to live in the\u00a0property for a period of time after closing. While this may work in some instances, be cautious of the liability issues and potential delays with purchasing an essentially “tenanted” property, as the seller may have\u00a0rights as a tenant<\/span>.<\/p>\n This is why requesting a house to be delivered vacant is preferred for buyers looking to move in quickly.<\/p>\n Buyers looking to move in quickly\u00a0should consider purchasing a house that is furnished, or negotiating the sale of\u00a0the owner’s furniture along with the house. This way, buyers can eliminate the time in between taking possession and being able to comfortably reside in the home. Nobody likes sleeping on the floor, right?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yes, you can definitely close on a house in 2 weeks or less. However, there are only a few options if you\u2019re serious about a quick 2-week timeline.<\/p>\n Your best options are\u00a0funding the house with cash, hard money<\/b><\/span>, private money, seller financing<\/b><\/span>, or another form of\u00a0capital lined up.<\/p>\n If you\u00a0want\u00a0to close with financing from a conventional mortgage lender, VA lender, FHA loan<\/b><\/span>, then you won\u2019t likely be able to close on a house in 2 weeks.\u00a0The only way to do so is to get the mortgage process moving forward ahead of time before putting the property under contract.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\nWhat Does Closing On A House Mean?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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What Are The Steps To Close On A House?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Secure Funding<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Find A House<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"how](\"https:\/\/ci6.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/_gQHWLdNx8ERhWJPafEu4vN7N9vFQHjCQyPWNqGHik0L0a1udoPBIpZF78vQOATuci-VRFE1U87w3Te9hP3Gr2wRthNcVzYEADe2fyLIeZF_752yQ7bAknbqshiaYcHNqUfm2Ug0Rc9iN4U5J8uAD51ff6Ba4PjTgV5Kjj4WG65qHoy8oxXAXTSLtXEbs60pSzO-lp-w7ouzaPN8AhnE3ZMwVCDfY4py_YSCBGnun7lV3d3JqeW9e5h7qVCPNg=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/kajabi-storefronts-production.global.ssl.fastly.net\/kajabi-storefronts-production\/blogs\/8345\/images\/lrlQTlWISYm3LVjJUc1r_how_long_to_find_and_close_on_a_house.png\")
<\/p>\nMake An Offer<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Open Escrow<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Home Inspection<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Appraisal<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
Remove Contingencies<\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n
Close On A Home!<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
![\"hud](\"https:\/\/ci4.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/QHsx3t9cT7h7OiNiWRJnotz14tblKukSPIW8o09D-GyrTGwn1M5w4t0hDWrjMpw9e1dDa9lf-SJCif5qseHwM7ZYnKiDLHX0FBEz6uf4mEisa-t6--yjpY_n-r9wTf22p35G5BvLyVzJzojQsCQjzWvQCwzgQhBw8XYirq33RfKJJ_qS6nHydAWLwkhMc77DzR279a0fyAPgziIrTFDe3iyiaVkSYrflpOcbvxcusCuRBw=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/kajabi-storefronts-production.global.ssl.fastly.net\/kajabi-storefronts-production\/blogs\/8345\/images\/j4ghdWk6SIeycju4lIWm_Settlement-statement-home.png\")
<\/p>\nHow Long Does It Take To Close On A House With A Conventional Loan?<\/b><\/h2>\n
How Long Does It Take To Close On A House With A VA Loan?<\/b><\/h2>\n
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How Long Does It Take To Close On A House After Appraisal?<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/ci5.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/oRxlFz0RJvZ4ZmFkFCDqd-Igs1nvQkvLiFmyR7jRVdaExtzBSl9jialaYqesK86VcQ1czaQqHzrojcRUDpfcEkhcfwqT0GuVyy4ef4HQOMO2p-Wu909priJujHRE6WxDxjCGunscbYi7JGlzI_1wKaepbXwPNsRd4ysf7Y7p_IYArsupcwdNoI_iR0GBzR1dvF9XR3Z27xvsTZSkEM7qFT79g5fWQ1Vu8iEMhsdxifUvxnk8BZI5KN3kLslHB0MBlf7FWpPAd9xQ--ZxfxCnH1gggA=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/kajabi-storefronts-production.global.ssl.fastly.net\/kajabi-storefronts-production\/blogs\/8345\/images\/vPpv4puYRK2OEYPJNDsv_How_Long_Does_It_Take_To_Close_On_A_House_After_Appraisal_.jpg\")
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How Long Does It Take To Close On A House If You Pay Cash?<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/ci4.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/1Yai1j9F1oJ00_nRCVA_kJ1N_9fbFv4dFcp_OFr0tn4MkGWCijhFYWJ8SS6mlQvBUGsIUd7wb9Q6BpaTA8EWj9VeW3XJY6J1ezET9F0aPYjylllPQlm40X-2qM_4OfeSrf6w79giv_JciCdSuf-zqib2yrkW2kj8nZ9dq15shTQYtp2AeurbJJ4CuFI9RsCOTk3XmrLcXcwcPMJzBEmJCAjsjJSkH90sL-eOeI2l61ZdnUzdpw=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/kajabi-storefronts-production.global.ssl.fastly.net\/kajabi-storefronts-production\/blogs\/8345\/images\/leaaC4dxSe2SphCgqSew_Close_On_A_Home_With_Cash_1_.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHow Long Does It Take To Close On A House After An Offer Is Accepted?<\/b><\/h2>\n
How Long Does It Take To Close On A House And Move In?<\/h2>\n
![\"How](\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/Y8oaA07jbDdwPfYv1KrBQg49uqCactovblQ2lQ7A-Zs9koTb1eh5Hs287_hKj41TV1oyGVgJtl_z-t-uXQHC56pEPjBxbryjJlu-Ap-xV0PvcbeZFqihVUe7OwY-oiXPmx3t_hNsGk5nvWUQXYsJAqKg2WjVTaRi44jc1A3z87O62_EQ6Tajv3tLsXkD5CosAJJnWQHGwrQSaXCeNHrHgcbkoe8nLFZGp1Ie4VimgCo6DtXX5qDkc78eNP8XKV-4RVWttAPNgx6ksCyEidQ=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/kajabi-storefronts-production.global.ssl.fastly.net\/kajabi-storefronts-production\/blogs\/8345\/images\/gTlOsQwQYi35fjfmkVXn_How_Long_Does_It_Take_To_Close_On_A_House_And_Move_In.jpg\")
<\/p>\nCan You Close On A House In 2 Weeks?<\/b><\/h2>\n
Why Does It Take So Long To Close On A House?<\/b><\/h2>\n
![\"lease](\"https:\/\/ci3.googleusercontent.com\/proxy\/FeXyVtVVModxWoTtTdJ-5N7QkNBXArqHMGF4cq_pDp7FFPXWve39uiOmQW1UHFU37T2b14sjD2SJrp4nTXj_dpYjaP4H8frCOmb8zNNzF9wHHEW2-Kg5mZ3SYR91nNZtxV7ku7jAkRhL15jvkKfj6n_04qBHucfzC4UVZylXl7bg7HT5Qc2fZ0bwO_aj-xWcJOsC2LulEUfdObA4PifSFkfA3Fub9Cili0QXg3uqLrfEhoN1B4YqNfcXwqgnqSk=s0-d-e1-ft#https:\/\/kajabi-storefronts-production.global.ssl.fastly.net\/kajabi-storefronts-production\/blogs\/8345\/images\/Ido2JWauRG52gAOfi92h_Why-does-take-so-long-close-on-a-house.jpg\")
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