Home Buying Process Timeline: 17 Steps Every Buyer Should Know

Buying a home takes astir six months, springiness oregon take. It’s not conscionable astir scrolling done listings and picking your favorite. There are galore steps involved, each with its ain timeline. Between mounting a budget, getting pre-approved, and closing the deal, getting everything squared distant tin marque each the difference.

Whether you’re purchasing your archetypal location oregon request a refresher, knowing each measurement successful the location buying process timeline tin assistance you debar surprises and consciousness much assured on the way. Let’s interruption down the 17 cardinal steps each purchaser should know, truthful you tin program up and determination guardant with clarity.

Home buying timeline:

1. • Determine your budget
   • Get pre-approved for a mortgage
   • Find a existent property agent
   • Start your location search
   • Visit unfastened houses
   • Reapply for owe support if necessary
   • Make an offer
   • Negotiate location price
   • Start the closing process
   • Deposit earnest money
   • Order your title
   • Line up a location inspection
   • Finalize the location sale
   • Finalize owe exertion and appraisal
   • Receive indebtedness approval
   • Final locomotion through
   • Pay closing costs and motion paperwork

1. Determine your budget

Estimated time: 2-4 weeks

Before jumping into your location hunt the archetypal measurement is to find how overmuch you tin afford. You whitethorn person saved capable for your down payment, but marque definite to besides relationship for closing costs, taxes, insurance, and immoderate different unforeseen expenses that whitethorn arise.

Rule of thumb: Aim to walk nary much than 28% of your gross monthly income connected lodging costs, and support your full indebtedness payments nether 36% of your income.

It’s besides a bully clip to cheque your finances. Make definite you’ve paid down your recognition cards and that your recognition people is successful bully shape. Double-check that you’ve filed your taxes, and that you person a wide insubstantial way for immoderate large fiscal transactions you’ve made recently.

2. Get pre-approved for a mortgage

Estimated time: 1-2 weeks

A owe pre-approval is simply a lender’s appraisal of however overmuch they’re consenting to lend you based connected your income, assets, debts, and recognition history. It not lone keeps you realistic astir your options, but it besides signals to sellers that you’re a qualified and superior buyer.

Don’t conscionable default to your existent bank. It’s champion to store astir to find the champion complaint and determine the champion benignant of owe loan for you. Keep successful caput that pre-approval letters person expiration dates, truthful instrumentality enactment of yours. If it expires, you tin reapply with updated fiscal info.

>>Read: How to Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage: 7 Steps for Success

3. Find a existent property agent

Estimated time: 1-2 weeks

A buyer’s cause is simply a licensed real property agent who represents your champion interests passim the location buying journey. The close cause volition person expertise connected the housing market, recognize the country wrong and out, beryllium acquainted with section listing agents, and cognize however to negotiate. 

Ask for referrals from friends and family, work online reviews, and interrogation a fewer agents. Be definite to inquire cardinal questions similar however good they cognize the neighborhood, caller purchaser transactions, and availability for showings. 

If you’re utilizing a level similar Redfin, you tin browse section agents’ profiles, spot their past deals, and link instantly.

4. Start your location search

Estimated time: 1-3 months

Begin by defining your priorities. 

• Are you looking astatine homes for merchantability successful Juneau, AK oregon Miami, FL? 
• Are you acceptable connected buying a location successful a peculiar schoolhouse territory oregon neighborhood? 
• How galore bedrooms bash you need? 
• Do you similar a single-family location oregon are you unfastened to townhouses?
• What is your commute tolerance?
• Are determination must-have features? 

Use online tools to explore listings and constrictive down your options based connected your criteria.

5. Visit unfastened houses and spell connected location tours

Estimated time: 1-3 months

When touring aggregate homes, it’s casual to suffer way of details. Take notes arsenic you’re touring each property, jotting down standout features, concerns, and your wide impressions to assistance comparison later. 

Ask your cause targeted questions astir the property’s history, neighborhood, and marketplace trends. Their insights tin uncover hidden pros and cons you mightiness miss.

>>Read: What to Look For connected a Home Tour

6. Reapply for owe support if necessary

Estimated time: 1 week

If you didn’t get a pre-approval letter, now’s the time. Most letters past for 60 to 90 days. If your hunt extends beyond that, reapply.

7. Make an offer

Estimated time: 1-3 days

Once you’ve recovered the location to telephone your own, it’s clip to determination quickly. Submit your connection arsenic soon arsenic imaginable aft the location tour. Work with your cause to find a competitory terms based connected caller sales, existent marketplace demand, and however galore buyers are interested. Decide connected important presumption similar earnest wealth deposits, contingencies (inspection, financing), and closing dates that tin marque your connection basal out. Your cause volition draught and taxable a ceremonial connection missive to the seller’s agent.

8. Negotiate location price

Estimated time: 1 week

Counter-offers are communal and should beryllium expected erstwhile buying a house. These tin see changes to the acquisition price, closing date, oregon declaration contingencies. You whitethorn spell backmost and distant with the seller a fewer times earlier you travel to presumption you some hold on.

In competitory markets, you mightiness look aggregate counteroffers oregon bidding wars, truthful knowing erstwhile to basal steadfast oregon locomotion distant is key.

9. Start the closing process

Estimated time: 30-45 days

Once your connection is accepted, you’ll participate escrow and statesman the closing process, typically lasting 30 to 45 days. During this time, your lender volition finalize your mortgage, the location volition beryllium appraised and inspected, and a rubric hunt volition beryllium conducted. 

Expect predominant connection with your agent, lender, and escrow bureau arsenic they usher you done the last steps of the location buying process timeline.

You’ll besides request to unafraid homeowners insurance, reappraisal the closing disclosure, and implicit a last walkthrough earlier signing the paperwork and transferring funds.

>>Read: 10 Steps to Closing connected a House: A Guide to the Closing Process

10. Deposit earnest money

Estimated time: 1-3 days

After the seller has accepted the offer, the earnest money (typically 1% to 3% of the home’s acquisition price) volition beryllium deposited into an escrow relationship oregon held by the listing agent. This deposit shows the seller you’re superior astir the acquisition and holds your spot successful the deal.

Once the merchantability of the location has been completed, the magnitude volition beryllium applied toward your closing costs. If the merchantability falls done for a crushed protected by your contingencies (like a failed inspection oregon financing issue), you’ll usually get the wealth back. If not, you whitethorn forfeit it.

11. Order your title

Estimated time: 1 week

Within a week aft you scope communal acceptance connected an offer, you’ll person a preliminary rubric study from an escrow cause oregon attorney. This study ensures determination are nary ineligible issues with the property’s ownership. Once the transaction closes, you’ll person a last rubric argumentation arsenic portion of your closing documents.

12. Schedule a location inspection

Estimated time: 1 week

The location inspection is important arsenic it allows you to uncover immoderate worldly defects oregon indispensable repairs earlier purchasing the home. Review the results of the inspection cautiously due to the fact that galore states clasp a purchaser liable for investigating issues recovered during the inspection. 

If there’s an inspection contingency, you tin negociate with sellers to screen the costs of definite repairs, inquire for concessions, oregon backmost retired of the sale.

13. Finalize the location sale

Estimated time: 1-3 days

With negotiations complete, it’s clip to finalize and motion the acquisition agreement. You’ll reappraisal and motion the acquisition agreement, officially committing to the location and moving 1 measurement person to closing day.

14. Finalize owe exertion and appraisal

Estimated time: 1 week

Even if you’ve been pre-approved, you inactive request to conscionable with your lender and finalize your owe application. At this stage, the lender volition besides petition an appraisal to corroborate the property’s worth earlier moving forward.

Tip: If the appraisal comes successful low, you whitethorn request to renegotiate the terms oregon screen the quality retired of pocket.

>>Read: How to Prepare for a Home Appraisal

15. Receive indebtedness approval

Estimated time: 1-2 weeks

A licensed appraiser volition measure the home’s marketplace worth by comparing caller income of akin properties nearby. After completion, it volition typically instrumentality astir 2 weeks for the lender to get each the paperwork and support completed.

16. Final locomotion through

Estimated time: 1 day

Now’s the clip to verify the home’s information hasn’t changed since your past visit, and that each agreed-upon repairs person been made. This usually takes spot 24 hours earlier the scheduled closing day, giving you assurance earlier officially taking ownership.

17. Pay closing costs and motion each paperwork

Estimated time: 1 day

On closing day, travel prepared with a government-issued ID and immoderate requested documents. Be prepared to wage your down outgo and closing costs—usually via cashier’s cheque oregon ligament transfer.

You’ll reappraisal and motion aggregate documents that finalize the sale, including the owe statement and deed. This measurement officially transfers ownership, truthful instrumentality your clip to recognize what you’re signing.

You’re acceptable for your caller home

Congratulations connected reaching the last measurement of the home buying process timeline! Depending connected if your location is move-in acceptable oregon not, you mightiness person immoderate attraction and remodeling to instrumentality connected earlier moving in. Don’t hide to program for moving services, caller furnishings and appliances, and mounting up utilities. You’ll wage for these aft the location is yours but whitethorn privation to origin them into your fund oregon make a abstracted post-move budget. With your caller keys successful hand, you’re yet acceptable to marque this spot your home.

The station Home Buying Process Timeline: 17 Steps Every Buyer Should Know appeared archetypal connected Redfin | Real Estate Tips for Home Buying, Selling & More.