We are an independent, advertising-supported comparison service. Our goal is to help you make smarter financial decisions by providing you with interactive tools and financial calculators, publishing original and objective content, by enabling you to conduct research and compare information for free - so that you can make financial decisions with confidence. The offers that appear on this site are from companies that compensate us.
This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site, including, for example, the order in which they may appear within the listing categories. But this compensation does not influence the information we publish, or the reviews that you see on this site.
We do not include the universe of companies or financial offers that may be available to you. At Bankrate we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. While we adhere to strict editorial integrity , this post may contain references to products from our partners.
Our award-winning editors and reporters create honest and accurate content to help you make the right financial decisions. We value your trust. Our mission is to provide readers with accurate and unbiased information, and we have editorial standards in place to ensure that happens. We maintain a firewall between our advertisers and our editorial team.
Our editorial team does not receive direct compensation from our advertisers. Our goal is to give you the best advice to help you make smart personal finance decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers, and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy.
You have money questions. Each step after you've got a contract on a home is part of the closing process. And that process — which includes getting the loan, inspection, appraisal, title, insurance, etc.
When it's time for the main event, bring your photo ID, and stretch your hand muscles; you've got a lot of signing to do! But getting the keys?
Takes hardly any time at all. Skip to content. Top Spotlight. Here's the home-buying timeline, broken down step-by-step, so you can be in control: 1.
Do Your Homework Time: days Dreaming about owning your own home is one thing; making it happen is another. Find An Agent Time: days Finding an agent who suits you is key to the home buying process. Get Pre-Approved for a Loan Time: business days Getting pre-approved for a loan signals you're a serious buyer. A couple of tips to help make this a speedier process: Get all your documents for mortgage pre-approval organized and ready to go.
Compare rates from lenders within a day window: Credit bureaus will count all their checks as just one. That's good news for your credit score. Shop Time: A few days to a few months Here's where things really vary. Make an Offer, Negotiate, and Sign a Contract Time: days Work with your agent on price, contingencies, and other terms of the deal. A couple of tips to help make this step proceed smoothly: Include the pre-approval letter from your lender in the offer, and put down earnest money.
If you receive a counteroffer, respond ASAP. You don't want to give another buyer time to jump in with a better offer. Related: Tips for Making an Offer on a House 6.
Expect about four weeks for this crucial part of the process. Your mortgage provider will transfer the lump sum for the property to your solicitor and they will make the payment to the vendor on your behalf. Depending on the time the seller needs to pack and move out, and how long the chain of sales is in front of them, this will take about weeks.
It makes sense to start talking to mortgage lenders at this stage too, so you have an idea of the amount of cash you can borrow — as well as getting your deposit in place and making sure your bank accounts look as healthy as possible. A mortgage lender will want to see bank statements for at least the last 3 months, so it is never too early to prepare.
Once you have a ballpark figure, you can start speaking to estate agents to arrange viewings. Remember: everyone wants to beat the market, by getting a steal on the ideal property, with plenty of space in the most sought-after location — but frankly, these opportunities are few and far between.
If you are struggling to find a property that you like that ticks all of the boxes, you do need to ensure that you are being realistic about what you can afford in your chosen area. Otherwise, you are essentially waiting for someone to misprice their home so that you get an absolute bargain, which means you will be waiting a long time!
How long this stage takes is mainly up to you, although other factors such as the buoyancy of your local property market and the time of year can make a difference. Naturally, negotiation is an expected and encouraged part of the process — you want to secure the best deal you can, as there is a lot of money at stake. But you need to strike the perfect balance by persuading the seller to discount the asking price, without driving too hard a bargain as to make them look elsewhere.
Depending on how this process plays out, you can be looking at anything from instant acceptance if your offer is spot on, to rejection followed by several stages of negotiation which can take days or even weeks. There are plenty of online resources that can help you make the right offer, as it can be a delicate business.
For instance, the Money Saving Expert forum is a great place to get good feedback and advice from their community of house buyers. On average, it will take you between days to confirm the cash from your lender — although this can vary considerably depending on a number of factors, such as your credit rating and financial records.
First things first — you need to find a mortgage provider willing to lend you a substantial chunk of money. If you are self-employed or it is a particularly complex property purchase, you may also wish to use a mortgage broker to get the best deal possible. Here are six questions to consider:.
Before clicking through pages of online listings or falling in love with your dream home, do a serious audit of your finances. You need to be prepared for both the purchase and the ongoing expenses of a home.
Follow these steps:. Look at your savings. When you buy a home, there will be considerable up-front costs, including the down payment and closing costs. You need money put away not only for those costs but also for your emergency fund. Lenders will require it. Review your spending. This calculation will tell you how much you can allocate to a mortgage payment. Check your credit. You have a number of options when purchasing a residential property: a traditional single-family home, a duplex, a townhouse, a condominium , a co-operative , or a multifamily building with two to four units.
Each option has its pros and cons, depending on your homeownership goals, so you need to decide which type of property will help you reach those goals. You can save on the purchase price in any category by choosing a fixer-upper, but be forewarned: The amount of time, sweat equity, and money required to turn a fixer-upper into your dream home might be a lot more than you bargained for. Your list should include basic desires, like size and neighborhood, all the way down to smaller details like bathroom layout and a kitchen fitted with durable appliances.
Scanning real estate websites can help you get a sense of the pricing and availability of properties offering the features that are most important to you. Make sure to get pre-approved for a loan before placing an offer on a home. You do this by applying for a mortgage and completing the necessary paperwork.
It is beneficial to shop around for a lender and to compare interest rates and fees by using a tool like a mortgage calculator or Google searches. Mortgage lending discrimination is illegal. Sometimes a bank will give you a loan for more house than you really want to pay for.
Consider how high the property taxes are in your chosen neighborhood, how much homeowners insurance will cost, how much you anticipate spending to maintain or improve the house, and how much your closing costs will be. A real estate agent will help you locate homes that meet your needs and are in your price range, then meet with you to view those homes. This can be a chaotic time, with offers and counteroffers flying furiously, but if you are prepared for the hassle and the paperwork , then you can get through the process with your sanity intact.
Here is the basic progression that you can expect:. Make sure to take advantage of all the available options for finding homes on the market, including using your real estate agent, searching for listings online , and driving around the neighborhoods that interest you in search of for-sale signs.
Put out some feelers with your friends, family, and business contacts. You never know where a good reference or lead on a home might come from. First-time homebuyers should look for a house that they can add value to, as this ensures a bump in equity to help them up the property ladder.
First-time homebuyers have a wide variety of options to help them get into a home—both those available to any purchaser, including Federal Housing Authority FHA -backed mortgages , and those geared especially to novices. Be sure to look into or consider:. Fees can be surprisingly varied. Mortgage interest rates—which, of course, have a major impact on the total price that you pay for your home—can also vary. The lender can pre-approve the borrower for a certain amount.
0コメント