How long to find the PERFECT home?

to all the homeowners:

we started looking for a house 2 Junes ago...but with the wedding and high prices...we gave up...

this june we are going to start looking again, and I think we are going to be quite picky (b/c we are signing a lease and have time)

**how long did it take you to find the perfect house?

**how long total until closing?

thanks everyone in advanced!!!

In NY or SD?

It took us a total of 3 months to find our home, but we were pretty aggressive...looking ourselves and with at least 4 realtors at all times. We went out during the week and on the weekends.

We signed the contract right before Thanksgiving and didn't close until January 22nd. But, if the planets are aligned properly, you could possibly close much sooner - it all depends on how fast the seller is willing to move, how long it takes your mortgage company to approve your loan, and how long it takes the title search report to be complete.

For us, our mortgage company was so buttoned up and professional that they submitted our paperwork to the attorney well in advance of the closing date. Unfortunately, we had to wait on everything else. But, it was worth the wait!
Good luck and enjoy looking - I actually got a lot of decorating and renovation ideas from house hunting!

I just want to add that there is no such thing as a 'perfect' home...there are always pros/cons. If you find everything you could ever want in terms of design/location/etc.., then it costs a kings ransom. Unless you have a limitless budget, there is always SOMETHING wrong. Even if you dont see it at first - you will realize it after you live there for a little while.

I know that doesnt really answer your question but I think a lot of homebuyers get caught up in it being 'perfect'....I think its important to note thats its okay if a house isnt 100% what you want as long as it suits your needs and you love it.

Started looking in early Nov. of 2001 when I accepted a job offer in NY and 'picked' a home quickly and signed a contract Nov. 18th. I was only going to have 90 days in the corporate apt. so we didn't have the luxury of time. We looked agressively, saw a lot of duds and decided this house would work for us.

It's not 'perfect' but it's structurally sound, has enough square footage, needs mostly cosmetic work, not renovations and has a large lot in a good town/school district. We figure we can make it perfect.

Unfortunately, we couldn't close until the end of April, after our lawyer finally threatened a lawsuit if they did not abide by the contract and get out - found out later from the neighbor that the homeowner was whining about how we were forcing her out and she thought she'd be able to stay till her son was out of school in June! Don't know why she thought that when we'd told her all along we wanted her out in mid Feb. at the latest!

by perfect...I mean the best for us...


We are going location first ( ;) lisa and claud)
I don't mind a fixer-uper...actually thaqt is what we would like...so the cost will be lower...

I'm just wondering how long we should sign a lease for...we have an option of 6-15 months

Our agent told us that standard was to make an offer with the closing date 90 days from the offer date. We wanted to go 60 but she discouraged it as too close to the holidays.

Be aware that the way contracts are written is 'on or about XXX date' wihch means that either party can extend the date by 30 days without violating the contract. We had a verbal agreement with the seller that they would go for a change to 'on or before' but when it came time to sign the contract the balked and pushed it back to 'on or about' then waited out the 30 days at which point our lawyer threatened the lawsuit. That got them moving, but it still took almost another month to finalize things. Start to finish - signed the contract in mid Nov - closed the end of April.

I think you said you're not looking until June, but you may want to start looking sooner, as many people put their house on the market soon, hoping to closer at the beginning of summer. You can always make an offer contingent on a later closing date - that may work for the seller if they are not rushing to leave - gives them time to find something without rushing.

As for signing a new lease - we're still 3 months from June, so a 6 month lease doesn't give much time. I'd suggest 8-10 months. That way, you would have some time to look and close before the holidays - would they accept a 6 or 8 month commitment, with month to month after that?

karen...did they kick you out of the corporate apartment? what did you do in the time between closing and the apartment? did you have to find another one? YIKES

I think we might be able to go month to month...b/c the woman mentioned that she would only find out 30 days before the move-in date b/c thats all the notice the people had to give her...

but we found out 3 months before...hmmm...

Claud - when I read your response, I thought I wrote it:
It took us a total of 3 months to find our home, but we were pretty aggressive...looking ourselves and with at least 4 realtors at all times. We went out during the week and on the weekends.

Same here. 3-4months, cant remember exactly.

Erica-Its really hard to judge how long it will take. You might like one of the first homes you see !
Ya never know !

good luck !

Erica; yes, unfortunately I did have to move out of the corporate apartment because they had hired a senior VP shortly after me, and he was waiting to get in there, living out of a hotel room in the meantime, so I couldn't extend my stay.

Fortunately, we were able to keep our stuff in our apt. in MA on a month to month basis, and DH was able to stay there working at his job. It was a situation where he could transfer at his convenience when we moved.

I ended up moving in with his grandmother in Queens for 2 months after I had to get out of the apartment, and we had a 'commuter' marraige for 6 months, with him in MA and me in NY - seeing each other on weekends. This was a cheaper option than putting all our stuff into storage and it allowed DH to keep working - he needed a home office, and thus needed a home to be working!

All in all, it worked out, and we were very fortunate to have DH's grandmother come to our rescue. It doesn't hurt to have a contingency plan, because I've heard of many delayed closings. Also, you may be better off having your apt. for a month or two (or three) longer than you need, so it allows you time to get into your house and paint and clean and fix it up before you have all your furniture in place. That has been difficult for us - we closed on a Friday - drove to MA and did the final packing, and the movers came on Monday to pick up - delivering on Tuesday. We're still living with boxes in 2 rooms almost a year later!

It took us over a year and a half. I looked at homes practically everyday since I wasn't working (I put a lot of miles on our truck!) We worked with a few realtors, mainly having them send new or exclusive listings that couldn't be found on the internet. We thought we found 'the perfect one' about 4 times and ended up in a few bidding wars where we offered way over the asking price! (I did 'a little bit' of crying over those. )

We found our home by chance. It was a ranch, which we totally did not want, but our realtor insisted we see it. After a little bit of arm twisting, we decided to go. We made an offer in the driveway! That was in September. We closed at the end of October and moved in before Halloween. Best 'by chance' we ever had! The home has a useable acre, where the other homes had either an unuseable acre or less than a half. (The only thing they had going for them was the home, which is what I was wrapped up in at the time.) And the school district we ended up in is much better!!!

Just keep an open mind! I was so set on a colonial that I was hesitant about our current home. It would have been a big mistake if we had passed up this one just b/c it was a ranch. (Thank god my FH saw the potential and the investment in our home!)

BTW, You'll probably view 10 homes you hate for every one you like.

It took us 1 to 2 years to find a home. We were VERY picky. It took a long time to choose a neighborhood, and a long time to find a house there.
It took 18 months to get into the house after our bid was accepted. Not normal thank goodness for you! The people we bought from had problems getting into their house so it was a bit of a domino effect. We were able to wait, and we couldn't be happier.
We did find the perfect house. It is possible. You just have to be very patient. We did spend a lot, as sonic said. But I think if your on a tight budget you can make the house you like the perfect house.
Take time finding the right neighborhood for you.

Good Luck!

I'm not a homeowner yet, but I already know we will NOT find out perfect home when we finally decide on one. With the market as insane as it is, we have to re-prioritize all that we want, and what we can and cannot live without. When I entered the world of researching, I naively thought we could have a house with a garage and basement in Nassau, without breaking the bank - apparently not!

I'm VERY picky with what I want, so my perfect house is, for now at least, way out of my price range. Of course it doesn't help that we are basically only limited to Nassau if I ever want to see my husband.

It took over 2 years!! We started looking for a house in early 1998!! At first we were looking for a condo to get a start and then to later keep as an investment property when we moved up and bought a house.

We found a duplex condo we loved right on the water in Long Beach. We bid, it was accepted, we went to contract, the seller backed out!! I cried for weeks.

The prices were skyrocketing at that time, so we shifted our focus to homes. Basically we would check the Sunday paper and go to open houses. We got pre-approved for a mortgage and knew what we could afford. Unfortunately everything was way out of our price range

We did most of the leg work ourselves because we knew we wanted Nassau County, but were open to anywhere we could settle for the long term.

We found out home through an Open House ad in Newsday in the summer of 2000. We put our bid in right before the July 4th weekend, and went to contract after that. Our initial closing date was supposed to be Labor Day weekend, but the seller pushed it back to October 2, 2000.

Yabbo - like you said, it was perfect for us. We are doing lots of renovations to make it more 'our' home, and have painted every room and installed new interior and exterior doors. We have lots of room to grow into it (it's 4 bedrooms, 3 baths) and the school district is good, although when we have kids, we would like to send them to private school.

To us, we were in no rush, so that's why it took as long as it did. We weren't even engaged at the time (we got engaged right after moving into the house!). Keep an open mind, think location adn long term, and when you find it, you'll know.

thanks for all the great advice ladies...

unfortunately I cannot start looking sooner thatn the end of May...b/ i cannot get to the area that we are thinking about buying in...until then..

I'm definitley up for the condo route...It seems like a smart idea...If only I had bought the condo in Forect Hills I was living in...I would have a ton of equity...but I regress..

Jenny...I think I told you on OUH that I love your block and I loved my/your school district!!!