explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

butterfly20 Posted: Aug 28, 2003 08:00 PM

explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

ok, so i know it takes a while to find a house, so you start looking early, but what if you find one away and cant close on it for a few months?
im hoping idealy to get the house between June and November.... so when do we start looking? and are there alot of people who want to close in june so there kids finish out the school year?

MarcellaBella Posted: Aug 28, 2003 08:03 PM

Re: explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

You can work that all out with the seller and their people.. It should be a problem.. your agent/broker may want to push the date up so that they can get paid, but essentially, you can neg. all of these things..

people usually do one of two things..

1) close before kids finish the school year

2) close before the end of hte year to collect $$ from teh closing on their return.

sam Posted: Aug 28, 2003 08:41 PM

Re: explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

We saw a lot of houses- some sellers want to close right away and others want to wait. We actually were outbid on a house that sold in October with the sellers not wanting to close until the end of school. It depends on the situation. Be up front with the sellers- some may be willing to work with you if they accept your offer. We looked for a year and a half until we found our house- and it was a quick closing- we were in a position where we could do it- and that is why we got this house! Good luck!

Fran M Posted: Aug 29, 2003 09:42 AM

Re: explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

I would start looking. Its usually a long process. It took us 4 months from contract to closing. I think 3 is more typical but our house was part of an estate and it took the family some time to ge it in order.

I think things slow down over the winter months but you can get a good feel for neighborhoods and house styles you like. If all goes well by late spring you can be ready to decide on something and close in June. Good Luck with your search.

Becky Posted: Aug 29, 2003 01:02 PM

Re: explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

It only took us a month between contract and closing. But that is only because DH took care of ALL of the running around (and it was a lot) because he was still off from work (school teacher). Plus the seller wanted to close by this week becuase she is pregnant and due on 9/18.

ILT1221 Posted: Aug 29, 2003 01:50 PM

Re: explain to me how this buying a house thing works :)

It really depends on the situation of the seller and your situation (whether you have something to sell). Usually the process takes on average 1-4 months. So its never too early too look around. The only thing about waiting to long is that you can only hold a mortgage rate for a certain amount of time without paying extra.