Not wedding related but I thought who better to ask.....I have a question for anyone out there who has bought a house. FI and I are planning on buying a home before we get married. But we are unsure of the timing of all this. We obviously would like to have a house by May for our June wedding. For those who have gone through the whole process, how long did it take you from putting in an offer to closing and the house becoming yours. I have heard it take 6 months and I have heard 8 weeks so I dont know if there is an average...Thanks!
MarciaD
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4 weeks but we were very lucky!!
Good luck!
Claud2001
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We found our house in mid-late October and didn't close until January....and then we didn't move in until April, so you never know. It depends on the condition of the house and your means to prepare it for living. Good luck!
missmmpr
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We found our house in March (i think) and we didn't close until June 30
PlanningFromATL
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It also depends on how fast you find something you like....you could be looking a while before you find 'the one'
peabody
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House hunting on LI!!! I have to say and I don't mean to scare you, but I hated the whole process.
We had a really bad experience, and I am sure you will have a better experience than us. It all worked out for the best, but I didn't enjoy house hunting at all.
Regarding how long it took for us to close, (when we finally found the house) we made an offer at the end of April and closed July 16th. However, the people we were buying the house from wanted to leave quickly. It all depends on so many factors (mortgage co, the contract process, when the lawyers can meet, the appraisel, etc..)
My advice, is don't stay with one real estate agent, meet with several. You see a house in the paper call the real estate agent that it is listed under, make sure they know you are serious, get a pre-approved letter from the bank. You need to be aggressive and don't believe everything the agent tells you. Remember, they are getting a huge commission, anywhere from 3% to 6%. That's alot of $$$ when they are selling you a 300,000 to 400,000 house.
This site was very helpful to me to find listings on LI and research.
I hope your experience is better than mine. I didn't get into the whole story of the bad experience, but if you ever want to know let me know.
Good luck and if you have any questions, I am happy to try and answer them.
Tara
teachertime
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Re: Not really wedding related-House Question
Let's see, we got engaged in Paris in March and started looking as soon as we got home. I think it took us a good month to find the house we wanted. We bid back and forth for about a week and finally closed June 11th. So about three months from start to finish.
Where are you looking?
Good luck!
Christine
Elizabeth
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Ours was about 2 months.
Jenn524
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Re: Not really wedding related-House Question
The average time it takes to close a house is 2-3 months. It all depends on if there are any complications in the whole process. So if you're looking to close by May, I would say you should go to contract in February just to play it safe. Which means you should probably start looking at the end of this year, like October or November. Some people find their house within a month, others take 3-6 months or even a year to find the house that's right for them.
babybride
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I remember reading in Newsday once that the average house search is 5-6 months. I guess it depends how soon you find something you both like. FI and I have started looking at houses in March. We go to open houses and are working with realtors. So far we have seen only one thing worth considering and we put a bid on it, but the house went into a bidding war so we stepped out. Since we have a year to find a house there is no need to go into bidding wars. We are getting married next June, but if we find something now FI will sell his condo and move in. This way we can fix it up over time and it will be ready for me!! Good Luck!!!
Niecey
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We looked for about 2 months and unexpectantly found something we loved before we thought we were even ready to buy. From bid to close was only about 5 weeks which is really really quick from what I hear. Actually my friend who is a real estate lawyer told me it would be impossible to do that quick. The previous owners were looking to move (relocate and had children concerns) and really worked to push the process. DH also works at the financial institution where our mortgage is from and that helped to push that along. From seeing my friends by houses average is 2-3 months - from bid to close - now looking is another story. I have heard people take a year to find the perfect (or maybe not so perfect) house!
aug9bride
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We found ours in November and closed at the end of Feb.
It can vary depending on the people you are buying the house from. The people we bought the house from were having a house built in NC so before we went to contract we agreed that we would not go to closing until Feb. because there house wasn't going to be done yet. We could have refused but then they could have went with another buyer who was willing to wait.
Kelly9904
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Thanks for all the input gals! My FH is terribly excited for the house buying process, I on the other hand and so stressed about it. I have nothing done for our wedding (except the hall and church) but that does not stress me, this has me nuts! He is looking on-line and in the paper every day. However I have so far kept him from a real estate agent. This weekend we went to an open house and really liked it but I think its alittle too much price wise and its too soon. I have no problem getting it early, he will move in and then after the wedding I will too. We are looking in Ronkonkoma, Centereach, Coram, Selden, Holbrook, Nesconset...Anywhere that is about that area, and close to the Ronkonkoma train station. I work in NYC and currently I have a 3- hour commute each day (round trip) So to keep the commute reasonable (until I find a job on LI) I dont want to stray from a major train station. Anyone have any advice on the area? Thanks again for your help!
soon2bMrs
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Re: Not really wedding related-House Question
Kelly9904 you may also want to look in the Babylon area, unless you are set on the areas you have chosen. It is a great train line for commuting into the city. Both the FH and I work in downtown Manhattan and when we are ready to move out of the city that is where we will be looking.
Good luck!
Kelly9904
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Re: Not really wedding related-House Question
Thanks for the advice......I actually currently live in the babylon area and the train is great there. I love it because it is more regular and its pretty fast (58 min train ride from my house) The only problem is that house prices are alittle more in that area, most of the times for homes that need more work but the main thing is that taxes in Babylon can be fairly high. But if you have to work in NYC and commute the babylon line would be my first choice. Ronkonkoma is a nice area because it has probably the most trains and the ride on the express is an hour ten. The house prices are avearge but the taxes are in many cases $1,000-1,500 lower per year. Honestly, I am looking to get out of the commuting part however!
