How long does the home buying process take? Well, there’s a lot of different factors that go into this, and it really depends on each individual person. There are going to be a couple different factors in the pre-approval process that determine how long this is going to take.
The first step is the pre-approval. This can typically be done in just one to two days if you fill out the application right away with the lender and get them all the documents that they need.
Once you’re pre-approved, it’s time to go house hunting. This is where it’s really going to depend on you, the buyer, and what you’re looking for and how quickly you’re going to find it. I’ve had people who have gotten pre-approved and went under contract the next day. I’ve had people who have gotten pre-approved and then didn’t go under contract for a year or two because it took them that long to find a house. So this part really depends on you.
The third part is going into escrow, which is essentially finding the house that you want, writing an offer, and now you have a purchase contract and you’re under contract to purchase the house. A standard purchase contract is about 30 days, unless for some reason you or the seller need it longer or shorter. But for the most part, you can expect about 30 days from the time you find the house, go under contract, and get the keys in your hand.
So this process can take anywhere from a month, month and a half, to over a year, depending on what you are going to do.
