HOW CAN YOU BUY A HOUSE FAST?
by Anne Stewart Leave a Comment (Edit)
Buying a home can be a tedious process, broken up by periods of frantic activities. If you want your home buying process to fly through quickly, there are things you need to know and remember before you kick off the home buying dash. In this post, you will discover the secrets to buying a house fast.
The average time for closing on a loan alone takes almost two months, but if you are not lucky enough, the process can take even much longer—sometimes even years! Unfortunately, homebuyers like you do not always have the luxury of waiting.
Buying a home in Portland fast requires a little luck and a lot of preparation. If you are relocating from another state and need a place to live now, you cannot afford to wait for months before you find a new home. The good news, however, is that there are ways you can speed up the home buying process even if your bank account is not as fat as your shopping rivals.
Here are some ways you can speed up the house hunting and buying process:
Choose the right realtor
Even if you don’t have a fat bank account, if you have an experienced real estate agent in Portland who has a large network of real estate professionals, you can be one of the lucky few to submit a presale offer before your dream home even hits the market.
In any real estate transaction, the no. 1 secret is always to pick a realtor who is intimately familiar with your preferred area and knows which homes are hitting the market. Your real estate agent will help you make wise decisions as you go through the home buying process and will give you a head start in finding out if a particular listing is right for you.
Pepper your agent with questions
Since home buying can be confusing especially if you’re a first-time homebuyer, you shouldn’t feel guilty about asking questions early on in the transaction. If you get your questions answered early on with the help of your agent, that will help expedite the home buying process.
Asking questions is especially important when you fall in love with a home in a competitive market and are to sign the offer fast. Do not wait for the offer to arrive to ask these questions if you don’t want to miss the deadline for submitting your offer.
Aim to get pre-approved, not just pre-qualified
While it is always nice to get pre-qualified for a mortgage before you begin your search for your future home, getting pre-approved is always better. In fact, it’s a necessity especially if you are eager to close the deal fast. Don’t be the type of homebuyer who thinks that getting pre-approved and pre-qualified are the same. While a pre-qualification requires just a quick conversation with your lender and a quick review of your credit score, a pre-approval front-loads the entire underwriting process and takes much longer.
Getting pre-approved does not only make your offer look stronger, it also minimizes the surprises that may force a cancellation during escrow.
Be particular about the homes you see
While it’s good to stay open-minded about homes, it doesn’t help if your goal is to buy a home fast. If you are in a rush, it is better to stay narrow-minded and be more particular about the homes that you chance upon. As you begin your search, do not bring a long list of attributes of your dream home. Instead, come up with a list that contains your absolute, must-have features and only consider the homes that precisely fit that list.
As you create your list, make sure that you consult your agent to determine if the attributes you listed are possible in your area. You may have to review your criteria once you run out of homes to see.
Consider slow sellers
If you want to buy a house fast, it pays to look for sellers whose homes have been on the market for a while. Most of the time, home sellers who have not been able to find buyers for their homes are the most motivated to move quickly.
You may want to ask your agent to help you look into homes that have been on the market for a long time. Remember, a slow seller in one market may not be a slow seller in another. In certain markets, a slow seller is someone who cannot sell his home in a week or two. In others, a slow seller is someone whose home has been on the market for a year or more.
Make your offer as strong as possible
Even if you are convinced that some features of your desired home warrant a lower asking price, remember that now is not the best time to underbid. Especially if you badly need a new home, it’s a must that you ensure your offer is strong. With your agent’s guidance and expertise, you can make your offer as strong as possible and easily outbid other house hunters.
Keep in mind though that making a strong offer does not necessarily mean offering a lot of money. In some cases, it may also mean offering a larger down payment and more earnest money. Remember also that sellers who are not concerned about the buyer backing out are more likely to accept an offer.
Throw in some contingencies
Being prepared to waive contingencies is normal when buying a home. In real estate, a contingency refers to a clause in an offer that allows a homebuyer to walk away from the deal under certain circumstances. If you are buying a home in a hurry, you might have to waive certain contingencies to expedite the process. Remember, however, that this may spell trouble down the road, so seek the help of your agent as you choose your battles.
Be organized with your paperwork
Getting your paperwork in order is also key to a speedy home buying process. This process involves lots of paperwork, and it is a must that you keep every single bank statement, paystub, and other documents you get hold of in the process. In a process as complex as home buying, the more documentation, the better. This is because there are times when things get held up just because certain documents are not readily available.
Always make yourself available
You know you are one step closer to buying your dream home once the seller has accepted your offer. If you want to close quickly, it is imperative that you are available any time of the day to answer whatever questions your agent or the seller’s agent may have about your offer. Especially if the home is already under agreement, the last thing that you want to happen is for the closing to be pushed back just because you or your agent fails to respond promptly to a query.
If you are buying a home in Portland and are looking for an agent you can trust, call me, Anne Stewart, at 503-804-1466 today.