What You Need to Know About Timing Your Next Home Purchase

Are you trying to time a first-time home purchase to coincide with the end of your lease term? Do you need to sell your existing home before you purchase a new home? Timing plays an important role in the purchase of a new home, so you understandably need to know how long it takes to buy a house. The average length of time that a buyer takes to find a suitable house to purchase is four to five months, and you should allocate approximately 60 days after that point to finalize your mortgage plans and close on the home. Keep in mind that there are a few steps that you should take before you turn this clock on and start your home search.

Prepare Your Finances
Everything from your credit scores and assets to your income and expenses will be scrutinized by an underwriter when you apply for a home loan. Now is the time to use an online calculator to crunch your DTI ratio and to estimate your total amount of cash needed to close. You also should review your credit rating to determine if you need to make improvements before applying.

Get Pre-Qualified
When you believe that you are ready to move forward with your purchase, you should contact MortgageDepot for a solid pre-qualification. Many real estate agents require a pre-qualification letter from a lender or broker before they will show homes. More than that, the pre-qualification letter tells you what your top loan amount and sales price are.

Find Your New Home
With your pre-qualification letter in hand, you are ready to tour homes. Remember that the pre-qualification shows the highest loan amount that you may qualify for. You should look at homes that are priced within a comfortable range for your budget, and this may not translate to the highest loan amount available to you.

Are you ready to get the ball rolling on your search for a new home? Before you contact a real estate agent and start touring homes, you should reach out to our associates at MortgageDepot for professional assistance with your pre-qualification.

Contact one of our loan consultants to learn more.