Here’s some advice for first-time buyers who are wondering where to start.

One of the most common questions we get from first-time homebuyers is, “How long does the home-buying process take?” Many of them are current renters whose leases are soon to expire. 

If you’re thinking about buying a home and you know your lease is coming up, start the home-search process as early as you can. It’s currently common for sellers to stay in their homes for 30 days after closing because of how competitive the home-buying market is. Buyers are writing extended closings into their offers to win out aginst other buyers.  

Let’s just say that you have a lease that’s ending on June 1, for example. To determine when you need to start your home search, we first need to factor in 30 days before that for possession after closing. That means we need to close on the property by May 1. 

"Your home search could take a few weeks or a few months." 

If we work backward from there, it takes an average of 40 days to get to the closing table after your offer on a home has been accepted. That means you need to have that offer accepted by March 20 so that you’re under contract about 70 days before you need to move in.  

The length of your home search will vary as well. It could take just a couple of weeks, or it could take a couple of months, depending on what you’re looking for. On average, buyers look at three to six houses before deciding to buy one.  

So if your lease is up on June 1, when do you need to start your home-search process? Anywhere from 90 to 180 days before you need to be out, which is right now. Reach out to us to set up a buyer consultation so we can walk you through the entire process. We highly recommend that all buyers, especially first-time homebuyers, have one. 

If you have any questions about buying a home or real estate in general, don’t hesitate to reach out via phone or email. We look forward to hearing from you.