The short answer is that it takes on average about 4.5 months to buy a home. However, different aspects of buying a home happen at different times. Here’s a handy timeline for buying a home.
At 6 months or more …
- Get your credit reports, pay off your credit card debt and save for a down payment
- Calculate how much you can afford to pay for your new home
At 4-5 months …
- Look at homes online and also go to open houses to see what the market is like in your area
- Get to know local real estate agents and lenders, decide who you want on your team
At 2-3 months …
- Get pre-approved by a lender and obtain a pre-approval letter, these are usually valid for 60 to 90 days
- Save your online searches for homes and set up accounts so you’re notified about new homes
- Start looking at homes with your real estate agent
At 1-2 months …
- Make an offer on a home! Don’t be discouraged if it isn’t accepted, only about half of buyers have their first offer accepted
- Make sure your pre-approval letter stays up to date by renewing it if necessary
- Once an offer is accepted, you will need to get a home inspection of your new home
- For renters, give your landlord enough notice that you will be moving
- Plan your move
At under a month …
- Choose your home insurance and let you lender know who it is, you will need this to finalize the loan
- Start packing up your current home
- Ensure that you’re able to access the money for your down payment
- Put the utilities in your name at your new address and fill out change of address forms
Closing day
- Plan for signing your paperwork, get the keys
- Move in to your new home!
Source: https://www.zillow.com/home-buying-guide/how-long-it-takes-to-buy-a-home/