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How long does it take to close on a home?
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If you’re in the market for a new home, you’re likely in for an exciting time. For many, there’s nothing like shopping the inventory of available houses in search of one they can call their forever home. But the nail-biting — and the real work — begins when you find your forever home and make an offer that the seller accepts.
At that point, you’ll need to schedule inspections and surveys. You’ll also need to be in regular communication with your mortgage company as they work to approve your loan. So, how long does this period of limbo between when your offer is accepted and when you close on your home last?
Get a mortgage loan preapproval online now.
How long does it take to close on a home?
The average time to close on a home is between 45 and 60 days. It’s tough to pin down an exact timeframe because there are so many variables at play.
To close on a home, you’ll need to have inspections done and get through the underwriting process. Unfortunately, there may also be hiccups along the way.
“There are multiple factors that can delay a home closing, such as financing difficulties, appraisal challenges or inspection issues,” says Bill Banfield, EVP of capital markets for Rocket Mortgage. “The best way to guard against any potential difficulties is to prepare well in advance — starting to do research early and getting all necessary approvals and documents in order.”
How to prepare for a fast closing
If you want to close on your home as quickly as possible, there are a few things that you can do. Those include:
Get preapproved
“One way to ensure financial readiness when buying a home is to get preapproved,” says Banfield. “This helps give the homebuyer additional security and confidence in their offer. To take this one step further, Rocket Mortgage offers a verified approval, which reviews the buyer’s credit, income and assets to confirm they qualify for the home loan. This verified approval gives buyers a competitive edge by proving to the seller that their finances are secure and will come through.”
Aside from giving you a competitive advantage, getting a preapproval means you know how much money your lender is willing to let you borrow to purchase your home. As such, you’re far less likely to run into financing headaches with a preapproval.
Find out the mortgage loan amount you qualify for today.
Avoid taking on any new debt
“One piece of advice homebuyers should keep in mind to ensure there isn’t a bump in the mortgage process is not to take on any new debt – like financing new furniture or a car — between being approved for the loan and the mortgage closing,” says Banfield. “While this time is extremely exciting, and there may be other large purchases on the horizon for the new homeowner, if the buyer’s debt-to-income ratio raises before the mortgage closes it may reach beyond the threshold for qualification.”
Of course, if you purchase something that puts your debt-to-income ratio over the approval threshold, you could delay your closing until you either reduce your debt or lose the opportunity to purchase the home altogether.
Have your paperwork in order
Chances are that your mortgage lender will ask you for a lot of paperwork. If you want to expedite the process, here are the documents you should have in order before you start house hunting:
- Tax returns: Lenders typically require two years of tax returns to ensure that there haven’t been any significant fluctuations in income.
- Pay stubs: Have at least a couple of months of paystubs on hand. If you’re self-employed, you may need to prove your income with 1099 documents or other means.
- Bank statements: Your lender will likely want to see recent bank statements to get a better understanding of your financial habits.
- Gift letters: If your friends or family are helping you purchase your home with gifts, they will need to write gift letters. These letters prove where the money is coming from.
- Photo ID: On the off chance you don’t have one, you should take the time to get one before applying for a mortgage loan.
- Rental history: If you don’t currently own a home, your lender may ask for proof that you’ve paid your rent on time for at least the last year. You may need to offer canceled rent checks or have your landlord write a letter of recommendation.
Learn more about your mortgage options now.
The bottom line
You may be able to close on your home in as little as a few weeks — or it may take as long as a few months. Much of that timeline depends on how well-prepared you and the seller are once the seller accepts your offer. You can follow the tips above to help ensure you have the fastest closing time possible.
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Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
Washington — Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, a former national security adviser to Donald Trump, said Sunday that the upcoming months will be “really critical” in determining the “next phase” of the war in Ukraine as the president-elect is expected to work to force a negotiated settlement when he enters office.
McMaster, a CBS News contributor, said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” that Russia and Ukraine are both incentivized to make “as many gains on the battlefield as they can before the new Trump administration comes in” as the two countries seek leverage in negotiations.
With an eye toward strengthening Ukraine’s standing before President-elect Donald Trump returns to office in the new year, the Biden administration agreed in recent days to provide anti-personnel land mines for use, while lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made longer range missiles to strike within Russian territory. The moves come as Ukraine marked more than 1,000 days since Russia’s invasion in February 2022.
Meanwhile, many of Trump’s key selection for top posts in his administration — Rep. Mike Waltz for national security adviser and Sens. Marco Rubio for secretary of state and JD Vance for Vice President — haven’t been supportive of providing continued assistance to Ukraine, or have advocated for a negotiated end to the war.
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McMaster said the dynamic is “a real problem” and delivers a “psychological blow to the Ukrainians.”
“Ukrainians are struggling to generate the manpower that they need and to sustain their defensive efforts, and it’s important that they get the weapons they need and the training that they need, but also they have to have the confidence that they can prevail,” he said. “And any sort of messages that we might reduce our aid are quite damaging to them from a moral perspective.”
McMaster said he’s hopeful that Trump’s picks, and the president-elect himself, will “begin to see the quite obvious connections between the war in Ukraine and this axis of aggressors that are doing everything they can to tear down the existing international order.” He cited the North Korean soldiers fighting on European soil in the first major war in Europe since World War II, the efforts China is taking to “sustain Russia’s war-making machine,” and the drones and missiles Iran has provided as part of the broader picture.
“So I think what’s happened is so many people have taken such a myopic view of Ukraine, and they’ve misunderstood Putin’s intentions and how consequential the war is to our interests across the world,” McMaster said.
On Trump’s selections for top national security and defense posts, McMaster stressed the importance of the Senate’s advice and consent role in making sure “the best people are in those positions.”
McMaster outlined that based on his experience, Trump listens to advice and learns from those around him. And he argued that the nominees for director of national intelligence and defense secretary should be asked key questions like how they will “reconcile peace through strength,” and what they think “motivates, drives and constrains” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump has tapped former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard to be director of national intelligence, who has been criticized for her views on Russia and other U.S. adversaries. McMaster said Sunday that Gabbard has a “fundamental misunderstanding” about what motivates Putin.
More broadly, McMaster said he “can’t understand” the Republicans who “tend to parrot Vladimir Putin’s talking points,” saying “they’ve got to disabuse themselves of this strange affection for Vladimir Putin.”
Meanwhile, when asked about Trump’s recent selection of Sebastian Gorka as senior director for counterterrorism and deputy assistant to the president, McMaster said he doesn’t think Gorka is a good person to advise the president-elect on national security. But he noted that “the president, others who are working with him, will probably determine that pretty quickly.”
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Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
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Former Trump national security adviser says next couple months are “really critical” for Ukraine
St. Paul partners with SPPS to expand college savings program