Once we find a home, can we close in less than 30 days?

Today's blog idea came from a question I received last week from one of the users on my site. In an email this user asked,

"Is it reasonable to believe that with the current inventory out there that once we get pre-approved and find a home that we like that we can close in less than 30 days?"

The answer is more difficult than a simple yes, but there are some steps ALL BUYERS should take to avoid delays in escrow, as well as finding a home.

Once you get an offer accepted, closing in 30-45 days or less should be no problem, depending on the type of financing you are using. However, there is a lot of competition amongst buyers in the market right now when it comes to the best properties. Most buyers are not getting their offer accepted on the first house. The negotiation process is what we can’t really predict. If you are eager to find a home and make a purchase soon, here are the steps you should take to achieve success:

1. Get pre-approved before you do anything else. No matter how solid of an ability to qualify you think you have, guidelines and requirements have been very volatile in the mortgage market. This is why it is essential for EVERY buyer to get pre-approved first. I've seen more buyers who "KNEW THEY WOULD QUALIFY" end up not qualifying or taking a long time to get their approval set and missing out on a property they really wanted, than not.

I recommend speaking with 2-3 direct lenders (not brokers) for the best rate and terms. Here is my lender’s contact info if you would like to see what he can offer you:

David Medina
Mission Hills Mortgage Bankers
dmedina@mhmb.com

2. To ensure the ability to close on time once you get an offer accepted, you need to avoid short sale listings completely. My recommendation is to focus on Bank repos and Traditional sales where the sellers must sell and have enough equity to do so without attempting a short sale. For more info on this subject, please read my blog, ” Short Sales vs. Bank Repos.”

3. Pick one agent and work with them exclusively. The agent should be local to and familiar with the area(s) you are interested in. Any agent who tries to work with you for a purchase in an area they don’t regularly service, is most likely going to take longer to find you the right home and probably won’t get you the best deal when they do. I say to work exclusively with the agent you choose because if you are not working faithfully with them only, they will not put in the highest level of effort on your behalf.

For more information on the areas I regularly service and working together exclusively with me as your agent, please call or email me.

Thanks!

Scott Johns
California Foreclosure Network
Oak Tree Realty Group
(951) 471-3238 Direct
(951) 848-9330 eFax
Scott@CaliforniaForeclosureNetwork.com
http://www.blogger.com/www.CaliforniaForeclosureNetwork.com