Home Buyer Questions I'm Always Asked

   By Ashley Melton, Realtor® 

After 18 years of working as a real estate agent, I've worked with quite a few home buyers. While everyone naturally comes to me with questions when first starting their house hunting journey, some of the same ones always seem to crop up. In this post, I've compiled a few of the home buyer questions I'm always asked with answers I think can really help.

5. How long will it take to close on the house once my offer is accepted?

In the past, the average home sale has taken between 30 to 45 days from the date of contract signing until closing. However, some homes sell faster than others, depending on the market conditions. In today's market, the time for the closing process has shrunk significantly with the process being complete in 30 days or less in some instances.

Even though homes are selling quickly in the current market, you should be wary of FOMO (fear of missing out) and making concessions you may regret later. Your real estate agent can help you tremendously in navigating the current market and whether to take the plunge on a certain home.

4. Do I have to get pre-approved?

Many of my past home buyers have been pretty confident where they stand financially, and don't feel they need to get pre-approved until they find a home they're interested in. Many also believed it would hurt their credit score if they got pre-approved before starting their home search.

But there could be surprises.

In today's market, there may not even be time to get pre-approved once you find that perfect house before it goes under contract with someone else. And these days, a seller won't even entertain an offer on their home without the potential buyer being pre-approved.

So, yes, you should always get pre-approved before beginning your home search. This is one of the top mistakes homebuyers make and it's my recommendation whether it's a buyer's OR a seller's market. It's just good practice to be aware of how much home you can afford so you're aware of your budget and wiggle room. 

By providing information about your income, assets, debts, and employment history, the mortgage lender will use this information to determine whether they'll approve you for a loan and for how much. If you wait until after you've found a home you're in love with, you could be setting yourself up for some serious disappointment.

Want to know the top 3 questions I’m always asked?

If you’ve made it this far and want to learn the top 3 questions I’m ALWAYS asked by homebuyers, read my full post: The Top 5 Home Buyer Questions I’m Always Asked for the full scoop!

   By Ashley Melton, Realtor®