Tips and Reasons for Speedy Closing

At Primary Residential Mortgage, we’re proud to serve homebuyers in a variety of situations and with a variety of needs. We have both a short application and a full application depending on your needs, and this kind of flexibility extends to every part of our mortgage loan business.

One such area that clients regularly inquire about is the speed of the mortgage closing process. There are a variety of legitimate reasons why buyers might need to speed up the closing process a bit, and also a few handy tricks we’ve learned over the years that can help you accomplish this. Let’s look at some of the reasons why you might opt for a faster closing, plus how you can go about making it happen.

Why Some People Need Quicker Closing

There are several good reasons why you may need a quick closing. They include:

• You’ve just moved to a new city on short notice for work or some other reason.
• Your old home is on the market and has sold faster than expected, requiring you to find a replacement sooner than you thought.
• You’re just married or about to be married, and/or have a new baby on the way and require more space.
• You’re a home-flipper looking to capitalize on favorable market conditions, or you simply anticipate rising interest rates or prices about to go up and want to get in before this happens.

Standard Closing Process

So what is the normal time period for a mortgage to close? This can depend on your exact situation and the market you’re in, but generally closing takes between 30 and 60 days. When you add a house-hunting period of one or two months and some time for basic negotiation, most homebuying situations take between three and four months. But there are ways to speed this up if you know what you’re doing.

Speeding Up the Process

A few handy tricks to make things move a bit faster if you fit any of the categories above:

• Pre-approval: If you’ve firmly decided to buy a new home, get pre-approval in advance from your lender. This includes turning in basic financial documentation and going through the underwriting process, leaving you with an exact price range you’ll qualify for given your credit and other factors. Pre-approval not only speeds up the early parts of the process, it can improve your purchasing power when sellers know you’ve been approved already.
• Planning: Once you’ve been pre-approved, get a head start on anything else you can. Research things like neighborhood type, home size, amenities and any other factors you might need to consider. Also start preparing any important paperwork that wasn’t already part of the pre-approval process.
• Be ready: Be prepared for paperwork and documentation requests at any time. In addition, try to keep a flexible calendar for open houses, inspections and various appointments.
• Local realtor: If at all possible, look for a local realtor who knows the area and can help find a great home for your desires.

For more on how to speed up the closing process, or to learn about any of our other mortgage services, speak to the staff at Primary Residential Mortgage today.