Is this a reasonable timeframe?

I'm due at the end of August and my dh and I are thinking of moving to a new house before the baby comes. Figure we're at the end of March now ..... does our timeframe work if I want to be in a new house by like the middle of July, or is that just banking on being REALLY lucky?

Re: Is this a reasonable timeframe?

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

Based on my experience, I think your timeframe sounds reasonable.

The majority of my sales close within 30-45 days of going to contract, and it usually takes a week or so to get into contract after you have an accepted offer (as you need to do an inspection, have the attorneys prepare/review the contract, and both parties have to meet with their attorneys to sign).

So as long as you find something by June, you can expect to be in a house by August. I would just make sure that you look for houses that can be expected to close on a "typical" timeframe (e.g. avoid short sales), and make sure the seller is on board with your timeframe from the get-go (make that a term of your offer). Usually a vacant house means you can move very quickly (again, as long as it's not a short sale).

Of course, how long it takes you to find a home depends on you and your criteria. If there's a lot of inventory in your area/price range, or you know the market well and are reasonable about what you will be able to buy, then you should be able to find something. It's rare that I have a client, who is motivated and ready to buy, who looks for months and months to find a house!

Good luck, and let me know if you have any questions about the process or if I can help in any way.

Is this a reasonable timeframe?

I'm so glad to hear that you and your DH are where you are. I've thought of you guys often over the past year.

Now that the gushing is complete. Yes, it's a perfectly reasonable time frame, assuming you find something this spring and communicate your needs with the seller at the outset. As someone who househunted while I was too pregnant to exist with my own little miracle, if you can swing it, lean toward move in ready. We bought a fixer upper and it's still being fixed up 16 months later. Things move in slow mo once baby is here.

Also, it will really help move things along if you begin talking to a mortgage banker now and get the preapproval letter issued. The mortgage process is often what takes some time and effort with all the document gathering and information providing. If you really want to be ahead of the game you can start thinking about a real estate attorney, because once you make an offer you will need one of those. Finally, choose a good buyers agent who listens to you, understands what you need and is willing to do a lot of the research and legwork for what you need. After the first outing, it's not unreasonable to ask him or her to preview houses to make sure it's somewhat consistent with what you are looking for before she brings you guys out. A buyers agent can help move the process along too by helping you form offers and counter offers, asking the right questions and doing due diligence. Many buyers agents (including myself) have a designation (CBR or ABR) and take special training on buyers issues and negotiations. They are really valuable in the process, but I'm obviously biased.

Again sooooo excited for you! And like Christine, let me know if I can help or answer any questions I work mainly on the North Shore, and would be happy to help in any way I can.

Edited to make slightly less creepy.

Message edited 3/27/2013 7:22:07 PM.

Re: Is this a reasonable timeframe?

Just don't use my people and you are golden :)

Re: Is this a reasonable timeframe?

That definately sounds like enough time - but if you guys are planning on buying that soon, I would recommend you start looking ASAP. It took us looking at maybe 30-40 houses to find the one we finally moved into. Of course, you could just land on the first house Congrats again!

Is this a reasonable timeframe?

While your time frame is reasonable so many things can happen along the way to increase the time from accepted offer to closing. DH and I had our offer accepted in October and had hoped to move into our new home in February. Now we are at the end of March and we are still waiting for the clear to close from our lender. We did all the right things--we had pre-approval, we provided all documents and applications to the bank as soon as they were requested and we disclosed all of our financial information to our mortgage broker in our first meeting. Despite every effort to make things go smoothly the entire process has been a huge headache. We have experienced everything that could possibly go wrong when buying a home from problems with getting offers accepted to incompetent loan processors to a total breakdown in communication between the sellers and their agent and attorney. I have heard so many others have an easy time but in my case if it could go wrong it has--it has been a stressful and totally frustrating experience and I could not imaging going through it with a set time frame. That being said if you know what you are looking for and have a good team working with you then go for it. Ask for recommendations when choosing a broker and lender this will certainly help.

Re: Is this a reasonable timeframe?

I agree with MrsG...alot can happen so I wouldnt bank on the 30-45 day thing. We had and accepted offer and a preapproval in Sept and we didnt close on our house until January 2nd. Granted Hurricane Sandy put a big damper on things but still the banks are soooooooooooooooooo slooooooooooowww! Its exhausting! Its also one of the most stressful things I have ever gone through so be prepared. I am super organized and on top of everything and they still drove me nuts!! Its totally worth it in the end but the process sucks!! Good luck house hunting!!

Is this a reasonable timeframe?

A lot can happen. Our first house went to contract in March and we didn't get in until the end of July because of issues. The second house went to contract in May and we didn't get in until September, but that had a lot to do with our buyers.

You SHOULD be fine, but it be prepared for things to go wrong!

Also, we moved in Sept & I was due in Jan. The people we sold to were expecting in early Oct. I'm glad we moved when we did because I was able to help set up the house before I got gigantic!!! It will be hard if you have to wait until LO is here to move so the sooner the better! GL

Message edited 4/2/2013 10:52:29 AM.

Re: Is this a reasonable timeframe?

I think it's possible but it depends on a lot of things including who you are buying from.

We signed our contract xmas eve, they signed it nye. I was cleared to close in February, but the seller was purchasing another property and that closing wasn't happening until March, so I didn't close until March 19, over 3 months later and I had no hiccups or issues with bank or title or anything.

Then if you need to do any work to the house or anything. We're putting in floors and a new kitchen and I wont be getting cabinets in for like 4 weeks, so we won't even be able to move into for about another 2 months.

Re: Is this a reasonable timeframe?

Thank you so much everyone for your detailed and thoughtful responses!!

I just wanted to update. After having an agent come to our house to assess the place and then going around to look at houses, we decided to just not add the extra unnecessary stress right now with starting the whole process. There's really no rush ... my house has 3 bedrooms and right now it's just us (and 4 cats ) When the baby comes there will be more than enough space but we will be revisiting the idea of moving in about a year from now when there isn't time pressure.


I just wanted to say thanks to those who responded, everyone's opinions helped in what ultimately led to our decision.