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From starting your search to being handed the keys, buying a home, on average, takes about 3 to 4 months. Once a home is selected and the offer is accepted, the average time to close on a home is 30 to 45 days. Home buyers who pay in cash can purchase a home in as little as 15 days. Market conditions are a significant factor in how quickly this process will go. We want you to find a home you love, and if there is a low inventory of houses that meet your criteria, it can take some time to find the one!
Deciding whether you should buy or sell your house first is unique to your situation and should be based on your finances, moving timeline, and current market conditions. Buying and selling at the same time is possible, but the odds of both the purchase and the sale lining up perfectly are slim. The most common hurdle is the need to use the built-up equity in your current home for your down payment on the new house. Naturally, your home will need to be sold first in this situation. However, there are other options, including a bridge loan, that might be worth exploring with your lender. We are here to work with you to create a solid plan to help you meet your goals!
This is one of the very first steps to purchasing a home! You will choose your lender to help guide you through the financial process and ensure you are pre-approved prior to looking at homes. Speaking with a lender will also help you determine what you are comfortable spending. When it comes time to make an offer, the seller will know you are a serious and strong buyer! Be ready to provide bank statements, pay stubs, and tax returns to your lender. Most pre-approval letters are good for 60 to 90 days.
Despite what you might see advertised online, there, unfortunately is not a magic calculator to help determine the value of your home. Many sites will give you an estimate, but they are not always accurate for many reasons, especially because they haven’t been in your home! Our team will provide a competitive market analysis or a “CMA” in order to give you an accurate estimate of what you would be able to sell your home for. We will look at many factors, including property location, the condition of the property, and the condition of the housing market in your neighborhood. We also take into consideration the square footage, the age of the home, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, whether any recent updates have been made, and a number of other factors. We will look at what similar homes in the area have sold for recently and whether the market is trending up or down in general.
Generally, the spring and early summer months are the best time to sell your home. However, did you know that spring market in Cincinnati starts as early as February? We often suggest that we have exterior photos of your home taken in the summer or fall if you plan to list in February. We want to make sure your home is looking its best! In some cases, selling your home in the fall or winter months may be better than waiting until the spring real estate market. This is due to a combination of many factors, including the historically low inventory and the fact that serious buyers are always looking for a home. Bottom line, if you are considering selling now or in the near future, reach out so we can create a marketing strategy to help you meet your goals!
Depositing earnest money is an important part of the home-buying process. It tells the real estate seller that you’re a serious buyer and that you’re making the offer in good faith. The earnest money is typically 1% of the purchase contract and will sit in the brokerage bank account until closing. Without the requirement of earnest money, a buyer could make offers on many homes, essentially taking them off the market until they decided which home they liked best. If the buyer decides to cancel the sale without a valid reason or doesn’t stick to an agreed timeline, the seller gets to keep the money. These are the most common ways a buyer will lose their earnest money. Adhering to an agreed schedule is very important when it comes to buying and selling a home and we are here to help you stay on track!
The CK Group is one of Cincinnati’s leading real estate teams, raising the standard of what it means to provide a full-service buying and selling experience.
© 2023 The CK Group | Comey & Shepherd 6901 Wooster Pike, Cincinnati, Ohio 45227 |
With a 35+ year career in real estate, Carol has an unmatched experience in the Cincinnati residential market. Carol started her career partnering with Cincinnati’s first full-time female realtor, Sheila Miller. With Shelia’s mentorship, she developed a wealth of knowledge and built a reputation for selling high-end real estate. Carol and Shelia became one of Cincinnati’s leading teams, selling many of the city’s most expensive and iconic properties. Carol continues to grow the team through the examples of mentorship and teamwork. She is proud of what The CK Group is growing into and thankful for the chance to share, mentor, and work alongside such an outstanding group of women.
