Part of buying a new home is anticipating a reasonable timeline and adapting both your expectations and plans to make your move as easy and painless as possible. To help you get to the finish with the least amount of frustration, let’s go over how long it takes for a property to close in Delaware and why.
The Big Picture
Before we get too into the step-by-step process, let’s take a step back to have a look at the overall situation.
On average, it takes about a month and a half to two months from accepting an offer for a property to close. How rapidly your home purchase is completed will depend on a lot of things – some of which may be entirely out of your control. Keeping that in mind, you can do your best to plan ahead, but it’s always a good idea to have a Plan B if things begin to slow to a crawl.
With the basic time frame out of the way, we can begin to look into the steps that will happen on your way to closing on your new home.
Offer & Negotiation
Once you have discovered the perfect dream home that must be yours, sit down with your agent and mull over not only how much money you’re willing to offer for the house but the additional details that make an offer work more for you.
These extras can include requesting furnishings, repairs, specialized inspections, and even a specific date by which to close. Do remember that the seller has to agree to the terms of your offer for things to move beyond this point. Remaining confident and assertive is good, but be careful not to become too demanding or pushy.
You can expect a bit of back and forth in negotiations, but giving a little to get what you want out of the deal will pay off in the end.
Inspections
After the seller has accepted your stellar offer, it’s time to line up a qualified and experienced home inspector to do a floor-to-ceiling investigation of the condition of the home.
Make sure you’re present and following along during the home inspection because it serves the purpose of examining and explaining how the infrastructure and systems of your new home operate to help transition you as the new owner into living there comfortably. Separately, other inspections can be done if there are concerns with structural integrity, mold, damage from termites, or other infestations.
This step is the time to really get to know everything you can about the home.
Final Walkthrough
The inspections all went smoothly, the paperwork is getting completed, financing is getting figured out, and it’s time to take one concluding trip throughout the home to verify everything is in the condition you expected.
During the final walkthrough, keep an eye out for any repair contingencies that were agreed upon to ensure they were dealt with appropriately. If you or your agent spot things that were not dealt with correctly, make a note of it and bring this up with the owner.
Don’t be afraid to ask any questions, and absolutely address any lingering concerns before giving the OK.
Closing
Finally, there will be a scheduled date, time, and location where you meet with the sellers and each party’s applicable agents to officially sign off on the final bits of paperwork to complete the transaction.
Your agent will inform you of anything you need to bring with you, but you can expect to at least bring a cashier’s check for the downpayment on the home.
The sellers will provide any keys to the home, and you’ll both leave the closing ready to begin a new chapter in your lives.
Guidance As You Wait for Your Property to Close in Delaware
If you’re looking for a team to help guide you through the process as you wait for your property to close in Delaware, contact us today at 302-285-9988!