Buying a house isn’t exactly what you’d call a speedy procedure. It takes a long time, and you start by spending hours browsing through real estate listings in Ottawa. Finding the ideal property is hard enough, and then when you do find a property you like, you have to negotiate the price. After all that, you don’t really want to suffer through a real estate closing that takes too long due to problems that could’ve been avoided in the first place.
The ideal scenario is you find the home you want, meet the seller, agree on a price, sign the papers, get the keys to the house, and then you move in. But real life is far from ideal. It is, however, possible for you to avoid unnecessary complications so that you can close the deal as quickly as possible. Here are some tips that can help:
- Get preapproved for a mortgage. First of all, you’re going to need a loan to buy a house. However, some people take the easy way out and simply get a prequalification for a mortgage. This simply is an approximation of how much of a mortgage you can get.
On the other hand, a preapproval is much more substantial. It’s an actual confirmation by a lender that you will get a mortgage loan for a specified amount, contingent only on the appraisal of the house you want to buy. This gives you an advantage when you bid on a house against others who only have a prequalification, because you’ve already secured the loan in essence. It makes for a faster settlement with the seller, who probably doesn’t want to delay the process as well.
- Respond to lender requests as quickly as possible. It’s no secret that a whole truckload of paperwork is involved when you’re buying a house. Undoubtedly it’s a tedious requirement, and it can’t be avoided. It’s tempting to just take your time when your bank sends you a request for some document or form, but you should respond much more quickly.
Lenders tend to want lots of documentation because they need to adhere to strict lending guidelines. Often they want updated documentation, and usually that’s at the request of the underwriters. So if you get a request like this, stop delaying the process by responding within hours of receiving the request. You shouldn’t wait days at all. Even if they ask for a document that you’re sure you’ve already sent them, stop wasting time arguing or complaining and send in the documents as soon as you can.
- Have the property surveyed before closing the deal. While this may seem like it adds to the process, what it really does is remove any potential obstacle to closing the deal. You can then make sure that there hasn’t been a fire or a flooding lately, and you know that property lines issues have been settled. You don’t want these problems to crop up after you’ve closed the deal, because it will delay your moving into the house without problems.
- Stay calm to meet audit standards. Your mortgage lenders will usually bother you about many types of details at the last minute. This can be annoying, but you need to stay calm and comply with any requests. It doesn’t matter how qualified you may seem for a mortgage, because lenders by nature will constantly ask for reassurance at the last minute. So don’t take it personally. Keep your cool and cooperate with your lender about the details of the closing.
