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  • Home
  • About
    • All About Theory
    • Meet the Team
    • Theory Companies
    • Theory Cares
    • Fill The Barrel
  • Buy
    • Buy With Theory
    • 2022 Homebuyer Guide
    • Virtual Home Buyer Bus Tour
    • Your Guide to the PNW
    • Featured Listings
    • Home Search
    • Sign In
  • Sell
    • Sell With Theory
    • Free Home Estimate
    • 1 Hour Cash Offer
    • Sold By Theory
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact

How Long Does It Take To Buy A Home?

One of the most common questions buyers will ask is, “How long does it take to buy a home?” Some folks think the home buying process all comes together immediately, while others assume it will take months before they move into their dream home. However, it’s important to remember that homes aren’t impulse purchases. It takes time to sift through listings and make your way from one home showing to the next. In addition, there are a lot of steps to the home buying process! Any one of these steps can drag out your timeline, especially if you’re not prepared. So, to help prepare you and to answer the question, “how long does it take to buy a home,” let’s break up the steps of the home buying process.

Pre-Approval

Getting pre-approved for a home loan is going to be the first step in the home buying process. How long does that take? Honestly, it depends. Some mortgage lenders can give you a pre-approval letter in as little as a few hours if you have the credit score, income, and job history required. However, if you just switched careers, or you need to repair your credit, it can take a few months. We recommend speaking with a mortgage lender to find out if you qualify for a home loan.

Finding Your Dream Home

The next (and most fun!) step of the home buying process is going to be finding your dream home. Again, how long this will take will depend entirely on you. Some people end up buying the first home they look at, while others spend weeks or months looking at homes before they find “the one.” If you’re a first-time home buyer, read our First-Time Home Buyer FAQ blog post. 

Putting In An Offer

Once you’ve found a home that you love, getting your offer accepted is going to be the third step. Unlike on “Property Brothers,” where offers are always accepted in a flash, the real world takes a bit more time. You may be tapping your fingers in anticipation, but sellers have some leeway when responding to an offer. They have three options: Whether to accept your offer, counter it, or reject it. When you submit an offer, you can expect to hear back within three days (but hopefully sooner).

Closing

The last step of the home buying process is going to be the closing period. Typically, once the seller has accepted your offer, you have to wait 30-45 days for the house to officially close. During this time will be the inspection, the appraisal, finalizing the mortgage, and the final walk through. When it’s time for the main event, bring your photo ID and stretch your hand muscles – you’ve got a lot of signing to do! But getting the keys? Takes hardly any time at all.

We hope this helped give you a better understanding of how long it takes to purchase a home! If you have any more questions about the home buying process, please give us a text or call at 253-537-HOME!

How Long Does It Take To Buy A Home

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“I think that’s the easiest it’s ever been for me to buy or sell a home!”

Brad Rasmussen -

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We had a distressed property in Tacoma that required a lot of repair before we could sell. The task soon became overwhelming and that’s when we contacted Theory Real Estate.  They purchased the property “as is”. Within 3 weeks,  we closed on the deal. The Theory team is amazing!!  Every person we came in contact with was friendly, professional and efficient.

John and Diane Simchuk -

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We are new investors to this market. We met Isaac and Alan through a good friend, and we are so thankful to have met them. They are the nicest, caring, most professional, kind-hearted people we have met in a long time. We would recommend these guys to ANYONE.

Anthony & Sarah Wooden - Tacoma

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We have bought 2 homes and sold 1 home with Theory. We would recommend them to all our friends.

Rhonda & Rickey Wilks - Buckley

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We worked with Theory to find our perfect house, but ran into a couple obstacles with the seller. The Theory team was always there with answers and went above and beyond all of our expectations.

Ceirra & Kenny Williams - Spanaway

LET'S GET SOCIAL

We're halfway through the year...have you hit your We're halfway through the year...have you hit your cap yet?? If not, it might be time to consider switching to a brokerage that can help you reach your goals sooner 🚀At Theory, we offer some of the most competitive numbers around. You'll get a 90/10 split for a Agent-Generated Transactions, a low $10,000 cap, and your $100/month office fee gets you a free Beaker Collaborative membership with all the perks 🔥Combine this with our fantastic support for agents & awesome team oriented culture, we are ready to help you take your business to the next level and achieve all your real estate goals 💯Want to learn more about all the different ways we can help you succeed? We've love to chat, get in touch with us at the link in our bio 😎
Happy Birthday to Joseph "JP" Perez, an agent here Happy Birthday to Joseph "JP" Perez, an agent here at Theory and honestly one of the coolest dudes around! When JP isn't busy killing the real estate game, he's also a performing artist under the stage name TheCriticalShow! He's currently got a fresh EP that just released, and we highly recommend giving it a spin. He's a fantastic businessman & entrepreneur, and an even better artist. We're blessed to have you at Theory JP, have an amazing day celebrating 😎 🎉
Happy Birthday to Jay Yazzie, a fantastic agent he Happy Birthday to Jay Yazzie, a fantastic agent here at Theory! Jay has hung his license with us for quite a few years now, and we couldn't be more thrilled about that because he's an awesome businessman and entrepreneur who knows how to work hard and make things happen. Plus, he's just a super nice guy and always a joy to be around! Have an awesome day celebrating, Jay 😎 🎉
Fantastic Tri-Level home in the Puyallup community Fantastic Tri-Level home in the Puyallup community of Lipoma Firs!! Tons of usable space & a super unique layout ☀️ 🏡📍 10574 190th St E, Puyallup
👣 2,776 SqFt
🛏 4 Beds
🛁 2.5 Baths
💰 $649,999If you've been looking for a lot of space for all your people to do all the things in, this is the place to be! You've got nearly 2800sf of usable space, including a ton of storage, a 2nd floor office nook & a 3rd floor HUGE bonus space that can easily double as a 5th bedroom or multi-gen living. Fully fenced with a 2-car garage, a neighborhood park/playground, great schools, freshly painted, and completely wired for smart home technology, too. Great commute location only 25 min to JBLM, close to shopping centers, and plenty of restaurants nearby. They don't make this layout anymore so here's your chance to get in where you'll fit in!If you're interested in this home, contact Jamie at 253-792-9402!
There's been lots of talk lately about higher inte There's been lots of talk lately about higher interest rates meaning it's a bad time to buy a home...(Let's forget for a second that anything below 7% is still historically average, and that the housing market is becoming much more favorable for buyers right now)Even with all that aside, when you make a rental payment, 100% of the money disappears FOREVER. You see no return on it, it's gone ☹️When you make a home payment, even though some of it goes toward your interest rate & taxes & insurance, the bulk of your payment goes right back into your net worth in the form of home equity 🤑When you make a mortgage payment, you are literally GIVING MONEY BACK to yourself 😀So even if mortgage rates are a little high right now, even if home prices have shot up a lot the past couple years, you’re still likely better off paying into a mortgage than paying rent 💯#TheoryThursday
THIS SATURDAY!! It's not too late to sign up & get THIS SATURDAY!! It's not too late to sign up & get certified for Down Payment Assistance through WSHFC while learning how to make your dreams of home ownership a reality 💯Remember you DON'T have to be ready to buy a home soon to attend. We've had people complete this course and not buy for several years, and we stuck with them the entire way 👊Since the class is all virtual, you can do it entirely from home! Sign up at the link in our bio 🚌
This kitchen is a dream. Really the entire interio This kitchen is a dream. Really the entire interior of this house is unbelievable...and it could be yours 🤩Located out in Shelton, while the 4,000SF house is incredible & loaded with unique features, this property is so much more:🌳 28 acres with TONS of open grass surrounded by trees
🛶 Seasonal pond
🏹 Shooting range
🐓 Large chicken enclosure & coop
💰 Multiple income producing assets including a detached 2 Bed/2 bath home, Mini Home, RV parking, & a 1,000 SqFt Shop that can be rented out (or kept for your own use) that altogether could generate over $5,000/month incomeYou can see the rest of the photos and a full breakdown of all the features inside the main home at the link in our bio!If you are interested in this property, please contact Jamie at 253-792-9402 😎
Fully Remodeled & Turn Key ready for move-in, this Fully Remodeled & Turn Key ready for move-in, this charming Craftsman is a one-of-a-kind gem in the heart of Tacoma 🤩📍 3816 E J St, Tacoma
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