Tips to Speed Up Closing on a House
When you find your dream home, you want your next chapter to begin as soon as possible! Closing on a house is certainly a process you should prepare for. Getting your offer accepted by the seller is a huge step in the right direction, but it’s important to understand the mortgage process from application to closing to manage your expectations on when you will officially move in.
So, can you speed up closing? While several aspects are beyond your control, taking some proactive measures can pave the way for a quicker and smoother closing. Unfortunately, there is no single fastest way to close on a house, and you need to follow a systematic approach.
Check Your Credit Reports
If you’re applying for a mortgage, you can count on the lender to go through your credit reports meticulously. As a result, if there’s any cause for concern, you should know in advance. This is because your credit reportspaint a picture of your borrowing history, showing lenders how reliable you are as a borrower. The benefits of scoring well on this front include:
- The better your credit score, the higher are the odds of approval.
- A good credit score typically translates to lower interest rates.
- Borrowers with excellent credit may qualify for lower down payments.
If you find that your credit score is not up to the mark, you may consider improving it before applying for a mortgage, even if it means waiting for longer. After all, you don’t want to be stuck with unfavorable terms over a prolonged period just because you want to close on a house soon.
Checking your credit reports involves looking beyond your credit scores. You need to look for derogatory marks like late payments, collections, or charge-offs because these can negatively impact your score. If you find any errors or inaccuracies, dispute them with the credit bureaus in question and get them rectified. Paying attention to your credit utilization is also important, because a lender may view a high credit utilization ratio as a risk factor.
Looking to Purchase
a Home on Long Island?
Contact UsUse the Services of a Real Estate Agent
While the primary role of real estate agents is not mortgage origination, they can contribute to a smoother and potentially faster closing process. For starters, they have in-depth knowledge of local market conditions, including which lenders are most efficient and reliable in the area.They also tend to have established relationships with local lenders, which can streamline communication and potentially expedite the process.
Real estate agents are skilled at managing the complex paperwork and deadlines involved in buying a home, which helps prevent delays that can hinder the mortgage closing. Part of their work includes coordinating between all parties involved, including the lender, title company, and appraisers, which ensures that everyone stays on track. Besides, they can use suitable contingencies to prevent last-minute surprises that can delay the closing.
Keep Your Financial Documents in Place
It is normal for lenders to ask for different financial documents when you apply for a mortgage, and if you want to speed things up, it’s best to keep them ready ahead of time. What you need to provide includes:
- Pay stubs for the last 30 or 60 days.
- W-2s for the last two years.
- Tax returns for the last two years.
- Profit-loss statements (for self-employed borrowers).
- Two to three months of bank statements.
- Investment account statements.
- Loan statements.
- Gift letters (if applicable).
- Other income documentation (alimony, child support, Social Security, retirement).
Contact a Lender
Once you’ve looked at your credit reports and collected the financial documents you need, you should get in touch with a lender. Ideally, you must do this before you begin looking at homes. This is because a pre-approval not only tells you how much a lender is willing to lend, butis also puts you in a stronger position as a buyer.
When you discuss your situation and requirements with a loan officer, you must be completely open about your financial standing. For example, your loan officer needs to know if you are paying alimony or child support, have changed your job recently, or have a delinquent loan. Know that lenders can find out about your financial obligations in different ways, and being completely honest helps avoid any roadblocks as you approach the closing table.
Asking your lender questions can give you an indication of the timeline to expect. For example, it helps to ask how long a lender typically takes for the final approval, and how long its rate locks stay in place. The latter might be a cause for concern because if you plan to use this option and extend the lock, as you may need to pay an added fee.
Consider Your Budget
Know that there’s a crucial distinction between what a lender is willing to lend to you and how much you can comfortably afford while maintaining your desired lifestyle and financial wellbeing. After all, the pre-approval mentions the maximum you can borrow, and it might not be the ideal amount for you.
If you consider this aspect just before the closing, you might have to apply for a new mortgage with a lower amount, which would take considerable time to process. If you realize this after the closing, you might have to deal with potentially long-term problems.
When going through the pre-approval, keep in mind that the repayment amount only accounts for payments toward the principal and interest. It does not reflect the true cost of homeownership that also includes:
If you borrow the maximum amount a lender pre-approves, your monthly mortgage payments might consume a very large portion of your income. On the other hand, closing on a home with a payment well below the pre-approved maximum can provide a crucial financial cushion.
Looking to Purchase
a Home on Long Island?
Contact UsGet Pre-Approved
Data released by the National Association Of Realtors Research Group in February 2025 indicates that 13% of homebuying contracts suffered from delayed settlements in the preceding three months. If you wish to avoid delays in financing as you get close to the closing, you must think about getting pre-approved.
Remember that a pre-approval is not the same as a pre-qualification. A pre-qualification is no more than an initial informal estimate of how much you might be able to borrow, and lenders rely on the self-reported financial information you provide verbally or through an online form. It usually does not involve verification of your financial information or credit history.
A pre-approval involves a more formal and in-depth evaluation by a lender, resulting in a conditional commitment to lend you a specific amount, subject to certain conditions like a satisfactory property appraisal and final underwriting. This is when a lender thoroughly verifies your credit history and all other financial information.
Getting pre-approved can hold significant weight when you make an offer, especially in competitive markets. This is because it indicates to a seller that you are a serious buyer and a lender has already vetted you as a reliable borrower. In case a seller has multiple offers and you don’t have a pre-approval in place, you might lose out to someone who does, and you’ll need to continue looking for a suitable home.
Be Prompt in Replying to Your Lender
Another factor that plays a role in how fast you can close on a house is how quickly you respond to any queries or requests from your lender. Remember that your lender might require you to provide additional information at different stages of the underwriting process, and you must respond promptly to avoid possible delays.
You also need to keep in mind that loan officers and underwriters tend to deal with multiple applications, and if you do not respond in time, there’s a possibility they might move on to the next applicant.
Make a Strong Offer
Making a strong offer tends to have an effect on how fast you can close on a house for multiple reasons. For one, sellers perceive confident offers as less likely to fall through. Fewer contingencies mean fewer potential exit points for the buyer or reasons for the deal to collapse during the closing period. This gives sellers peace of mind.
If you have a mortgage contingency, a strong offer suggests that you are serious about buying the home in question. However, a potential risk of waiving inspections is that you might buy a house with costly defects you don’t know about.
If you look at this from the perspective of sellers, those who accept strong offers are generally more motivated to see the deal through and might be more cooperative in resolving minor issues that arise before closing.
Make Time for Appraisals and Inspections
Appraisals and inspections are two crucial elements of the homebuying process because they might bring to light problems that may affect the outcome. If you wish to steer clear of disputes or delays during closing, make sure you schedule all the required inspections and the appraisal as quickly as possible. In doing so, you give yourself time to negotiate the price based on the findings.
For example, if a home inspection reveals that a house will need extensive repairs, you may lower your offer. Similarly, if an appraisal pegs the price of a home lower than your offer, you might want to rethink your offer or discuss the same with the seller. In both cases, you sooner you find out, the better.
Remain Flexible With the Closing Date
While you might be looking for the fastest way to close on a house, know that the closing process can hit snags at rime. These might come in the form of delays in loan processing, title search issues, documentation requirements, busy schedules, or personal emergencies for either party. If you are flexible, it’s easier to adjust the closing date with an addendum rather than having the deal fall apart due to a hard deadline.
Avoid Changing Jobs
A lender will pre-approve your application for a mortgage based on your existing employment and income. If you switch jobs after getting pre-approved or transition from being a full-time employee to self-employed, your lender will likely view it as a red flag, and it will need to verify the details of your new job. This, in effect, will require that you wait for more time before getting to the closing.
Better Not to Make Significant Financial Changes
You should not make considerable financial changesonce you apply for a mortgage, especially after receiving pre-approval, because a lender’s approval is conditional and based on your financial situation at the time you apply. Then, it performs final checks on your credit, employment, and assets just before the closing date. Any negative changes during the interim can potentially derail the entire process.
What you shouldn’t do before closing that could create an issue includes:
- Taking new loans.
- Applying for new credit cards.
- Increasing credit card balances significantly.
- Co-signing for someone else’s loan.
- Missing payments on existing debts.
- Closing existing credit accounts.
- Making large undocumented cash deposits.
- Making large withdrawals.
- Transferring large sums between accounts without clear paper trails.
Conclusion
The answer to, “What is the soonest you can close on a house?” depends on various factors, and while some are not in your control, there are things you can do to keep the process on track. Remember that you typically get the closing documents a few days in advance, so make sure you go through them carefully when you have the time instead of waiting till you get to the closing table. This enables you to resolve any discrepancies or errors in time.
Don’t forget that getting a pre-approval is a crucial part of the process, so it’s best that you get your documents in order and contact a mortgage provider at the earliest.
