Home Buying: When Hesitating Costs You $8000

The first-time home buyer tax credit ends November 30th, 2009. Sounds like you still have some time right? Not really. In fact, you need to start looking for a house NOW just to ensure you won’t miss the deadline and pay $8,000 more, and even starting to look right now doesn't mean you will absolutely beat the deadline, and here's why:

In the days you have left between today and November 30th, take out Veteran’s Day and Columbus Day, because many businesses are closed (or at the very least, the government is).

In the days you have left, take out 3 more days for Thanksgiving. People take half a day off before and usually that Friday after is taken off too for shopping, either way, many people take off these days and doing business during this time is nearly impossible.

So in the days you have left, you need to find a realtor, find homes, go to showings, begin bidding on the home you've chosen, get inspections, get pre-approved, get financing, begin the paperwork, and close the loan all before November 30th. This is assuming all parties are working all of the days between now and November 30th, and that your realtor never has a time conflict.

So don’t make the mistake by not starting now. Also, if you’re looking at foreclosures or short sales, the process may take even longer so you really have to find a house by next week at the latest. Keep in mind, setting up showings usually takes 24 hours, so if you find a house you’d like to see, it’s a 24-48 hour delay. Also, bidding on HUD homes take 3-5 days to find out if you got it or not.

Moral of the story, when you need to work with multiple parties on a deal, it takes time. Relying on your realtor, the selling party, and the bank becomes a lot more stressful if you don’t have enough time, because there are many aspects you don’t have time control over in buying a home.

So stop procrastinating and hesitating, and start the process today!