How long should this all take?

[Ravensfan2001]

If I have a preapproval, how long does it take from the time the seller accepts an offer, to the time the keys are handed to me (on average)?

I'm in a bind right now. I have the worst landlord ever. She's blaming me for everything that's gone wrong here. Now she's forcing us to sign a lease or move out. I received the voicemail about an hour ago, but I already applied for a mortgage on Wednesday. I haven't turned in any paperwork yet. And I haven't gotten a realtor yet. I wasn't expecting to have to move until we bought a house.

Anyway, what I'm afraid of is that if we have to move before finding a house, I have to apply for an apartment with a short-term lease. I'm almost certain that it will cause a hard inquiry on my credit report. How will that affect the mortgage application process?

I hate this place.

[smiths38]

I put in an offer on May 5th, and we closed on May 31st.

[206captain]

There is technically no "minimum" amount of time it needs to take.  Assuming you can find a house quickly that will pass inspection (if your loan program requires it) and appraise well, it can happen fairly quickly.  Get a preapproval NOW and ask them to run it through preliminary UW so there aren't any surprises later.  The rest will be based on a lender that can close you quickly, and negotiating a shorter than normal time to close with the seller.  My advice would be looking to smaller local banks as their workload will probably be less than a Wells Fargo or Chase, and thus able to process your application much faster.

[Ravensfan2001]

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@smiths38 wrote:

I put in an offer on May 5th, and we closed on May 31st.

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Is the score in your siggy current? Congrats!

[smiths38]

No,my middle score was 674 with TU.

[miltown81]

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@Ravensfan2001 wrote:

If I have a preapproval, how long does it take from the time the seller accepts an offer, to the time the keys are handed to me (on average)?

I'm in a bind right now. I have the worst landlord ever. She's blaming me for everything that's gone wrong here. Now she's forcing us to sign a lease or move out. I received the voicemail about an hour ago, but I already applied for a mortgage on Wednesday. I haven't turned in any paperwork yet. And I haven't gotten a realtor yet. I wasn't expecting to have to move until we bought a house.

Anyway, what I'm afraid of is that if we have to move before finding a house, I have to apply for an apartment with a short-term lease. I'm almost certain that it will cause a hard inquiry on my credit report. How will that affect the mortgage application process?

I hate this place.

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I'm in the same boat now except that my landlord is great. I love my apartment, really the best I've ever lived in. My back is to the wall right now with a new lease or 60 day notice. My file is in the preliminary underwriting process right now and I'm axiously waiting for a "go-ahead" so I can put an offer on a house and get the process going. I hope to have an answer by Monday. I would say the same as others and tell you to go get the pre-approval now!