So, you’ve got to buy in a hurry, perhaps there’s even a hard deadline for you to get into contract or close on the home – is that even possible, and if so, how on earth do you do it successfully?!
While many buyers are eager to find their future home, sometimes there’s an external factor that makes it not only desirable, but necessary to buy in a hurry. Here we’ll talk about who might be in that kind of situation, how buying with a deadline might be different, and how to plan for success.
Who’s Buying in a Hurry?
Over the last year or two Mary and I have helped more buyers facing deadlines get into homes than typical. We’ve spoken before about how the current market is affecting inventory with many homes only going on market in “have to sell” situations, so it’s interesting to see a higher volume of similar needs coming from the buyers side as well. So who might be facing this pressure to buy in a limited timeframe?
First, renters who are having their lease non-renewed. We’ve helped a few buyers recently in this scenario. The deadline is the end of the lease, and they must be closed and able to move into their new home by that date. If the landlord plans to sell there may be the option to buy and not move at all, though that’s not always the case.
The second most common deadline we see is 1031 exchange buyers. For these investment buyers, there are multiple deadlines to keep, and depending on whether you’re doing a standard 1031 or a reverse exchange, meeting those deadlines may look a bit different.
There are other reasons why someone may need to buy in a rush, but they seem to be less common in our area. One that sometimes appears, but hasn’t been common for a while (usually in more balanced markets), is a seller in escrow with the sale contract contingent on buying a replacement property. Around autumn and winter, some buyers may be in a rush to purchase and close during the current tax year. And in spring some buyers may want to buy before school registrations close.
But renters with a non-renewed lease and 1031 exchange buyers tend to have a lot of motivation, very firm deadlines, and are not uncommon in our market, so those are the buyers I’ll mostly be referencing in this article, though I think all buyers will find this information helpful.
Buying Time
The National Association of Realtors reported that the median time buyers spent searching for a home was 10 weeks in 2024, and that statistic hasn’t changed much over the years. In our practice we’ve found that many buyers in our local market take about 3 – 4 months to purchase, though that average has been slowing over the last few years with buyers competing for severely low inventory.
And that’s just the searching process! Many buyers here will have to make 3 offers before one is accepted, though there are ways to improve your odds that we’ll discuss below. Once the offer is accepted, in the Bay Area most homes take about 30 days from contract to closing.
So is buying in less time even feasible, and if so how do you do it?
Speedy Success
If you’ve got less than 45 days to get into contract, or just 60 days to close and move in, you can absolutely achieve that, but expect to make concessions!
First, as you have probably guessed, buying a home takes time. If you don’t have much of that, you’ve got to make the most of what you do have.
Step 1: Assemble your team
If you are financing your home, get that in line ASAP, and better yet get fully underwritten preapproval. Doing this upfront will save you time later down the road and often lenders can close more quickly with underwritten approval compared to preapproval.
A good buyers agent will give you invaluable advice to help you move quickly and get the best possible outcome.
If you have a trusted, local Realtor they can recommend lenders to you and vice versa if you have a trusted, local home loan expert.
This is also a good time to make sure you know exactly what your deadlines are and get them on the calendar. Find out how much time your lender needs, the statutory deadlines that are in play for your 1031 exchange, or if you need buffer time for work like fumigation before moving in.
Step 2: Hit the ground running
Make sure your buyers agent knows exactly what deadlines you need to meet, and start to look at properties and get familiar with the market right away. Most buyers need to see 7 – 10 homes before writing an offer, so don’t expect to find “the one” on your first showing. A good agent (like us) will help you narrow down your list before showings to make the most of your time, but plan to see a lot of homes in a short period of time early on.
Paperwork is the most time-consuming aspect of buying a home. Here sellers do inspections and disclosures upfront, so buyers will need to do a lot of reading prior to writing an offer. If a home looks like a good fit, ask your Realtor to get you the disclosure packet upfront, and don’t wait until the last minute to read these!
Remember, most buyers take 10 weeks home hunting, so buyers who are in a hurry need to speed that up – this is your crash course to get acquainted with the market! Just because you’re in a hurry doesn’t mean you have to make bad purchase decisions!
Step 3: Ready to write – get it right on your first try!
Finding the right home and writing an offer are only part of the process – you’ll still need to get your offer accepted! There are 2 main strategies to give you the best chance of having your first offer accepted.
First, and most ideally, be the only offer. Beautiful, updated homes in popular areas that are fresh on the market will often have bidding wars with 5, 10, 20, or more offers competing against one another! That’s a sure way to lower your chances of success! Listings that have been on the market longer, may not be as updated, or have some defect are less likely to have multiple offers, increasing your odds of getting into contract, though it often takes more research and effort to find a good fit or the right investment going this route. Similarly, off-market properties or those that aren’t being advertised to the public tend to have less activity and lower buyer competition.
Second, write a strong offer. That could mean a strong price, strong terms, or a combination of the two. Just because you’re the only offer doesn’t mean a seller will accept a lowball with bad terms! If you absolutely must have that perfectly updated home or popular neighborhood, and you know there will be multiple offers, prepare to write an extremely compelling offer. A good agent will give you an idea of the market value and expectations, and for buyers on a deadline it may be worthwhile to go a little above and beyond on price or terms to get your offer accepted and meet your timeline.
As always, every buyers needs are going to be different, so deciding what concessions you want to make is going to be part of that learning process in step 2.
Once in contract, things (usually) get a lot easier. This is where your team helps you make sure your deadlines are met and you close on time! If you plan on having contingencies in your offer, make sure you have a backup plan in case of any delays, or if you chose to use any of those contingencies to exit your contract.
What if it doesn’t work out?
So you’ve looked at the market and there’s absolutely nothing that is a fit. Well, that happens occasionally, and if you aren’t able to find a fit with concessions you’re willing or able to make in our market it shouldn’t be the end of the world. For renters, if you still want to buy, but need more time to look or to save for what you want try to make that decision as early as possible. Rent a new place, and if you still want to buy soon consider getting a short term or month-to-month lease so you’re ready when the right home appears.
For 1031 exchange buyers, perhaps you’ve decided that what you want is in a different market, or if you are running out of time or decide you don’t want to be a landlord you might consider putting your funds into a REIT.
The real question is, what is at risk if you don’t buy before your deadline?
Related Reading
How to fast-track your home buying: 6 steps
How to quickly get your Silicon Valley home ready to sell
