What’s the Rule about Buying or Selling During Christmas?
Buying a home during the holidays is usually not by choice. People typically must buy or sell during the holidays due to a job change, lifestyle change, or financial situation. While there are better times throughout the year to buy or sell real estate the fact of the matter is it’s constantly happening year-round. Mortgages are still being issued, loans are closing, sellers are listing, and buyers are buying.
But how close to Christmas can you actually close on a home loan? While the majority of banks and financial institutions will be closed either the day before and Christmas Day or both, having an escrow, title, and buyer’s agent making sure everything is pulled together correctly and on time is one of the keys to making sure everything closes in a timely manner.
Your escrow agent will make sure that the timing is handled properly for either a before or and after Christmas signing. It may be difficult to move during the holiday season but if it must be done banks will typically want to finish and close before the end of the year. Books and financial records will want to make note of the fiscal year and real year endings so having as much completed before the first of the year is vital to nearly all parties involved.
If you’re considering buying but don’t necessarily need to before the end of the year we might consider suggesting waiting until after the first. It starts a new year for lenders, mortgage brokers, and financial institutions and the hustle and bustle and rush towards the end of the year will be out of the way. Your loans are more likely to be well taken care of and maintained.
If you must buy or sell before the end of the year you need to be aware of the urgency and time is of the essence situations. You’ll need to make sure that all of your financial responsibilities are taking care of quickly. If banks, financial institutions, lenders, escrow companies or agents contact you for the information you must return their call and answer their questions quickly. The faster you respond to questions the quicker the entire process can take to complete.
While nobody might like to buy or sell during the holidays it may be inevitable for some. It certainly is not impossible and we want to make sure the process is handled quickly and efficiently. Let me know if you’re interested in learning more about buying or selling Gulf Coast homes or real estate during the Christmas season.
More Great Stuff:
- How to Have a Holiday if Your House is on the Market
- Tasteful Holiday Decorations if Your House is on the Market
- 8 Qualities to Look for in a Real Estate Agent
