The Frederick Real Estate Market Timeline: From Contract to Close

Monday, December 20, 2010

From Contract to Close – How Long Does It Take in The Frederick Real Estate Market?


When you are considering making an offer on a home, how long should you calculate your time-frame from contract to close in today’s Frederick County real estate environment?  It used to be true that you could negotiate a contract for as little as 21 days until closing.  Those kinds of transactions are rare, if not impossible in today’s market.

In today’s Frederick County real estate market, as much as 20% of listings are short sales, and 30% of the transactions done each months are foreclosed properties.  You should be ready for more than 30 days, in fact, if you can, plan for 45 days.  Title issues, appraisal issues, bank timetables are just a few of the many that are unique to this market.  Give a short sale a minimum of 60 days, then be ready to extend when more issues arise.

And, by the way, keep a close eye on your rate lock.  Better to extend the lock for $300 to $400 than to face the chance of a rate increase of .5% to .75% when your loan lock runs out.  Rates are still low, comparatively, but are starting to rise.  A hike of .5% can mean a monthly mortgage difference of $200 or more, depending on the situation.  Generally, rates come down slowly, but rise rapidly.

For more information about the Frederick Real Estate Market, emial or call us, or visit our website.  ___________________________________________________________
                   Find out what your home is worth      Search the MLS for your home
                                                                                                                
                     The Highland Group – Frederick Md Real Estate                 
                         Chris & Karen Highland *    301-831-9947
                                         Turning Point Real Estate
                                   email us: isell4u2@msn.com
                                    TEXT US:  301-401-5119

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