Dear Claire: What Does the House Sale Timeline Look Like?

Understanding the Timelines and Process of Selling Your Home in Today’s Portland Market

My clients ask, “If I want to sell my house, how long is it going to take from the start of the process until it’s completed and I have my money?”

The short answer to this question is that it’s usually about 30 to 45 days. Typically, we’re going to start the process. We’re going to list the property and once it goes pending after that pending happens then it’s another 30 to 45 days. Right now it’s a pretty distinct seller’s market. Typically, if we price your house well, it’s literally going to be gone in a weekend. It’s maybe going to be 35 days on average how long it’s going to take for us to get your house sold and you be moved out.

Speaking of moving out. If you don’t want to move out of the house, like for instance, I have plenty of clients who I’m selling this house to go buy my new house and if I’m buying my new house, I need the money from this house to buy my new house. So sometimes what happens is you might sell your house on Friday afternoon. The money will be deposited into your account on Monday. And then you might close on your new property on Monday. And then the buyer might be kind enough to give you say a day or two to move into your new property. And that’s pretty typical in today’s market the buyer of your property can give you up to 60 days of what they call “Rent Back.” That’s what it’s called and sometimes they’ll make you pay for it depending on what they’re paying for that timeline. But 60 days is the maximum that the federal government will allow the buyer to give you because after that they have to occupy the property. Now when we thought about talking about this question, I was thinking about telling you all the things that could go wrong, but that would be way too long of a conversation. So I’m just going to tell you what things will typically go right.

The buyer’s going to have a home inspection, number one, and that can be really stressful for the seller, however, typically we make it through. Two, the buyer, if they’re having a loan, they’re going to need an appraisal, typically, unless they’re putting more than like 25 or 30% down. Then the lender won’t require an appraisal. But typically there’s an appraisal in both of those instances. You’re going to want to be out of the house because they’re going to be in the house, especially with COVID-19. After those two hurdles are completed, really it’s mostly just following up on logistics and paperwork and problem-solving things as they come up. And from there, it’s really just checking boxes and getting things closed and getting you your money for your home.

As you probably heard, Portland is a crazy market for sellers right now. So, if you have a home and you’re thinking about selling it, feel free to reach out. It would be a great time to sell and there are still houses in the market to buy too so we can definitely make it happen. I hope you enjoy your day. And of course, if you have any additional questions, I love answering any questions you have. We’ll see you next week and I look forward to chatting with you then! Take care.

Have more questions or want professional advice on buying or selling a home?