Receiving the keys to your new home is the most exciting part of buying a home! But before you turn the lock to your new front door, there are a few steps in the process.
It all starts when you make an offer; we’ll negotiate the timeline for your purchase into your offer. Besides your move-in date, your offer includes your condition and subject removal date, the deposit date and the completion of the sale date, and all this has to happen before the keys change hands date. Your move-in date is officially called the possession date. Besides an exact calendar day and year, the possession date includes a specific time of day.
So, when do you get the keys after you make an offer? Well, I guess that depends. Once you have an accepted offer in place, you can expect a closing period of around 60 days. It could be shorter or longer, depending on the situation and the negotiations. For lived in homes, most sellers need a couple of months to find another place. If a home is vacant, you may be able to close the sale and move in a couple of weeks. Or a presale property, you might not be moving in for a couple of years.
In any case, the legal transfer of the property takes time for your lawyer or notary to complete. After you finalize the legal paperwork it may still take a day or two to process. You should always expect to wait for the transfer number before you get the keys. It’s common for the seller to release the keys a day or two after the sale closes.
Be sure to check your calendar ahead of time! Once you’ve negotiated and accepted a timeline in your offer, it’s not easily changed.
