Between a first preapproval and the day they receive the keys, the majority of home buyers wait four to six months; if you include the prior credit and savings work, it might take up to a year. With facts supporting each phase and borrower behaviors that shorten or lengthen it, this guide explores the timeline step by step.
Every borrower situation is different, and that is the most useful sentence I can offer upfront. Some buyers are house-hunting on a Saturday and standing in a closing room the following month. Others spend a year preparing, 3 months looking, and another 2 months working through inspection issues on a fixer-upper. Both timelines are normal, and neither one is wrong. The shape of your particular timeline will depend on your credit, your savings, your loan type, your local market, and the seller across the table.
If you are looking for a single number to anchor your planning, here it is. Most financed buyers spend roughly 4 to 6 months from the day they get preapproved to the day they get the keys, and closer to 12 months when you count the credit, savings, and document preparation that should happen before the search begins. The mortgage portion alone, from a fully accepted purchase offer to a funded loan, runs 30 to 45 days for a clean file, with industry data consistently placing the bulk of purchase loans inside that window. That is the single most reliable benchmark a borrower can plan around.
Below is the full timeline broken into 8 stages. Each stage has a typical duration, the things that move it faster, the things that drag it longer, and the data behind the numbers. Read it once for the full arc, then come back to whichever stage you are in when you need a refresher. AmeriSave loan officers walk borrowers through this same arc every day.
The phase that occurs prior to the buyer's official shopping is the longest in the majority of home-buying timeframes. For a buyer starting from scratch, credit cleanup, finances, and documents nearly never come together in less than six months. Most articles avoid that portion of the timeline since it lacks a clear industry benchmark and is not particularly eye-catching. However, it is the point of victory or defeat for the remainder of the period.
You are working on four projects at once during this phase. You are checking your credit and fixing any errors or gaps. You are setting aside money for reserves, closing costs, and a down payment. Since lenders will require a two-year work history, you are stabilizing your employment and income picture. Additionally, you are beginning to put together the document package that the underwriter will eventually require: two recent pay stubs, two years' worth of W-2s, two months' worth of bank statements, and, if you work for yourself, two years' worth of tax returns. This list is mirrored in a home-buying preparedness checklist published by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Pulling your three credit reports from the federally approved website, checking them for mistakes, and disputing any that are incorrect is the sensible course of action when it comes to credit. A non-trivial portion of consumer credit reports include inaccuracies big enough to influence a credit decision. This process takes place months before preapproval rather than days before because disputes are not instantaneous. Paying off credit card debt to less than 30% utilization can raise your score in 30 to 60 days if it is in the borderline category for the loan program you are interested in. That is one of the most significant actions a borrower can do, and the only expense is the self-control to avoid running the cards back up.
There are three layers to the savings calculation. The actual down payment is contingent upon your lending arrangement. Which are largely dependent on your state and loan structure, range from 2% to 5% of the purchase price.
Additionally, the reserves that your lender requires you to have after closing, typically two months' worth of mortgage payments for traditional loans. Through initiatives like Fannie Mae's HomeReady, first-time home buyers can obtain conventional loans with as little as 3% down. Loans from the Federal Housing Administration require a 3.5% down payment. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs retains the present funding-fee schedules and program guidelines, and VA loans for qualified military members enable 0% down. For qualifying properties, U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development insured loans also permit a 0% down payment.
Reverse engineering is the best way to approach Stage 1 for the majority of buyers. Select the month that you wish to close. For the financing and search side, deduct about six months. Your window for preparedness is whatever is left before that. The window must be extended if your savings are low or your credit needs improvement. You can shorten this phase to a few weeks of document collection if both are already robust. The borrowers who completely avoid this step and attempt to qualify on the spot are the ones that are shocked by their preapproval amount, irritated by the document demands made during underwriting, or rejected at the last minute due to a credit problem that might have been resolved months earlier. The quickest approach to learn what your file actually looks like to a lender is to work with an AmeriSave loan officer early on, even before you are ready to apply.
When the borrower is ready, preapproval is a quick process that proceeds at the lender's speed. It typically takes one to three business days from the time you submit a complete application with supporting documentation before you receive a preapproval letter. The variables include the speed at which you upload papers, the cleanliness of your credit file, and the clarity of your income picture. Because the lender requires more proof, borrowers who are self-employed, commission-based, or have just changed jobs may need to wait a few extra days.
Prequalification and preapproval are two different things. Prequalification, which frequently doesn't involve a credit check, is a soft estimate based on what you tell the lender. A written commitment based on an actual underwriting of your application, credit, and income records is called preapproval. The contrast is explained in simple terms by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Preapproval, not prequalification, is what you want when making bids in any decent market. Listing agents and sellers can tell the difference.
Borrowers are surprised by one aspect of preapproval, and I observe this in almost every discussion. You are technically eligible for the amount for which you have been preapproved. You shouldn't spend that money. The preapproval computation does not account into your childcare expenses, your retirement savings target, the cost of your commute to the new neighborhood, or your desire for financial flexibility. Compare your actual monthly payment to your actual budget, taking into account principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and any HOA dues. During preapproval, AmeriSave loan officers guide customers through this precise process.
This is the stage that varies the most by borrower and market, and the stage most likely to surprise you with how long it takes. The typical buyer searches for about 10 weeks before going under contract and tours roughly 6 homes during that period. That tour count has come down in recent years as more buyers do the early filtering online before stepping into a house. About half of recent buyers found the home they ultimately purchased through the internet. The rest came through agents, yard signs, or referrals from friends and family.
In hot markets, this stage compresses. A well-prepared buyer in a competitive area can be under contract within 2 to 3 weeks of starting an active search, sometimes within days, because they need to move on the first home that fits. In tight inventory markets the search can easily stretch beyond 10 weeks because the right home does not show up quickly. In slower markets, the same buyer might tour 12 or 15 homes over 3 to 4 months and still feel they have options to consider.
Two factors will determine how long Stage 3 actually takes you. First, how specific your criteria are. A buyer who needs a 4-bedroom on a quiet street in a particular school district has a longer search than a buyer flexible on location and layout. Second, the supply side of your market. The U.S. Census Bureau’s New Residential Sales report and the National Association of REALTORS® existing-home sales data are the two fastest-loading public indicators of market tightness. Tighter markets mean longer searches and more aggressive offers; looser markets mean more inventory to choose from and fewer bidding wars.
During this stage, the most important thing is to keep your financial picture stable. Do not change jobs. Do not open new credit accounts. Do not make large undocumented deposits to your bank account. The same income, employment, and credit picture that got you preapproved is what will get you to closing. Anything that disturbs that picture in Stage 3 has to be re-underwritten in Stage 5, and that is where timelines fall apart.
The offer-to-acceptance window is brief once you've located the house; it typically lasts between one and seven days, but in competitive markets, it may just last a few hours. The price, the earnest money deposit, the suggested closing date, and any contingencies will all be structured with the assistance of your real estate agent. The three typical contingencies for financed purchases are inspection, financing, and appraisal. Waiving them is occasionally necessary to compete in a hot market, but it is a real risk transfer rather than a free move. Each one protects you in a different way.
Minutes to many days may pass during the back-and-forth negotiation. In competitive markets, counteroffers, escalation clauses, and rival bids are typical. First-time purchasers who are unfamiliar with real estate transactions can benefit from resources published by the Federal Trade Commission and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
Every other deadline in your transaction begins as soon as both parties sign the offer, making it a legally binding agreement. Usually within one to three days, the earnest money is transferred to escrow. The lender orders the appraisal. The buyer schedules the inspection, usually during the first week of the contract. In order to keep everything running simultaneously, your AmeriSave loan officer is currently liaising with the title business, the appraiser, and the seller's side.
This is the stage with the most reliable benchmark in the industry. For a clean conventional loan with full documentation, the band of 30 to 45 days from application to funding is durable across lenders, regions, and rate environments. Most financed purchases land in that window. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s closing process guidance treats this as the planning window for buyers, and most purchase contracts are written with closing dates inside that band.
Inside the 30-to-45-day window, several things happen in parallel. Your loan officer locks the rate, or you choose to float. The processor reviews your file and orders the appraisal, the title work, and the homeowner’s insurance verification. The underwriter reviews the file against the guidelines for your specific loan program. The closing department schedules the signing and prepares the closing documents. The title company runs its own search on the property and produces a commitment for title insurance. Each of those workstreams has its own timeline, and the question is whether they finish in parallel or one of them blocks the others.
Borrowers can speed this stage up. Returning every document the same day it is requested is the single biggest variable on the borrower side. Modern lenders, AmeriSave included, use digital document collection that pulls bank statements, tax returns, and pay stubs directly from the source when the borrower authorizes it. That cuts days off the timeline because the underwriter does not have to wait on PDFs to come back. The slower the document turnaround on the borrower side, the longer Stage 5 takes.
The inspection and the appraisal happen inside the 30-to-45-day mortgage window, not after it. This is where buyers sometimes get tangled, because they think of these as separate stages. They are not. The inspection is for the buyer’s benefit and is not required for the loan. The appraisal is required by the lender and protects the lender’s collateral position. Both should happen within the first 10 to 14 days of contract acceptance.
The inspection is for the buyer’s benefit. A licensed home inspector walks the property, evaluates the structural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and roofing systems, and produces a report. The inspection itself takes 2 to 3 hours for an average single-family home, and the report is delivered within a day or two of the walkthrough. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development publishes a buyer-oriented overview of what to expect from an inspection. For older homes subject to lead-safety rules, the inspector may also check for lead-paint or asbestos concerns. Specialty inspections, such as for termites, septic systems, or radon, can add a few days each. Most inspection contingencies allow 7 to 10 days from contract acceptance, and the report comes back inside that window.
If the inspection turns up issues, you have negotiating room. You can negotiate repairs, ask for a price reduction, request a closing-cost credit, or walk away if your contract has an inspection contingency, which it should. Most negotiations resolve within a few days. Walking away resets the entire timeline, which is the biggest reason an unresolved inspection finding is worth fixing rather than ignoring. Maybe the home does not work because of a costly foundation issue. But for a borrower who can negotiate a credit and address the work after closing, the same finding can be a path forward rather than a deal-breaker.
The appraisal is the lender’s independent valuation of the property. A licensed appraiser visits the home, measures and inspects it against the seller’s disclosure, pulls comparable sales in the area, and produces a written valuation. Conventional appraisals come back in 7 to 14 days from the order date. Federal Housing Administration and VA appraisals have their own protocols and can take a few days longer because they include property-condition checks specific to those programs. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs publishes the VA appraisal guidance in the VA Lenders Handbook M26-7, and HUD publishes the FHA appraisal protocol in Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1. Both are publicly available.
If the appraisal comes in at or above the contract price, the loan moves forward without issue. If it comes in below, you have 3 paths: renegotiate the price with the seller, bring more cash to cover the gap, or walk away if your contract has an appraisal contingency. Appraisal gaps are uncommon in normal markets but become more frequent in markets where prices are moving fast. Your AmeriSave loan officer can walk you through the math on each path before you decide.
Underwriting is where the file lives or dies, and it is the longest single step inside Stage 5. For a clean conventional loan with full documentation, initial underwriting takes 2 to 3 weeks. The underwriter reviews your credit, your income, your assets, the property appraisal, the title work, and the loan-to-value ratio against the specific guidelines for your loan program. Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and individual lender overlays all publish their guidelines, and the underwriter’s job is to confirm your file matches them.
Underwriting produces 1 of 3 outcomes. Conditional approval, which means the file is approved subject to a list of follow-up items. Suspended status, which means the file needs more information before a decision can be made. Or denial, which means the file does not meet program guidelines. Conditional approvals come with 5 to 15 items the borrower needs to provide. These often include a verification of employment within 10 days of closing, an updated bank statement, a letter explaining a recent deposit, a clarification on a credit account, or an updated insurance binder. The faster the borrower returns the conditions, the faster the file moves to clear-to-close.
Self-employed borrowers, borrowers with multiple income sources, and borrowers with non-standard credit profiles often spend longer in underwriting because the income calculations and asset documentation are more complex. The same is true for unique property situations, such as homes with significant outbuildings, manufactured-home foundations, condominium projects with HOA issues, or properties in flood zones. None of these are deal-breakers, but they add days. A good loan officer will flag any of these on day one and set realistic expectations rather than letting them surprise you in week 2.
There is no quick route, and the last week of the timeframe is set by federal legislation. The lender is required by TRID regulations, which are overseen by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to provide your Closing Disclosure at least three business days before to the closing date. Your final loan conditions, monthly payment, total closing costs, and cash to close are all displayed on the five-page Closing Disclosure form. Compare it line by line with the loan estimate you were given when you applied. Anything that has changed should be explained, and you should ask your loan officer questions about anything you don't understand.
The three-business-day requirement cannot be waived. The 3-day clock resets and the lender is required to repeat the Closing Disclosure if your loan terms alter significantly after it is provided. For this reason, the timeline's last week is set. The Closing Disclosure must be issued by the lender at least three working days prior to closing, reviewed by the borrower, and re-disclosed if the circumstances change. The rule's structure prevents the closing window from being compressed, although most files do not require re-disclosure provided the task was completed successfully in previous stages.
A typical transaction takes around one hour on closing day, but scheduling may cause it to extend up to 90 minutes if there are last-minute lender inquiries or notarization needs. The promissory note, the mortgage or trust deed, and the Closing Disclosure are among the many documents you will sign. Money comes in the form of a cashier's check or is wired from your account. The deed is registered with the county, the seller signs their end, and the keys are exchanged. Federal legislation adds a three-business-day right of rescission prior to funding for refinances. Funding occurs either the same day or the next business day for the majority of orders.
At this point, it's important to note that wire fraud is a genuine and increasing concern in real estate closings. Every year, real estate wire fraud losses totaling hundreds of millions of dollars are recorded by the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Internet Crime Complaint Center. The process is the same: the buyer's wire transfer is diverted to a bogus account, the money disappears in a matter of hours, and the fraudster poses as the escrow officer or title business in an email. Never use a phone number from an email to confirm wiring instructions verbally with your title company; always use one you discovered on your own.
Not all financed purchases close in the same window. The 30-to-45-day band is the conventional benchmark; other programs run alongside it but with their own quirks. Here is what each one adds to the timeline.
Standard conforming loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Closing typically lands in the 30-to-45-day window, sometimes faster on a strong file. Fannie Mae publishes the program guidelines in its Selling Guide, and Freddie Mac publishes its parallel Single-Family Seller/Servicer Guide. Both are open documents available to anyone who wants to read them. Conventional loans are the workhorse of the U.S. mortgage market and tend to have the cleanest underwriting path when the borrower is well-qualified. AmeriSave originates conventional loans across the country.
Insured by the Federal Housing Administration and accessible to borrowers with credit scores as low as 580 with 3.5% down, or 500 to 579 with 10% down. The Federal Housing Administration appraisal protocol is more thorough than a conventional appraisal because it includes property-condition checks. That can add a few days to Stage 6. Most Federal Housing Administration loans still close inside the 30-to-45-day window. The Federal Housing Administration Single Family Housing Policy Handbook 4000.1 is the program guide. AmeriSave originates Federal Housing Administration loans in markets where they make sense for the borrower.
Backed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for eligible service members, veterans, and surviving spouses. The VA appraisal protocol is more thorough than a conventional appraisal, and the Certificate of Eligibility step adds a small amount of time at the front. Most VA loans still close within the same 30-to-45-day band. The VA Lenders Handbook M26-7 contains the program rules. AmeriSave originates VA loans, and the loan officers who specialize in them know the small protocol differences well enough to keep the file moving.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development guaranteed loans for eligible rural and suburban properties. The U.S. Department of Agriculture conditional commitment step adds 1 to 2 weeks to the timeline because the agency reviews the file in addition to the lender. Many USDA loans close in 35 to 50 days. The U.S. Department of Agriculture publishes the program guidelines on its Rural Development single-family housing pages.
Loans above the conforming loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Jumbo underwriting is more conservative than conforming because the loans are not sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Expect 35 to 60 days, more documentation, and tighter reserve requirements. AmeriSave originates jumbo loans for borrowers in higher-cost markets.
Having seen closings over twenty years, I can attest that the timeframe seldom shifts for the reasons borrowers anticipate. The closing date is typically not affected by changes in rates, regulations, or lender backlogs. It's the little things that add up. These are the important levers, arranged according to how frequently I observe them impacting an actual file.
The most significant action is front-loading documents during preapproval. Providing the entire set on day one eliminates the back-and-forth that adds days because the processor and underwriter want the same papers at every stage. The second is selecting a loan package that is appropriate for your file. Because conventional underwriting is leaner than Federal Housing Administration underwriting, a borrower with good credit and a 20% down payment will close on a conventional loan more quickly. Due to the elimination of the down payment requirement, a veteran with full entitlement may close on a VA loan more quickly than on a traditional loan. Instead of assuming that one product is always faster, the goal is to match the product to the file.
The third is responsiveness during the underwriting process. You want the clarifying paper returned the same day the underwriter requests it. Because the underwriter's recollection of the file fades and the subsequent reviewer must become familiar with it again, files that are paused for a day or two between conditions typically accumulate more conditions. Files that move conditions back the same day typically complete their condition list neatly and arrive at clear-to-close on time.
The fourth is to carefully select your closing date. Due to seller preferences, escrow customs, and tax scheduling, the final three business days of any given month are the busiest closing days in the industry. In those windows, notaries, appraisers, and title businesses are overworked. A mid-month closure date will go more smoothly than a month-end one if your schedule is flexible. The loan officers at AmeriSave will assist you in selecting a closing date that complements, not contradicts, the paperwork.
The fifth rule, which borrowers most frequently break, is not altering your financial situation while taking out a loan. Furniture should not be financed before to closing. Don't switch jobs. Avoid opening new credit accounts or adding authorized users to someone else's account. Avoid making significant unrecorded deposits. Re-underwriting is required for anything that alters your debt-to-income ratio, employment status, or asset picture between the application and closure, and it takes days.
When planning a home purchase, it's best to start with the date you want to move into your new house and work your way backward. For the closing window, deduct three to five days. For underwriting and processing, deduct three to four weeks. For the search, deduct eight to ten weeks. Subtract the amount of time required for document preparation, savings, and credit. The date you should begin is what you have left. That is about four to six months for a buyer who is starting from a solid financial position. It is more like a year for a buyer who has to undertake actual preparation work.
Every stage is not a filler. Each one is necessary since the loan you are taking out is a 30-year commitment linked to a particular property, and each party is required to verify that the file supports the loan. The steps that appear sluggish are the ones that are working hard to safeguard your transaction. The appraisal, title search, underwriting review, inspection, and 3-business-day Closing Disclosure regulation are all in place because someone discovered the hard way that neglecting them leads to issues later on.
Maintaining the clearest possible path to closure should always be the aim. This entails answering all inquiries upfront, delivering all documents to the appropriate person, and ensuring that nothing is left waiting for an unfulfilled follow-up. In terms of follow-through, borrowers who close on time take the lead. They are aware of which document is missing, which condition is open, and who is now in possession of the file. The idea is the same from the borrower's perspective. Ask a question if you have one. Before proceeding, acquire clarification on any unclear aspects of the process. That's how you wind up closing on the scheduled date with the keys in your palm and no surprises. For more than 20 years, AmeriSave has been originating purchase loans, and borrowers who manage their timelines in this manner are the ones who close on time.
Yes, but it requires a willing seller, a responsive borrower, and a clean file. About 30 days from accepted offer to closing is the fast end of the financed-purchase range. Conventional loans frequently close in that window for borrowers with good credit, complete documentation, and no property issues. Seldom is the lender the constraint. The federal 3-business-day Closing Disclosure rule, the appraisal turn time, and the title work collectively set a floor on how quickly any financed purchase may proceed. Because the underwriting clock vanishes, cash buyers can close even more quickly; 2 to 3 weeks is a reasonable time frame. Treat 30 as a stretch goal rather than the standard expectation, and plan for 45 days to provide yourself some leeway. The 30-day mark is regularly reached by borrowers who front-load all documents and reply to all condition requests the same day. Before you submit the offer, AmeriSave loan officers can provide you with a reasonable estimate for your particular file.
Prior to beginning home tours, get preapproved, select a lender who employs digital document collection, and return all necessary items the same day they are requested. Instead of choosing the loan package with the lowest sticker rate, choose one that fits your profile. Conventional is effective for borrowers with solid credit and supporting documentation. VA serves qualified veterans. When you require flexible credit, the Federal Housing Administration can help. Steer clear of opening additional credit between application and closing, such as authorized-user additions, retail shop cards, and vehicle loans. If your schedule is flexible, pick a mid-month closing date instead of the last day of the month, when operations teams at all lenders are operating at full capacity and industry-wide volume surges. This type of borrower often closes at AmeriSave within the 25- to 35-day range.
Each stage of the mortgage process, processing, appraisal, title work, underwriting, and federally regulated final disclosures, depends on the one before it. The final week is limited by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's requirement that the borrower receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before to closing. Underwriting on a clean file runs 2 to 3 weeks because every page in the file is reviewed against program guidelines. It takes one to two weeks to complete the evaluation alone, and orders cannot be placed until the contract is signed. Those steps are not filler. They exist because the secondary mortgage market anticipates that the underwriting will sustain the loan, which is a 30-year obligation linked to particular property. The good news is that as long as the borrower is involved, the timeline is predictable.
Within the larger 30- to 45-day mortgage window, initial underwriting on a clean conventional file takes roughly two to three weeks. In accordance with the particular requirements for your loan program, the underwriter examines your credit, income, assets, property assessment, title work, and loan-to-value ratio. A clean file is frequently returned with a brief list of follow-up issues and conditionally authorized. The file goes to clear-to-close after those are fixed. In addition to the typical window, files involving self-employment, several sources of income, or complex income arrangements can take up to a week. The longest form of underwriting is a manual underwrite, which might take an additional week or two and is utilized when automated methods are unable to approve a file. The quickest route through this phase is to work with a loan officer who understands how to present your file for the appropriate underwriting approach. This positioning is handled daily by AmeriSave loan officers.
It can, but not to the extent that borrowers anticipate. There are two actual but limited ways that a larger down payment accelerates the schedule. It can make mortgage insurance procedures easier by first lowering your loan-to-value ratio. Conventional loans with a down payment of 20% or more do not require private mortgage insurance, which eliminates some underwriting. The savings reasoning is different for Federal Housing Administration loans, which need both upfront and ongoing mortgage insurance regardless of the down amount. Second, because the loan amount is a smaller portion of the home's worth, a larger down payment can lower the appraisal gap risk. A borrower with a 20% down payment on a traditional loan often closes more quickly than a borrower with a 3.5% down payment on a Federal Housing Administration loan; however, the difference in pace is measured in days rather than weeks. The borrower's document response continues to be the largest factor influencing closing speed.
Indeed, it occurs more frequently than borrowers are aware. Last-minute credit pulls that reveal a new debt the underwriter must handle, appraisal concerns that require a re-review, and document modifications that result in a re-disclosure under the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's three-business-day limit are the three most frequent late-stage delays. Attempts at wire fraud and title problems may also appear at the last minute, delaying closure by several days. Maintaining a steady financial picture from application to funding is the best method to reduce this risk. Furniture should not be financed before to closing. Don't switch jobs. Avoid getting a new credit card. Inform your loan officer right away if something changes that you are unable to prevent so that the file can be rewritten concurrently rather than at the end. Before you ever write the offer, AmeriSave loan experts will explain what constitutes a major change as opposed to a small one.
Because the entire mortgage procedure is eliminated, cash buyers can close in as little as two to three weeks. Applications, underwriting, appraisals, title commitments for lenders who are not present, and the three-business-day Closing Disclosure regulation are all absent. All that's left are the title search, the wire transfer at closing, and the inspection if the buyer wants to do one. The majority of cash transactions are completed in two to three weeks, depending on the seller's willingness to leave and the speed at which the title company can finish its search. Cash bids are frequently accepted at cheaper prices in hot markets due to the certainty of the timeline. The buyer bears all of the risk instead of splitting it with a lender, which is a trade-off. When given the choice, a borrower should consider the opportunity cost of the cash, current mortgage rates, and the benefit of having a lender verify the property's value.
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