What is a Quick Move In Home?

The time has come, you are ready to buy your first or next house, and you have your eye set on a new construction home. After all, you know there are a lot of benefits to buying a new versus a resale home—the more modern layouts, the warranty that can save you from costly repairs, but one thing concerns you—time. Building a new home can take time and between rising interest rates, which can certainly put a damper on the home buying process, and other life needs you just aren’t sure you want to take the time.

So, does that mean that resale is your only option?

The short answer is no—there is another alternative out there known as a quick move-in home.

Quick Move-In Home; a Definition

In short, a quick move-in home is a new construction home that has already been started and is nearing completion, meaning a new owner can move in, well, quickly. While the timing may vary slightly, depending on where in the build process the home is, most quick move-in homes for sale are available for move-in within 30-60 days.

A quick move-in home may have been purposely built by the builder to balance the community’s build schedule or it may have started as a to-be-built home that a buyer needed to back out of. In either direction, a quick move-in home provides new buyers an opportunity to get into a new construction home quickly.

Quick Move-In Homes vs To-be Built Homes

So, now that we know what a quick move-in home is, the natural question arises as to how it is similar to or different from a to-be-built home.

While we may have already hinted at some of the similarities and differences, here are the highlights:

Similarities between Quick Move-In Homes & To-be Built Homes

1. Both quick move-in and to-be-built homes use similar floor plans, which means in both instances you are getting all the benefits of a modern new construction layout
2. Both types of homes feature similar materials and appliances
3. Both homes are backed with the same warranty, for added peace of mind

Differences between Quick Move-In Homes & To-be Built Homes

1. A quick move-in home is going to have little to no optionality, which means it is not as customizable as its to-be-built counterpart. That said, quick move-in homes often feature some of the top finishes in the community, and are far more likely to have modern touches compared to a resale home
2. A quick move-in home may come with other incentives. Because builders often want to move their quick move-in homes, you may be able to find additional savings compared to a to-be-built home
3. And finally, just to re-iterate, a quick move-in home is—quick—which means you will get your keys sooner

Quick Move-In Home Timelines

Now that we covered what a quick move-in home is and how it is different from a to-be-built home, let's dive a little more into one of the benefits of quick move-in homes—their timelines.

Generally speaking, the timeline for a quick move-in purchase may look something like this:

Step 1: Select a home

The first step in the process is, of course, selecting the home you would like to purchase.

Step 2: Buy/Start the Mortgage Process

The next step is declaring your intention to purchase and starting the mortgage process. This step’s timing can vary from 1-7 days depending on whether or not you have already selected a final provider.

Step 3: Get Conditional Loan approval

A conditional approval is the stage after your mortgage has been submitted to an underwriter but before final approval. It means your provider has most, if not all, the documentation they need to make a final loan approval. The timing to get to this stage and to get to the next depends heavily on how quickly you provide your documentation and how quickly your provider and underwriter are able to review but generally speaking, it takes around 14 days to get a conditional approval.

Step 4: Get Final Loan approval

After you have provided any outstanding documentation from the conditional approval, the lender will review your documentation again to ensure you have met all the requirements of the loan before issuing a final approval. This process may take 1-3 business days after the last of your documents are provided.

Step 5: Lock Rate

As you receive your final loan approval, your lender will then lock your rate and run the numbers one more time. This process is generally pretty quick and, unless an issue arises, should not impact your timeline.

Step 6: Pre-Closing Orientation

Now that the loan is mainly addressed, we move on to the home. At this stage of the process, you will walk through your new construction home with the field manager, review your home’s systems and look over any relevant paperwork. Generally, this orientation will take place within a few days of your actual closing and, depending on what stage your home was in when you started the process (i.e. complete or near complete), could quickly follow your final loan approval.

Step 7: Sign Documents

Here is where you will put pen to paper and sign all the required paperwork to finalize your loan.

Step 8: Close Home & Get Keys

And now its time to close and get the keys to your brand new home quick move-in home.

In total, the timeline to purchase, close, and move into a quick move-in home is between 30-60 days, which again is one of its main benefits. It's important to note that the timing, while quicker and more predictable than a to-be built home, can still vary based on a number of factors including whether the home is nearing completion or complete, the type of loan you are seeking, and how quickly the financial arm is able to process paperwork.

Now that we have gone through what a quick move-in home is, how it is different from a to-be-built home, and the general quick-move-in timeline, you may be thinking, “Wow, it seems a quick move-in home is right for me—where can I find one?”

Well, luckily, at Pulte Homes we offer a number of quick move-in homes across the country. Visit our quick move-in homes for sale page today to find your next new home.

Contributed to Your Home blog by Sarah Looney

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Published 08.25.20202