5 Reasons to Save Your Vacation Days and Paid Time off If You Plan to Buy a Home in the Next Year

When you’re buying a house, your real estate agent will do a lot of the heavy lifting and behind-the-scenes work, and much of it will happen during the week while you’re at work.

But there are some things they can’t do for you, or without you, and you might need to either sneak out of work a little early, or even take a few days off here and there, in order to get things done.

So if you’re planning on buying a home in the next year, here are 5 reasons you might want to save your vacation days and paid time off and use them strategically during the home buying process:

1) A Hot Listing Can Easily Sell Before the Weekend

Many buyers start out by just checking out open houses, or have their agent show them houses on the weekends as they get their feet wet. But serious buyers are not waiting for the weekend — they’re rushing out the door the moment a new listing hits the market.

The internet has made it possible for every buyer in your price range to know about a new listing the minute it hits the market. So if you want to be sure you’re in the running, having some flexible PTO up your sleeve is key for those impromptu midweek showings, or another buyer may scoop it up before you even get to see it.

2) You Should Attend Inspections

Things like your home inspection and the final walkthrough are like the doctor’s appointments of home buying. They’re essential, they’re during business hours, and no, your real estate agent can’t attend for you. They’ll likely be there with you, but your presence is still important.

Whether you’re listening to the inspector’s rundown or signing off on a critical repair, make sure you’ve got some PTO set aside to be present for these key moments to make sure everything goes smoothly, and ask any questions you may have during them.

3) So Your Lender Can’t Blame You for Delays

The mortgage process has a way of demanding your attention at the most inconvenient times. From gathering financial documents like tax returns and bank statements, to hopping on urgent calls with your lender, it’s a good idea to have some time off in reserve.

The quicker you can find a document they request and get it to them, and answer their questions, the smoother your mortgage process will be. And if they’re taking forever to get your loan through underwriting, they can’t use the fact that it took you too long to get them what they needed as an excuse!

4) Because the Boxes Won’t Pack Themselves

Savvy home buyers begin packing their belongings way ahead of moving day, leaving only the bigger items and daily essentials for the actual moving day. If you’re organized about doing this, you might not need to take much time off.

But even the most organized person can find themselves scurrying at the last minute trying to finish up packing. Then, you have to do it in reverse when you’re moving into your new place! Having time you can take off from work can really take some of the stress out of moving day.

5) So You Can Enjoy Your Closing Day!

Closing day is certainly fun and exciting, but it’s not as simple as just picking up the keys and getting your picture taken dangling them in front of your new abode!

Before that Instagram moment can occur, you’ll need to sign a stack of documents, and that usually happens during work hours. So, save an entire day to take off for this big event, and enjoy the satisfaction of walking out of the closing office with your new house keys in hand, without a time clock looming over you.