I live in a small ranch home 927 sq ft (no basement, no second floor). My hot water tank is located next to my furnace in an inside room almost centrally located in my house. When I turn on any faucet in house it takes a while for hot water to appear. From my bathroom, I can literally take "3 steps" and be at my hot water tank. That is how close it is to the faucets in bathroom and it still takes awhile to get hot water. Any suggestions on why this is? Thank you all.

All the cold water has to be forced out of the lines before the hot water can get to where it needs to go. The time it takes the hot water to travel to your faucet depends upon many factors such as the actual pipe length, where the pipe is located, ( in the floor,wall,or attic) and how much water pressure you have available.

One thing is possible that most people forget is the item called the dip tube that is located in the water heater. If the dip tube has broken or deteriorated it is possible that cold water along with the hot water can be entering the hot water line. While this sounds a bit crazy I have seen it before.

When finances allow you might want to contact a local plumber to check the dip tube situation and while they are there see if they can find any other problem that might cause the delay in the flow of hot water.