First Time Home Buyers Guide

Buying your first home can be daunting to say the least! Literally, each piece of the home buying process is new, from obtaining financing, to the search itself, negotiating, the sales agreement, inspections, and closing…hence the term “First time home buyer”! The whole process can be overwhelming, which is why it is SO IMPORTANT to have a knowledgeable professional to guide the way.

My expertise is in investment and residential real estate. I pride myself in having professional relationships across all functions of the home buying process and love working with the group of professionals I do.

Home buying guide in steps:

1. FIND A REALTOR
2. Determine what you want in a house and how much you can spend. It is important for everyone buying a home to take a deep look at their own personal cash flow: how much money do you bring in versus how much money goes out? How much can you put towards the expenses of a home (mortgage, insurance, taxes) while still living the life style you enjoy? Banks will many times approve buyers for the top of their budget, which will not consider everyone’s life style.
3. Get a pre-qualification letter. You will need to develop a relationship with a banker who will evaluate your finances and run your credit to determine the type and amount of the loan for which you will qualify.
4. Start touring homes. Your realtor will supply you with a list of homes meeting your criteria and within your budget. You should then drive past those homes and through neighborhoods to determine where you might want to live. This is another very important step. Homes online are meant to show their best qualities, but you may not like the neighborhood or that busy street, which cannot be determined from pictures. Once you have chosen homes to tour, your realtor will set up appointments to take you there.
5. Make an offer! After finding a home you want to buy, your agent will prepare the offer for you.
6. Seller responds with either acceptance or counter offer. This may lead to a period of negotiations.
7. Acceptance! Again, this many times occurs after a period of negotiations
8. Apply for your loan with your selected financial institution
9. Schedule inspections with a local inspector (your REALTOR will help to guide you in choosing an inspector)
10. Present repair addendum (this may also lead to a period of negotiations)
11. Ensure all repairs have been made and await bank’s appraisal
12. Final walk through. The final walk through is when the buyer walks through the home (typically right before closing) to ensure all repairs have been made, the home is broom cleaned, and in working order as outlined in the Sales Contract.
13. Closing! All mortgage and other documents are signed and the HOME IS YOURS!