BUYING YOUR FIRST HOME?

Becoming a homeowner is exciting and takes some leg work, but it's one of the most rewarding and biggest accomplishments you'll make!

Home ownership is not like renting, there is a lot of liability and responsibility that comes with owning your own home. Preparing for home ownership requires you to take critical stock of your finances and your expectations.

Search now for homes in the area.

Preliminary Steps To Take

SAVE SAVE SAVE!

Save! Save early! A few main costs to consider are: Down payment, Closing costs, and Move-in expenses.

What is a down payment?

A down payment is the payment made up front to purchase the home. Depending on what kind of loan you choose and the lender, down payments can be as little to 3% in some cases. Example: 3% on a $300,000 home would be $9,000.

What are closing costs?

These are fees and expenses that you will pay at closing. Typically these consist of mortgage insurance fees, property tax, homeowners insurance, title fees, etc. Depending on your loan and lender, these fee’s can be anywhere from 1-4% of the purchase price.

Move In Expenses

Moving in is exciting!!! Set a little money aside for any necessary home repairs, deep cleaning costs, upgrades and furnishing.

FIND OUT HOW MUCH CAN YOU AFFORD

Get in touch with one of our trusted partnering Mortgage Lenders today to find out how much house you can afford!

KNOW YOUR DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIO

Your overall debt should not be more than 40% of your income, and your housing debt should not be more than 32%. What 32% of your income will buy depends on where you want to live.

KNOW YOUR LIFESTYLE

Know your lifestyle - do you like to be close to grocery stores, walking distance to restaurants, in close proximity to public transportation? Do you enjoy yard maintenance? Do you have pets? Children? Are school districts important to you? Knowing your lifestyle will help carve out the kind of community and home you will want to live and grow in.

We are here to help every step of the way!

Our team is dedicated to transparent service and boots on the ground hard work. Our agents will help you find the right home and guide you through all of the nuances every step of the way.

We operate as a team, but our agents work directly one-on-one with their clients from start to finish.

Keep your objectives in mind when visiting a home. Be open minded and don’t be afraid to ask questions - this is your FIRST time buying a home after all!

Our agents will lay out the process so you understand all of the necessary steps. We want you to feel confident and comfortable throughout the entire process.

The Buying Experience - 7 steps

1. Meetup - Make a Wish List

Here we will sit down and talk about your goals, wants, needs, expectations and formulate a plan together! What kind of home do you want, do you plan to grow there? Do you want a big yard or less maintenance?

2. Getting Approved & Pre-Qualification

We will introduce you to one of our Mortgage Partners if you haven’t selected a lender yet. This process is a bit of paperwork, so be prepared to pull up (W-2’s, paystubs, bank statements, etc) this process will determine how much house you can afford. Once submitted to the Lender and approved the real fun begins . . .

3. Commence the House Hunting!

Now that you are approved and know what you can afford, your agent will curate a customized list of homes tailored to your wants and needs. Then based on the list of homes you LOVE, your agent will schedule showings so you can see the homes in person (or virtually) whatever makes most sense for you at the time.

4. Find your Home and Submit an offer

When you’ve found the home you love, you are ready to make an offer! Your agent will present a written offer to the seller. A few things to keep in mind - the seller could come back with a counter offer, or reject your initial offer all together. Your agent will walk you through each of these possibilities and exactly how to handle them. Once the offer is accepted, it’s time to get your financing in order and move forward to the next step!

5. Acceptance, appraisal and inspection

Your offer has been accepted! Now we schedule your appraisal and then inspection. The appraisal guarantees that the price of the property matches the condition of the property. The inspection makes sure that everything in the home is functioning properly and there are no major issues inside. These are some of the final steps in the process before closing and funding happens

6. Final Walk through and Close

It’s time to close on your home! This process includes going through all of the final paperwork and signing your name (a lot!). Don't forget to bring all of the paperwork you’ve collected along the way, your driver's license and your down payment.