As First Time home Buyers we have no idea where to begin.
– 95% of first time home buyers.
It’s often a dilemma for first time home buyers. Many of us work the system, we grow up being told to get an education, go to college and get more education and get into the working field. Many of us do not take the same path in life. While it’s true many of our first time home buyers purchase in their early 20’s we have worked with many clients with a different need. We will cover all of the different aspects you need to know. Feel free to refer to this https://www.realtor.com/advice/guides/first-time-home-buyer/throughout our readings and move on to step one.
Step 1: Assessing Your Wants & Needs.
How many are planning on buying? Is it you only? What about a spouse? Do you have pets? These are legitimate questions and you might be thinking to yourself “alright, let’s get on with it.” It gets more complicated than you might believe. How old am I? Does my spouse need special accommodations? Do I need special accommodations? What about location? Are there any family members that might need to live with me in special circumstances? Jot down a list of things you anticipate on needing & wanting. Several things to keep you thinking as first time home buyers might be:
- Handicap needs
- Commuting traffic & mileage
- Length of ownership
- Spousal giving & receiving
- Family members
- Pets
- Location
- Style of home
- Land size
- Maintenance of ownership
- Home warranty
- Appliances
- Amount of square footage
- Garages, barns, outbuildings
- Income producing property
The list goes on…you get the idea..step two because..
Step 2: Find a good Realtor.
One good way to find a Real Estate Agent or Realtor in your area is to start with online presence. Yes, google it. Large popular sites such as https://www.zillow.com/ provide sections with reviews from local Realtors to assist first time home buyers.
You can find a good Real Estate Agent by surfing the internet & finding a producing team, brokerage or independent Realtor. Hiring a good Realtor is crucial to finding a home. You can use other methods in your journey, try asking friends, family & locals who they used & how they benefited them in their pursuit to purchasing property.
Ask Questions revolving around these topics:
- Availability (Works more than 9-5PM)
- Fees (We have no buyer fees in most cases)
- MLS Access (Access to 1000’s of homes on the market)
- Experience (Knows the process inside & out)
- Market Trends (Stays current on new fads)
- Loan Programs (We have some of the greatest in the business)
- Contractor Lists (Use someone trusted & local)
- Inspector Lists (We have great inspectors)
- What is your experience with first time home buyers? (It’s our specialty).
Another good strategy is to Contact us.
Step 3: Get Pre-Approved, not just for first time home buyers.
A good Realtor has connections to loan officers that are able to answer all of your financing questions & get things done timely. The last thing you want to do is go look at homes only to be turned down because that pesky medical bill 4 years ago ruined your ability to purchase a property. It results in a waste of time for you, for the Realtor & for the homeowners that could be in a pressing situation.
With our team of seasoned professionals we will give you some of the best contacts in the industry so you can compare interest rates & get top notch service. You really need to be approved and ready to go if you are serious about buying. There are different types of home loans including but not limited to these things and more:
https://www.bankrate.com/mortgages/first-time-homebuyer-grants-and-programs/
- FHA
- USDA
- KHS
- VA
- 203K
- Conventional
- New Construction
Step 4: Let the searching begin for first time home buyers.
Your Realtor should have access to many different homes that are accessible. Here at our office we are part of multiple MLS services (Multiple Listing Service). We can set parameters in our searches and have new listings directly sent to your e-mail just as any good Realtor should be able to do. You can keep tabs on Zillow, Trulia, Redfin & other popular websites such as Landwatch, Loopnet, Realtor.com & more. Our website has a search all feature here. This is handy to see over 7,000 listings at a given time and set filters.
Once you find the right property you need to place an offer with your Realtor & start negotiating. Remember that approval letter? That comes in handy when flexing your bargaining power. Let your Realtor do the work for you & pull comparable sales to study. Again, that’s why you hired them right? So step five…
Step 5: Acceptance & Inspections
After you go under contract & specify contract stipulations it’s time to get inspections going & appraisers sent out to justify the sale. The Inspections are NOT mandatory but I highly suggest you do it as a first time home buyer. The appraisal Is mandatory in order to secure financing. Your Realtor should have good suggestions for these inspectors in which are affordable, timely, thorough & easy to work with to protect your interests.
After inspections you can negotiate repairs & remove yourself from the contract if necessary, if things do not turn out as you had imagined on the inspections (seek legal advice).
Step 6: Closing for first time home buyers!
That’s it! You’ve done it. Ultimately, you have conquered the beast & became an official homeowner, granted you don’t run into any tricky situations along the way. Your Realtor will be capable of handling objections, negotiating on your behalf, setting up appointments, finding out history of properties, pulling comparable sales to name a few. Read the link below and find out other supporting reasons.
Key Topics Discussed for first home buyers:
- Mortgage Approval
- Discussing Needs / Wants
- Finding the right home
- Hiring the right Realtor
- Loan Types
- Inspections
- Contractors (Repairs)
- Appraisers