Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Buying your new home isn’t a solo mission! Finding an advisor who listens to your needs, guides you every step of the way, and makes the journey as seamless, easy, and fun as possible is key. As a matter of fact, that is exactly me! Who I also have behind me are my trusted lender, real estate attorney, home inspector, and homeowners’ insurance agent. We as a team have everything it takes to promise you nothing but a smooth transaction.
Unless you are paying cash for your new home, you will need to apply for a mortgage loan. Your lender will review your finances, determine the best loan options, and formalize a loan pre-approval based on your situation. In addition, they will break down monthly payment estimates to guide you towards determining the maximum purchase price you are comfortable with. Knowing how much you can afford as well as what you are comfortable spending gives you the utmost of confidence to start the house hunt.
Now that you are pre-approved, it’s time to think about what your perfect home looks like — the neighborhood, style, size, and features. It’s okay to dream big! This home purchase will be one of the largest, if not the largest, investment of your lifetime. Nonetheless, I advise my clients to start off by creating a needs vs. wants list always. This will allow us to narrow in on the aspects that matter most to you in your new home.
Now for the fun part — setting up your search & deciding which homes to see in person! We will keep your needs vs. wants list in mind and use search filters loosely. Whenever you see a home of interest, you will send it to me. I will answer any questions you have, gather all pertinent information from the sellers’ agent, and schedule a showing.
My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home
So, you got that “this is the one” feeling in your stomach I told you about? If yes, then it’s time to submit an offer! I’ll walk you through putting together a strong, strategic offer, negotiate on your behalf, and give us every advantage possible to secure your dream home.
Once your offer is accepted (yay!), we enter the “due diligence” period — where we make sure the home is not just beautiful, but solid too. First comes the home inspection: you have the right to hire a professional to inspect the home and identify any repairs or issues that you wouldn’t be able to find just visually. You will receive a detailed report based on the inspectors’ findings that I will help you understand, and, if needed, negotiate repairs or credits with the seller. Next, is the appraisal, which is ordered by your lender. It ensures the home’s estimated value by a licensed appraiser lines up with the purchase price — a key step to finalizing your loan. If the appraisal comes back short, we often can renegotiate with the seller.
Once we and the sellers come to an agreement on all contract terms, inspection related items, and the appraisal, you will finalize and sign off on all remaining loan documents. After that, we will get confirmation from your lender that you are “clear-to-close” on your home! From here, we will schedule your closing date & time and final walk-through. The final walk-through allows us to go inside the home one last time before we close to confirm the home is in the exact same condition as when we wrote our offer and/or the seller made the repairs that were agreed upon.
If you did not hire a POA (power of attorney) we will head to closing straight from the final walk-through. This is the final step where you’ll sign a LOT of paperwork, wait patiently, get the keys, and officially become a homeowner. Time to celebrate!
After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.
Brings unmatched energy, empathy, and local expertise to every client relationship. With a background in both commercial and residential real estate, she offers a strategic and personalized approach to buying, selling, or renting. Passionate, driven, and always client-first, Christina is here to make your journey seamless—and even enjoyable.