Are you a first time home buyer? Agent Lady can help.
That transition between becoming a first time home buyer to a first time home owner can be intimidating, nerve-wracking, and frustrating. After all, you’re making one of the biggest financial decisions of your life. However, it can also be fun, exciting, and liberating if you jump in armed with expert advice and an advocate in your corner.
As a first time home buyer, I’m here to ensure you are informed and ready to make smart decisions, understand the Philadelphia real estate market, and show you how to buy a house.
Getting started.
Looking at houses without knowing your budget is the equivalent of buying a pair of shoes without knowing your shoe size. No matter the temptation, your first step in the home buying process should be understanding what you can afford, which really means, how much can you borrow?
Find a lender (I can help you) you are interested in working with and reach out to discuss pre-approval. The lender will review your income, savings, credit score, and monthly debt-to-income ratio to determine what you’re eligible to borrow. While this step does not guarantee you will get a loan, pre-approval serves as a dependable indicator of your ability to purchase a home. Once you have a realistic understanding of what you can afford, I can do a better job of finding your dream home.
Do not let this step intimidate you. Lenders are used to working with individuals at every income level and debt-to-income ratio. Moreover, home buying programs, such as Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans, make it easier to qualify to borrow.
Still finding this step a little tricky?
Let's talk it out and get you started in the right path to home ownership
Balancing priorities and budget.
In a perfect world, every home would be move-in ready, five minutes from work, AND only cost the super low price of next to nothing. As a first time home buyer, you’ll learn that this process isn’t only about being able to pay the asking price, but also in thinking ahead about your priorities and balancing that against your budget. Here are some of the types of things you’ll need to think about:
Size: Ever order the biggie-sized fries and then feel like you couldn’t eat another bite half-way through your burger? Temptation led you to buy more food than you needed, and oftentimes, the same happens to home buyers. Buying more house than you need may be enticing, but before you purchase that McMansion, you should ask yourself if you really need all that space and if it’s worth the cost.
Renovations: If HGTV has taught us anything, it’s that buying a fixer-upper can save you a lot of dough. However, before jumping on that DIY ASAP, it’s important to consider the cost, time, and talent needed to get the job done. Also, if the house isn’t livable during renovations, you’ll need to factor in extra rent, hotel costs, or whether you can stand sleeping on your buddy’s couch for the next six months.
Lifestyle: Are you hoping to minimize your commute to work? Do you despise yardwork and need something low maintenance? Do you hope to be within close proximity of friends and family? Do you need to be close to schools?
When searching for the perfect house, it’s important to reflect on what will help you thrive and what will work best with the flow of your lifestyle today and tomorrow.
Buying your first home will require you to take a comprehensive look at your needs, wants, and budget.
I'm here to help steady that balancing act.
The Home Buying Process
The actual process of buying a house can be tricky, but I’ll be there each step of the way to
- Take the guesswork out of writing an offer
- Ensure you make a fair and competitive offer
- Make sure you don’t bust your budget in a bidding war
- Help you navigate contingencies such as financing, the appraisal process, the home inspection, homeowner association’s rules and budgets, and anything else that could come up
Once we submit your offer, the seller can accept your offer, make a counteroffer, or reject your offer. Either way, I’ll be there ready to take you through the next reasonable step.
Sound intimidating? It doesn’t have to be
Let's work together to create a strategy in which you win.
The Closing Process
Once your offer is accepted, I’ll be your “Closing Sherpa,” ensuring you:
- Refer trustworthy, third-party professionals such as a title company, home inspector, etc.
- Make sure your lender receives the executed contract so they can get started on getting your loan to closing.
- Negotiating your home inspection.
- Making sure we are good to go with appraisal and any possible repairs required by lender prior to closing.
- Review title report to make sure it’s clear.
- Take you through all the paperwork —you’ll sign your name on the dotted line a million times and it’ll be worth it.
- Confirming you’ve secured insurance including everything from flood insurance to your home warranty.
- Guide you through the walk-through and settlement process.
- Take the guesswork out of what documents to have on hand.
Stick with me and I’ll have keys in your hand in no time.
I’m excited to celebrate your transition from home shopper to home buyer.
Reach out today to get started!
