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 our team will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.
Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.
Notice we said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.
Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.
Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for agents like us to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will we help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but we also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where our expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let us show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.
This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). We will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.
Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. We will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.
In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. We can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.
Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.
Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.
No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.
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.
My wife and I have moved maybe 10 times since our marriage. Without question, Susan is one of the top and best agents I have worked with. No pressure and wonderful follow-up service. She was patient with us during the entire pr...
Selling your house is stressful. Tara and I were lucky to have Susan help us through the process. We picked Susan to help us with our move from Dripping Springs to downtown Austin. Growing up in Austin, she knows the market ...
Susan Barringer is by far the best real estate agent who has ever helped me purchase a new property. She is thorough in every detail to the point of my wondering if she has a private life! It made no difference if it was a wor...
There are many (sometimes I feel too many) Realtor agents in the Austin area. Many people use their license as a side gig. On two separate occasions, we have used a true real estate professional. It was our good fortune to team...
Susan is an amazing agent. My partner and I began searching in the Austin market as prices sky-rocketed and inventory dropped. Susan went above and beyond to scout potential homes, schedule viewings, and explain the nuances of ...
Susan is the greatest! She’s attentive, knowledgeable, well-connected & fun to work with. Susan helped us quickly find a home during this extremely competitive market. All the while, she was positive and professional. I’d highl...
I have been working with Susan for over six months in the very challenging Austin market. She has been exceptionally patient and accommodating with my ever-changing criteria for my home purchase. She responds immediately to m...
Susan was our realtor during our search for a home to buy in Austin. As recent NYC transplants, this was the first house we were buying and I was nervous about being pushed into buying something by a realtor. Susan vastly excee...
Picking Susan as our listing agent was an easy choice. She had already sold the most expensive home in our neighborhood in record time and came with an excellent recommendation from that owner. Susan is very professional, and s...
Susan is one of the rare service providers and account managers that stands out in business life. As the CEO, I had the good fortune of benefiting from her excellent direct help and her company's great work over several weeks a...
Susan went far above and beyond toward selling our home. We really enjoy working with her. She is the real agent. So caring and detail-oriented. she did a complete walk-through and noted all the positive areas and things that n...
I highly recommend Susan. My husband and I moved to Austin from New York City. We consider ourselves lucky to have found Susan to represent us purchasing our first home. She is responsive, detail oriented, smart, and efficient;...
When we first met Susan, we weren't even sure if we were going to move to Austin. We came in for the weekend last minute and she dropped everything to show us upwards of 20 houses in a quick 2 days. She got to know us quickly a...
Susan was our realtor during our search for a home to buy in Austin. As recent New York City transplants, this was the first house we were buying and I was nervous about being pushed into buying something by a realtor. Susan va...
One of the hardest part of sales is the ability to identify early stage opportunities that are qualified between 10-20% probability. These are what you call the gold leads, where the customer is genuinely interested in the mess...
A brilliant marketing mind with exceptional skills and experience. Susan has an exceptional grasp of the market and is a wonderful person. Great people skills and knowledgeable as well. If you are interested in buying or sellin...
From our very first text exchange, Susan was on it! We appreciated her responsiveness throughout our process of buying our first home in Austin. Even when we didn't expect a response to some of our questions immediately, she ne...
Susan is very methodical at engaging clients at a very senior level, and switches context easily between tactical and strategic issues for the client. Susan's knowledge over her product areas was admirable and was swift at enga...
I have worked with Susan through multiple companies and every time we've worked together, I'm reminded of why I keep going back. She is a consummate professional, a leader, and a reliable, prompt and courteous businesswoman. Sh...
Susan’s no nonsense customer first approach is refreshing as is her use of deep market data to inform her customers towards important life decisions (e.g. investing in a home). In working with her, I really appreciated her resp...
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