So you are thinking about buying a home and not for sure where to start exactly?

I am going to cover the basic steps that everyone should do when you first begin this journey.

Step 1

Financial advisor

The perfect place to start is by speaking with your financial advisor to figure out what you are comfortable paying per month. Not to overlap with the responsibilities of a loan officer but a financial advisor will also take into consideration those aspects of your financial present and future and help you identify a healthy path forward towards achieving everything you want and within budget.

Step 2

Going in to speak to a loan officer to find out how much you can afford and get preapproved!

To many times I have met buyers who are just starting to look for a home and I find them looking at properties that exceed their budget. They fall in love with the home, style, and location to only be disappointed that they cannot afford it. Being preapproved for a loan will help out tremendously if you find a home that you love and want to put an offer in. I tell my buyers that if you love a home that just came to market, there is a high chance another person loves the homes as well that are preapproved and could get the home now.

Step 3

Find a Realtor

Yes in today's society everyone has access to Zillow and are able to see all the different listings out there. The importance of finding a good realtor is that they will help vet the different homes that you may be interested. They'll help educate you on the hole buying process because it is not as easy as just finding a home and buying it. They'll know different helpful information about the neighborhood, is it a growing community, what does the real estate market look like, other upcoming listings and if they are any particular defects in a certain home.

Step 4

Create a plan for the search

With your realtor create a Need and Wants list. What are the different aspects of a home do you want and need? What is most important to you on your home?

With my buyers I will go through this list of different needs and wants

-Price (Want are you Preapproved for)

-Size of Home (How many Sqft)

-Number of Bedrooms/Bathrooms

-Size of land (In a community with 7,000 SqFt lots or do you want land)

-Travel Distance to town/work (What is the idea travel time to work)

-Neighborhood (School District, City or Town)

-Style of Home (New Construction, Remodel, Year Built, Ect)

-Time Frame (How soon do you want to move?)

Step 5

Go check out homes

This step does not need much of an explanation. Go find your next home! Getting out their will help refine your search as well. You may realize that you want certain style that you didn't know or that you would not mind a little longer drive to work for a particular home.

Let me know if you have any particular questions that you want answered!