Hey All, Carter here with Crowley Real Estate and Century 21. Today we are going to be discussing how to buy a house. So if you’re brand new and you’re learning about buying your first home, or you’re wanting to learn more about buying your first home, definitely check out this blog post. I am going to go over every detail on what you should know prior to buying your first house and what you should know on how to buy your first house.
#1 Thing To Do When Buying a House
So step number one, what do you need to start doing? First things first, you need to start looking at houses. Like how are you going to buy a house if you don’t look at any? So what you should do is go on Realtor.com, go on Zillow, Trulia, and start checking out places you believe you can afford. Find what you do, what you don’t like about specific houses. As you start looking at houses, you’ll gain a sense on what style of house really fits you as a homeowner.
#2 How Much House Can You Afford
Step number two, maybe you’re wondering “how much can I afford each month?” So step number two would be speaking with a local mortgage lender or your banker, a lender at your banking institution, whether it’s US bank, Community First, whatever it is. Or I would recommend going through Jesse at Inlanta Mortgage. He does an awesome job.
They’re going to give you an idea on how much you can afford, a comfortable range that you should stay in, and ultimately what you should be looking for in your first home.
On some loan programs there are certain regulations and restrictions. This is not anything major but just needs to be watched out for. Some of the agencies the fund home purchases are HUD (Government Agency) the VA (Veteran Agency), Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, & the list can go on. So step number two would be speaking with a local lender and get familiar with what you can afford.
#3 Time to Start Talking with a Real Estate Agent
Step number three, after you get familiar with what you can afford, you should start talking with a local real estate agent. (If you haven’t already) An agent should be able to help you figure out what community or neighborhood will give you the lifestyle that you want along with the home characteristics, location, and school districts.
Remember, a house IS NOT like an apartment. You’re going to be there for three, four, five, 10 plus years. If you decide to sell within a year you may not get all your money back out of the home unless you bought it at a discounted rate. As of right now the average time for someone to live in their first home is 5.5 years. When it comes down to it, you want to be in a great area that you can afford.
As you will read on this website I go over some of the communities in the Appleton area.
#4 Write an Offer on Your First House
Once you start looking at houses, eventually you’ll find that one that you really, really like. Then you write an offer on it. Once the offer get’s accepted you jump into the actual events associated with buying your first home. That includes the home inspection, appraisal, walk throughs, lender requirements & more.
In Conclusion… Your Next Steps to Buy a House
So of course I summed up the last part very quick because I really wanted to dive into detail on to how to buy your first house or how to buy a house for the first time in the beginning, initial steps to that process. So if you have questions, if you’re like, “Carter, I need help. I want you to give me a little bit more info on buying my first house.” Shoot me a message, fill out the form down below. I would be more than willing to have a conversation with you. We can sit down for coffee, I can call you, FaceTime you, whatever you prefer. I can break down the process so it’s easy and simple to understand.
I’ll provide you with my free home buying guide so you know every step in the process and you can be informed on what you should and should not do during the process. So thank you guys for reading. Again, fill out the form down below if I can do anything to help you out. Otherwise, have a great day.
