First-Time Buyers
First-Time Buyers
- Talk to a lender. Before anything else. You find out what you can carry and what the monthly number really is with taxes and insurance included.
- Work out your cash. Down payment, closing costs, inspection, appraisal, moving. Closing costs are the one that surprises people.
- Agree representation in writing. What I do for you, how long, and how I am paid, before we tour.
- Look at homes. Fewer and better ones, chosen against your real criteria.
- Make an offer. Price is one part. Timing, contingencies and earnest money all matter to a seller.
- Inspection. Every house has findings. The question is which ones matter.
- Appraisal and loan conditions. The lender verifies the home is worth it and asks for more documents. This is normal.
- Close. Sign, fund, keys.
Nothing in that list is difficult. It is only unfamiliar, and unfamiliar is what makes people feel behind.
First-Time Buyers
The order it actually happens in
What your money has to cover
The down payment gets all the attention and it is not the only number. Closing costs, the inspection, the appraisal and moving all land in the same few weeks.
Arizona has down payment assistance programmes, and eligibility changes, so a lender who works with them is the right person to check against your situation rather than a web page. Ask me and I will point you at a few.
Worth knowing
You are not behind. You are competing with people who have done this before, and the fix is knowing the sequence, not moving faster.
Questions nobody wants to ask out loud
Is my credit good enough. Is my deposit too small. Am I too late. Should I wait for rates.
Ask them. All of them are answerable, most have a better answer than people expect, and none of them are embarrassing. I would rather spend an hour on questions than watch someone talk themselves out of a move they were ready for.
Questions nobody wants to ask out loud
Questions
- How much do I need saved?
- Less than most people assume, and more than just the down payment. Closing costs, inspection, appraisal and moving all arrive together. A lender can give you a real figure for your situation in one conversation.
- Is my credit score good enough?
- Often yes, and where it is not, it is usually fixable in months rather than years. A lender will tell you exactly where you stand and what would move it. That conversation is free and it is worth having early.
- Should I wait for interest rates to drop?
- Nobody can tell you where rates go, and anyone who says otherwise is guessing. What can be worked out is what a payment looks like today, what it would look like at a different rate, and whether the move works for you now. That is a real calculation rather than a prediction.
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