First-Time Home Buyers: From Pre-Approval To Homeownership In 30 Days Or Less

In case you haven’t heard the news despite it being blasted all over social media, WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

It’s crazy to think that in the first six months together we became first-time home buyers. But what’s even crazier? We made it happen in less than 30 days. Yes, I’m dead serious. We first reached out to a real estate agent on December 2nd and we signed the closing paperwork on our home on December 30th. Four of the longest most stressful but exciting weeks of my life!

Don’t get me wrong — a lot of hard work and planning went into the process.

Buying a home has been on my mind for a few years now. But I never had a stable partner with a shared income that afforded us the opportunity to buy — until now. Thanks to my extremely supportive husband, I was able to barrel through the process while he tried to just keep up.

Seriously, I was a madwoman for a few weeks there. Pregnancy hormones certainly didn’t help either LOL.

I had secretly been scoping out houses for quite a few months. When I found one that finally checked all my boxes, I was ready. to. go. We looked at a handful of homes, sure. But I had my eye set on one in particular and I was willing to do whatever it took to make it ours.

It was draining going through the process as first-time home buyers. I mean, the constant paperwork alone was enough to drive me nuts with the mortgage company. At the end of it all, our initial offer was accepted. We had minimal down payment and closing costs, and our interest rate wasn’t so bad either.

If you’re first-time homebuyers looking for some advice, here’s what I’d suggest.

Do your research.

Before you do anything, check your credit scores. Credit Karma and other free reporting services will probably estimate just a little high, so assume your score is about 15 points lower than what you find. This will be a starting point for lenders to determine your interest rates and how high risk you are as a mortgagor.

You’ll also want to figure out where you stand financially. What is your debt to income ratio? If you recently graduated or are still in school and currently have loans in grace or deferment, surprise! These will still count against you when a lender is determining how much you can afford to pay each month.

If you aren’t familiar with mortgages, take your time researching the different types of loans available, various lenders, and the average interest rates and mortgage payments in your area.

Choosing a lender is honestly one of the parts I struggled with most. I was worried we would end up with a lender who would take advantage of our being first-time home buyers. Thankfully, we ended up choosing Rocket Mortgage and they were the best. They were extremely responsive to every single one of our emails and phone calls. Without their excellent customer service, we probably wouldn’t have been able to close as quickly as we did!

As far as monthly payments go, don’t take Zillow or other sites at face value when estimating your monthly mortgage payments either — these are just a starting point of your monthly payment. You’ll have to add in your insurance and other costs, which will vary.

Plan a budget.

Consider how much you will need to pay on your down payment, and determine the other up-front costs of buying a home. Closing costs will include things like titling and service fees, homeowner’s insurance, property taxes, and any warranties you are purchasing with the home.

You also have to think about the costs of your home inspection and good faith deposit, setup or transfer fees for utilities, and any immediate repairs you will need/want to make to the home once you have the keys. Also consider any additional expenses for monthly home maintenance or bills that you did not previously have in your last residence or as a renter.

We managed to do a 5% down payment (approximately $7800), and had the seller agree to pay $4500 in closing costs which essentially covered all of the insurance, taxes, and our first year’s home warranty. However, at the end of it all, we paid a total of right at $10,000. Always plan to have to spend more than you think you will!

Get pre-approved.

Having a pre-approval letter as first-time home buyers shows the agent two things: (1) your maximum purchase price of a home, and (2) that you aren’t just blowing smoke up their ass and wasting their time. But getting pre-approved helps you too — it gives you an absolute maximum price point so you know your limits when making an offer.

Don’t just assume your pre-approval amount is how much you can truly afford though. Make sure you have figured out your monthly budget and how much you can actually afford to spend. Overspending on a home leads to buyer’s remorse — a feeling you definitely don’t want as first-time home buyers.

Start house hunting.

While doing some initial searching on your own is great, make sure you find an agent you like who can aid your search. That’s what they’re there for! Not only will they have a better knowledge of the market and the homes that are currently for sale, they are a great sounding board when doing an initial walk-through of a home. They can point out flaws you wouldn’t have even noticed or considered, and can save you from buying a money pit.

When looking at houses, start by making a list of necessities vs. nice-to-haves. Also think about what would be absolute deal breakers (i.e. cannot be on a highway/busy road, must have a fenced yard). Is the parking situation ideal? Will getting out of the driveway be difficult in winter? If you have kids or plan to have kids, consider the school districts, bus stops, and neighborhood safety. The last thing you want to do is buy a home you love and realize you hate the location and need to move.

Make an offer.

Once you’ve found a home that is perfect (or close enough to it), it’s time to make an offer! You’ll want to consult your lender and real estate agent on this, as there are documents they have to prepare first. Then it’s just negotiation between you and the buyer.

Schedule a home inspection and appraisal.

After you’ve come to an agreement with the seller, you’ll go through the home inspections process. For us, this part was relatively easy. The home we bought had a previous pending offer where the potential buyer had already gone through the hoops. Since the seller was aware of the first inspection report, they fixed most of the issues before we made an offer on the home.

Your mortgage company will want to schedule an appraisal in order to assess the value of the home. This ensure both you and the lender are protected in the sale, as they will not approve the purchase for more than the appraised value of the home. So to put it simply, if you make an offer that is more than the home’s assessed worth, the seller will basically be forced to either drop the price or the sale will fall through.

Close the deal.

After all of the inspections are done, repairs are made, and appraisal meets the lender’s qualifications, it’s time to close! You’ve done all the dirty work, and this is the easiest part of all. Sign your name about 50 times over, and suddenly you’re a homeowner!

Celebrate your ass off.

Sure, a lot of sweat, blood, and tears will be shed as first-time home buyers. But at the end of the day, YOU’RE A F*CKING HOMEOWNER!

Are you first-time home buyers? Drop your questions about the home buying process in the comments below!