Summary:
Key Tips for First-Time Home Buyers
- Define Needs and Wants: Clearly outline what you require from your first home, including location, size, and amenities.
- Secure Mortgage Pre-Approval: Gain a pre-approval to clarify your budget and demonstrate seriousness to sellers.
- Explore Loan Options: Investigate federal and state loan programs that offer favorable terms for first-time buyers.
- Hire a Quality Home Inspector: Employ a qualified inspector to ensure the property is in good condition and avoid future expenses.
Buying a home is a major decision, regardless of where you are in life or if you’ve owned one before. For first-time home buyers, this purchase becomes even more significant.
Without the experience that comes from a previous home purchase, this process can feel very overwhelming. However, plenty of first-time buyers successfully make their way through this process. Zillow found that, in 2023, first-time buyers accounted for 50% of total home purchases.
Of course, you don’t just want to buy a home — you want to buy the right home. You deserve a house that meets your needs, isn’t outrageously expensive, and doesn’t have potential problems or existing issues that require lots of time, money, and effort to resolve.
Looking for help buying a home for the first time? Here are five practical pieces of advice that can help you navigate this complex but manageable process.
Buying a Home for the First Time: Tips to Help You Find the Right Home
1. Define What You Want Before You Buy a House
There are all kinds of homes out there, from less-expensive fixer-uppers to brand-new, high-end construction. Take the time to sit down and think through your needs as well as your wants.
How many bedrooms and bathrooms are needed? What’s the local school district like? How’s the commute to work, and how close are basic amenities like grocery stores?
After coming up with this list, and when you’re sure you’re ready to buy a home, our next tip can help you find the sweet spot between your budget and your wants and needs.
2. Take Full Advantage of Mortgage Pre-Approval
Mortgage pre-approval is a process in which you submit personal financial information to a lender for review. The lender then reviews those details and decides whether to approve or deny the application for a mortgage loan.
If approved, you will receive a letter from the lender that indicates they are tentatively willing to provide a home loan up to a certain amount, as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau explains.
The pre-approval process makes the homebuying process easier because it:
- Demonstrates to sellers that you’re serious about buying a home.
- Gives you a clear estimate of the upper limit of your price range for a home.
Pre-approval helps you focus on homes within your budget by providing a maximum loan amount, narrowing down your search. Just remember that many pre-approval letters have time limits, often between 30-60 days. So, only start this process once you know you’re ready to buy a home in the short-term future.
3. Make Sure You Understand All of Your Loan Options
One of the most important steps to buying a home for the first time is to learn about all of the available options for home loans. You aren’t always locked into only applying for a conventional mortgage through a bank or credit union.
Several types of federal government home loan programs can make it easier to buy a home, as Bankrate explains. They include US Federal Housing Administration, US Department of Veterans Affairs, and US Department of Agriculture loans.
They support applicants with lower credit scores and feature lower down payment requirements. However, these programs also have eligibility restrictions (some focused on borrowers themselves and others on the cost and location of a home) and come with additional costs.
Looking into your eligibility for these programs can make it easier to buy a home in the right situation.
4. Look into First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Programs
When you buy a home for the first time, you might be able to access grants, tax credits, and loans with favorable terms through special programs. These state-level programs can vary considerably from one place to the next.
In Washington State, there are several assistance programs for which first-time buyers may be eligible. The US Department of Housing & Urban Development maintains a list of first-time homebuyer programs in Washington. it’s worth the time to check if you’re eligible for any of these offerings.
5. Work with a Qualified and Experienced Home Inspector
Once you find a home that meets your needs and fits into your budget, make sure there aren’t any hidden surprises. Work with a qualified and experienced home inspector who reports their results in plain language to make sure you have a complete picture of the home.
This is an important step for existing and new houses – even new construction can include significant concerns:
A home inspection can reveal a range of potential outcomes. You might discover minor issues that can be easily addressed.
On the other hand, the inspector might uncover significant problems that could impact your decision to move forward with the purchase. This information empowers you to negotiate repairs with the seller or even continue your search for a different property altogether.
The Importance of Finding the Right Home Inspector
Unfortunately, not all home inspectors have the same amount of experience and training. Some inspectors, and home inspection companies, don’t go beyond meeting the minimum requirements set by Washington state.
Similarly, not all home inspectors will offer the same value. Some inspectors rely too much on overly technical language and only checking boxes on reports. Sure, they can understand the special words and terms used.
But will you be able to tell the difference between a major or minor issue? Additionally, their reporting may not distinguish between a problem that needs to be fixed ASAP and a small concern that can be addressed in a few months or years.
Other home inspectors will be overly conservative and protective of their business in their reporting. They’ll refer you to a contractor for more specific analysis information. The additional cost and time involved in bringing in a contractor is the last thing you need when buying a home.
So, we know that not all home inspectors provide the same quality of service. What should you look for in a home inspection company to make sure you get an understandable, actionable, and useful report?
Look for a home inspection company that:
- Has experienced, qualified, and detail-oriented inspectors. Every home inspector at Titan Inspection Services has completed more than 1,000 inspections.
- Has experience inspecting many different types of homes. New construction tends to have different issues than older homes, so it helps to have an inspector familiar with all types of residential real estate.
- Can and will inspect all areas of your home to provide a complete report. Our inspectors don’t just look at the living space or easily accessible areas. They inspect the attic, crawlspace, and roof, along with crucial systems like your sewer, heating, electrical, plumbing, and more.
- Provides pictures with the report. We take more than 250 photos for each inspection. We also share them in your report to help put identified issues into context.
- Uses plain, easy-to-understand language. Technical details can be useful, but too much jargon is confusing. Our reports are always written so that you can understand them. We explain the issues, describe the severity of each problem, and provide guidance on what’s a priority and what can wait, as well as costs.
- Is available. We’re here to help, even if you have to call us on a night or weekend. We take supporting you seriously — we don’t hesitate to pick up the phone and talk to our clients after an inspection is completed.
- Is dedicated to helping you. We can share details about where to purchase items for repairs, share costs related to hiring contractors, and even provide a list of local contractors we know of. Service doesn’t stop once you receive your home inspection report.
- Is practical, pragmatic, and efficient, but not at the expense of being friendly (or even having fun!). Your home inspector is providing a crucial service, so they should do more than the bare minimum. When we say we’re dedicated to helping you learn more about your home, we mean it!
No matter the result of an inspection, a high-quality home inspector will make sure you know more about the home. You can always use that information to your advantage as you buy a home for the first time.
Learn more about what our home inspection service covers.
