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Realtor trust is everything. Don't be scared to find another one. That was huge when we were looking.

Ask friends for a realtor recommendation. Give them a call, they will help you with everything including recommending you a financing company.

The mortgage broker will ask you all kinds of questions to understand your finances and get you pre-approved for a loan.

There are 3 types of loans: Va- military connection 0% down, FHA 3% down, and Conventional 5% down. FHA also offers grants, a good realtor will know this and tell you which you might qualify for.

A good mortgage broker will provide you a cost sheet for all the ones you qualify for. It will include all the closing costs. Now that you are pre approved you can go look at properties. Up to this point you can change your mind , it doesnt cost you a dime just a hit on your credit.

Now you will look at properties. You can look at 1 or 500. Keep in mind to overlook peoples furniture and decorations and focus on location, type of property , sq foot, garage, etc. you want and things you cant easily change.

Once you ready to put in an offer a good realtor will help you put a strong offer. They will give you the history prices of the home, comparable in the area and help you draft a strong offer. You will pay your earnest money (you will already know how much that will be from the cost breakdown your broker gave you), and send the offer. ** now you locked in , you can get out but it will cost you money.

Then you will begin negotiations, sometimes they will accept sometimes they will counter. After you agreed on terms and prices, you are under contract.

Your realtor then will schedule a home inspection and termite/moisture inspection for your home. You will pay for both. Use the one they recommend, there is a reason they recommend them because they are good. Sometimes they offer survey so you know exactly how big your property is. I usually don’t take that because I can easily get the info myself from city hall. There is also a sewage line scoping you can pay for extra. Up to you if you want to do that or not.

After that comes back you can just accept or go back to negotiating with the sellers. After agreement is made you will be scheduled to close in 30 days. During this time you will have to provide tons of documentation, tax records, months of W2 etc, all bank statements you name it. It’s imperative you provide them the documents quickly so you don’t delay this process. On closing day you will sign a ton of documents, and take possession of your house.

You need to find an agent that's willing to teach you the steps. Youre going to get a lot of misinformation online. Interviews some agents and find one that you live

You want to buy a bike, but you don’t have enough money to buy the bike. So now you go through these steps, in this order to buy your new bike. You go to your parents (lender) and ask them how much money they will give you if you promise to pay them back (Mortgage). They look at what your history for paying other people back is (credit score), how much your allowance is every week (income), and if any of that allowance is already promised to someone else to pay them back (debt to income). After, they tell you they are willing to lend you up to $300 to buy a bike, they give you a letter that you can share with bike sellers (sellers) and bike salesman (Realtors) called a pre approval.

Since there are so many options and styles of bikes, you go and find a bike salesman who knows about the local bike market. You show them your letter and say you can spend up to this amount. They look at the market and help you find a bike that fits your needs, size requirements and budget (criteria).

You send the seller of the bike you want to buy an offer with price and terms (Purchase and Sales agreement) and they accept. You also send them a small percentage of the purchase price of the bike to hold it (escrow). Now they are legally obligated to sell you that bike at those terms. One of your terms was to have a mechanic look at the bike for any issues (home inspection). If the mechanic finds any issues, you can either walk away and get your escrow money back, negotiate to have the Sellers fix it or take money off, or move forwards knowing those issues exist.

The next step is state specific, and your bike salesman will walk you through it. You find a third party (title company or lawyer) to take your money (down payment) and your parents money (mortgage) and your escrow money. The title company gives the Sellers their portion, your bike salesman their portion, pays any taxes to the sate, and fees to your parents. They also record a piece of paperwork saying you now own this bike (deed). This paperwork is public so anyone can look up who the owner of the bike is so the neighborhood bully can’t steal it and sell it out from under you.

Now you own a bike, and have to pay your parents back every month. If it brakes you have to fix it, and if you don’t pay your parents, they take it away from you and auction it off to your friends (foreclosure). You also have to pay the town or else they will take it and auction it off also. Enjoy!

(Edited for spelling)

let's assume you know 1 person locally that has bought a home in the last 5 years. One person that you think is trustworthy. Ask them for the name of their lender and/or agent. That's where you start. If you know and trust just 3 people, and get multiple names of lenders/agents, even better.

Surely you think that is better than anonymous folks on Reddit.

you can also go here https://www.fanniemae.com/education and take a Homebuyer course.

But if you find a lender or agent that's willing to hold you hand and guide you through the process based upon their significant experience actually helping folks, it will make the process much easier.

Look for first time home buyer programs in your area- they usually have great free resources that break the steps down. Mine also had example mortgages, inspections, etc. so you can actually see what each step looked like

I was a complete newbie too and had no idea what to do. I contacted a realtor first (recommended by a family member). She in turn recommended a lender she has worked with a lot and trusted. I called him and he pre approved for a certain amount and he also called the realtor to let her know I was pre approved and for how much. We eventually found a house and from there it was actually a very simple process, for me at least. Between the lender and the realtor (who were always available if I needed them or had questions )they walked me the process up to closing, step by step.

Take a first time home buyer course.

Real estate attorney here. The answer to your question depends on where you live, although there's enough commonality across US states to give a generalized overview. This is not legal advice and I am not your attorney. If you want a legal opinion, you must consult an attorney of your choosing.

In some states, you inspect the property before making an offer. Your offer would reflect the true value of the house. In others, you inspect after your offer is accepted and then negotiate concessions to account for the real condition of the house. In some states you will hire an attorney to review the contract and make changes. In some states there is no attorney involvement. In any event, carefully read through the broker's form of contract. You will want to know to what terms you are committing yourself. If the seller accepts your offer, you are now subject to a legally binding contract. Of course, as an adult, you are free to breach the contract but beware you will be subject to penalties, the most common of which is loss of your deposit.

Talk to a few mortgage lenders. You don't have to go crazy and talk to all of them. You'll want to know if they will do a hard or soft pull of your credit and the effect these pulls will have on your score. Usually, when people shop for a mortgage lender, they expect you to shop around and most agencies do not unfairly harm your credit score based on multiple credit inquires within a small time frame, assuming those inquiries are all from mortgage lenders. Discuss all of the different loan options for which you qualify. BUT TAKE HEED, your mortgage lender will only disclose preliminary closing costs which will certainly increase immediately before closing. You'll want to factor in lender's fees, title company fees, attorney fees (if any), your portion of the quarter's property taxes, your lender will likely require that you place 2 to 3 months of property tax payments into an escrow, if you haven't paid for your homeowner's insurance before closing then you'll pay for it at closing, and costs to record your deed and mortgage. (Fun fact: you give the mortgage to your lender and in exchange your lender gives you a loan.) Every month, your payment to your lender will represent a combination of: interest on the mortgage loan, an amount to be applied to the loan's principal, one-twelfth of the next year's homeowner's insurance premium, and one-third of that quarter's property taxes. When you calculate whether you can afford the house, make sure you include all of these figures. If you're buying in a planned unit development, you'll have HOA fees which are frequently NOT taken from your monthly mortgage payments but you'll want to be cognizant of those fees when making your budget. Also factor in utility costs.

Your title company will produce a title binder showing if anyone has any claims or liens against the property or judgments against the seller (which can be converted into liens against the property.) As the buyer, you will require that all of those claims and liens get paid off at closing and that child support (if any) is paid up to date. Otherwise, you will acquire the property and the seller's debts. Don't be alarmed. This is all perfectly routine. Title insurance insures against claims of ownership or liens for actions which have happened before you close title. You buy title insurance once, at closing, and the insurance policy is good for as long as you own the home. If the seller's third cousin twice removed shows up and says he owns a percentage of the house because great grandpa Joe died without a will, you call your title insurance company and submit a claim. (Fun fact: you will buy two title insurance policies. One for you and one for your mortgage lender.)

Talk to people you know and ask for their experiences and advice. If none of those people have ever bought a house, then talk to their friends. And shop around for a realtor. You can interview as many as you want until you find the one with whom you are most comfortable. Note of caution: historically, sellers paid the commissions for both the buyer's and the seller's realtors. In light of a recent court approved settlement with the National Association of Realtors, some states now have the buyer paying a portion, or all, of the buyer's realtor's fees. You'll want to clarify your responsibility in this area before hiring a realtor. In the event local practice is to have the buyer pay for such fee, you'll want to negotiate the percentage with the realtor as this will be rolled into your closing costs.

(edited for spelling.)

When a friend recommends a realtor, ask the friend what they appreciated the most about their realtor and what was most helpful by that realtor.

First, get your credit score. You'll need at least a good or better credit score to buy a house.

Save up as much money as you can. Most lenders will require a 10% to 20% downpayment for a house unless you're a veteran and can qualify for a VA loan.

But the main thing to look at is your debt to income ratio. In other words how much debt do you have compared to the amount of money you have.

A good debt-to-income (DTI) ratio for buying a house is generally below 36%, but many lenders will approve borrowers with ratios up to 43%.

How to Calculate Your DTI Ratio

To determine your DTI, you will need to gather your financial information:

Calculate total gross monthly income: This includes your income before taxes and deductions.

Calculate total monthly debt payments: This includes all minimum monthly payments for debts like credit cards, car loans, student loans, personal loans, and the estimated new mortgage payment. Don't forget about utilities, water, gas (and FYI each of these utilities usually have a minimum down payment or deposit to first timers. So be aware of this potential hidden cost.)

Be aware of HOA'S. They usually have a monthly fee (and lots of rules). If you buy something with an HOA then be sure to calculate in HOA fees in your monthly debt.

Divide total monthly debts by gross monthly income: For example, if your total monthly debt is $1,800 and your gross monthly income is $5,000, your DTI is 36% ($1,800 / $5,000 = 0.36, or 36%).

If you have a good or better credit score plus a good income to debt ratio, get pre- approved for a home loan. That will tell you how much you can afford to buy. It is at this point where you should contact a good realtor (they have contact information for helping you get pre-approved).

Be careful of all contacts you sign.

Always get a home inspection of the property. It'll tell you the condition of the home.

Some listings are "sold as is" meaning those people aren't willing to fix problems found in a home inspection.

Ask the seller to pay most of all of the closing costs. This is how your realtor, selling homeowner, closing company,... get paid.

When looking for a home, don't buy the most expensive one you can buy. If you do you'll be struggling to pay the bills and eat. In the end you could very well lose the home if you get any unexpected expenses.

Buy something around the middle of your financial ability. In so doing, you'll be able to live comfortably, eat, and maybe even save up money to buy something better or renovate you're existing home.

Buying a home is daunting, confusing, expensive, exciting, nerve wracking, & etc but once you go through it once you'll be better prepared for the next home.

Good luck! It is really worth it to buy a home, if you can.

Talk to someone you trust and call the real estate agent they like. Then use the lender that agent recommends. Then get pre-approved by that lender(this should take 1 day and no longer). Look at houses at or below that approval amount. Look at a few of them. Pick one. Write an offer and get it accepted so you have the RIGHT to buy the house. Do a home inspection and decide if you want to buy the house. Back out of the deal or close on the house. Move in.

That's it and it all happens in 45 days or less in most cases.

I prefer to figure out as much as I can before calling salespeople, so my strategy would be:

1) Start with deciding on a rough monthly payment that seems comfortable for me.

2) Determine budget: Use an online mortgage calculator to see what total amount that results in with today's interest rates. In these calculators, you will also be able to adjust the down payment amount. So you'll get a feel for roughly how much savings you'll also need to build up to get started. Good calculators also have rough estimates for insurance and property taxes.

So, if I'm comfortable paying $2200 per month, a mortgage calculator tells me it gets me around a 300k house with $15k down with a 5.98% 30-year mortgage.

3) Use that amount to virtually shop in your desired area on Zillow or Redfin. If you don't like anything you see, you may need to save up more money, or up your budget. One big factor to pay attention to - HOA fees. Especially as a first time home buyer, you might end up looking at condos, which sometimes have very steep fees that you didn't factor into #2.

4) Now you're more informed. If you still want to go through it, find a good mortgage broker who will run your credit and make sure you actually qualify, and get pre-qualified, and give you more accurate numbers.

5) Find a good realtor. Give budget and your wishlist. They will take you on tours and help you through the rest of the process.

If #2 feels like it's over your head, you could instead start by just calling a mortgage broker who will help you crunch numbers and figure out your max budget.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a simple list to follow https://www.hud.gov/helping-americans/buying-a-home Good Luck!

One way to learn is go to lots of open houses and ask questions. No obligations with an open house. The realtors will ask for your contact info and then try to get you to sign up with them. You don't have to provide it. "Thank you, I'm just looking for now".

Use Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com and other web sites. Compare what you see on line to what you see in person.

Remember that (in most cases) the realtor is paid by the seller, even if they're "representing" you.

Prowl the "home inspection" subreddits here. Learn about what can go wrong with a house. It will be scary and eye opening, but manageable if you learn and leave yourself budget for repairs.

Perspective: on my 6th and 7th houses, plus have helped sell renovate and sell another for a family member.

Reaching out to lenders/realtors doesn’t seem trustworthy for someone that knows nothing.

And using Reddit DOES? :D

Find out how much you are looking to spend--and CAN spend (sorry, should spend). Do a budget (24-36 month average; also projected), think about your long-term goals, and see what you've got to work with and what you are comfortable with.

Second, understand that you don't have to eat the whole elephant in one go. Your first house doesn't need to be your last, and you don't need to get EVERYTHING out of the gate. Know what you (think) you need and what you can compromise on. Do some rough peeking around in the neighborhoods you're interested in. Know how far you'd stray from those and for what.

Ask around for mortgage broker recos. Talk to a few. Find one you like. Look back at point 1, and get a prequalification. Have all your financial ducks in a row so that if/when you need your preapproval letter, it's literally no thing but a chicken wing to have your broker pull it together.

Find an agent you like and trust and vibe with. Start looking. Don't be afraid to fire your agent if it's not working out. It;s not personal.

Start with a lender. Shop around. Google reviews, family friends, ask a realtor. They will break down the costs and amounts you are approved or comfortable with. By talking to more than one, you can establish who you are comfortable with and get consistent advice. Having an idea of what your costs would be, the savings recommended, and what payments would look like allows you to shop smarter. Just because you can afford a 500K house, doesn't mean you should buy a 500k house. Having that process started, talk to realtors. It sounds odd, but not all agents are realtors (licensed agents who belong to NAR) Realtors are held to a higher ethical standard and have additional accountability. The real estate commission is in place to protect the public, and when you choose an agent and sign the agency agreement with them. They are required to put your interests first. There are good agents and bad agents, just like every other section of our society. Interview and ask questions, find someone you can trust and communicate well with. The agent and the lender can guide you through what is best for you. If the process is stressing you out, I think you would appreciate a very customer service oriented, less transactional agent. Good luck!

The process can vary by quite a bit depending on your state, and even your local market. The type of property can change what next steps maybe required, and terms of your contract matter. This is what a buyer agent is for. You can use the questions you're asking here as interview questions when you shop for a buyer agent. Their answers are going to be extremely helpful and determining which one of them is going to be able to lead you through it while making sure you understand what you're doing.

You have to get a pre approval first. You go to the bank and tell them every single thing about your finances. If you really want to prepare, try to pay off credit cards first, dont go get a new car loan or any loans for furniture or anything like that. Pay down as much as you can first. You will need a think of money on the side that you dont use for the down payment. You need to keep like 15- 20 grand ready for closing costs and land transfer etc. Find a realtor after your pre approved. You could look for a mortgage broker to help

I think you need some guidance. You can get that from a book, search the Internet, or rely on local professionals who do this every day for their clients. When buying a property, you build a team of trusted people who help you achieve your goals.

A real estate agent can explain the buying process in your location. This includes showings, offers, pricing, inspections, documents, out-of-pocket costs, negotiations, etc.

Lenders can walk you through the loan process and provide basic cost estimates.

Finding the right lender is everything. Having one resolves most of the anxiety. Talk a lot on your expectations with the lender. Observe what they do. Some just send you list of properties, you select one and you tour. Don't tour any properties until you get sense that this is the guy for you. Ask a lot of questions dumb or not.

Own have owned seven different houses, and have since decided to rent. We are loving. No more having the house painted every five years. No more tree trimming. No more having to budget for a new concrete driveway or wall. No more budgeting to replace a roof. No worries about a hot water heater going bad. No more upgrading an old kitchen or bathroom. No more replacing old or outdated carpeting or hardwood floors. No more house maintenance, caulking around windows, yard maintenance, landscaping, fertilizing, no worries if the neighbors trampoline blows into our yard and takes out the patio furniture. No worries about hail, wind, or storm damage. Yeah, you have insurance, right? But what does that cost and what exactly do they pay out when you need it?