Leave a Message

Thank you for your message. We will be in touch with you shortly.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Buying a Home

Buyer's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Buyer's Guide

Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by our team will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

main

Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

main

Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice we said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

main

Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

main

Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for agents like us to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will we help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but we also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where our expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let us show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

Our goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home.

Schedule a Consultation
main

Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). We will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

main

Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. We will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

main

Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. We can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

main

Step 8: Select Your Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

main

Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

main

Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Congratulations!

After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Charlotte is friendly and professional. She quickly answered all of my texts, emails, and phone calls. She made my first-time home-buying experience easy for me.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Christine was awesome to work with. Very knowledgeable of the home we were purchasing. She was available for us 24/7 without a question. Very nice as well. As a realtor, I knew she had our best interest.

— Decarlos D.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Cristine was literally perfect. She was very knowledgeable, personable, and kind throughout the entire process. We are very fortunate to have her as our realtor. Every call was answered with enthusiasm. We recommend 100%.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Charlotte is a consummate professional with all the skills, plus a big heart for her clients. She truly understands how hard selling can be and walked me through it with a steady hand. She was endlessly patient and always on the job at every step. It was a joy to partner with her.

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Carol was fantastic from start to finish in the home-buying process. Her local expertise came in handy multiple times and she has a wide array of great connections in the area. The process was quick and easy once I made the decision to place an offer. Carol is great and I’d recommend her to all looking for a home in the Triangle!

— Greg V.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Carol has been an absolute blessing to me and my wife, as well as the multiple couples we've recommended to her. She is great at understanding your needs/desires and helping formulate a plan to achieve them. I also love how Carol is fast to pivot if needed. When my wife and I fell in love with some property, it was under contract within a few hours.

— Collin C.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I cannot stress enough how amazing my experience working with Jonathan has been. Incredibly knowledgeable, patient, kind, and always asking what more he can do. Discussing everything I wanted in my new home and getting to the perfect one was such a wonderful experience; he understood my vision precisely as we looked at houses. It was an absolute pleasure to work with Jonathan as both a buyer and a seller...

— Shannon W.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Carol Dunn is the most amazing realtor in the business. We moved from out of state and the service, professionalism, support and overall knowledge of the area and industry was/is far superior to anything I have ever experienced previously. My husband and I had a number of musts and were lost on many other considerations to make a house a home. Carol helped educate us and navigate the biggest investment o...

— Ana Y.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I had the pleasure of working with Jonathan, and I couldn't be happier with the experience. Jonathan's attentiveness and dedication were truly remarkable. He went above and beyond to understand our needs and preferences. One aspect that stood out was how beautifully he staged our listing. His attention to detail was impeccable, and our home sold for top dollar even beating a neighborhood record. Througho...

— Kristen

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Carol has been an absolute blessing to me and my wife, as well as the multiple couples we've recommended to her. She is great at understanding your needs/desires and helping formulate a plan to achieve them. I also my partner and I have nothing but amazing things to say about Carol Dunn. Carol Dunn is special and truly such a kind and caring person. From day 1, she worked relentlessly and tirelessly to h...

— Rajah N.

View All

Home

About

Team

Work With Us

We pride ourselves in providing personalized solutions that bring our clients closer to their dream properties and enhance their long-term wealth.

Contact Us
Get in Touch
Contact Details

Bespoke Realty Group

(919) 283-1122

[email protected]


Address

9201 LEESVILLE RD STE 120
RALEIGH NC 27613