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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
We recently purchased our home (sight unseen!) while we were living out of state. Maria Bowman is absolutely wonderful! The whole process was easy and virtually stress-free, which was surprising given the circumstances. I highl...
The Patterson Group, specially Brittany Patterson-Hill, recently helped us purchase our home. After they helped us find our previous home in 2019, we knew we wanted to work with them again to find this next house. Their team go...
Ms Patterson was a breath of fresh air who was a consummate professional with extensive local knowledge and interpersonal skills. Her ability to calm what could be stressful situations resulted in the sale taking place and all ...
Phyllis is full service and makes selling and moving extremely easy. She provided referrals for additional needs and followed up. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anyone.
My husband and I really enjoyed working with Paige from the Patterson Group– she was very professional and always available. She was very knowledgeable even though she is relatively new to real estate. Her knowledge of the area...
Working with Maria Bowman from the Patterson Group as our Realtor was an incredible experience. Maria is not only extremely knowledgeable of the area, but she is very detail-oriented throughout the process and honest in the way...
My wife and I worked with Paige Patterson - SHE WAS PHENOMENAL. A tremendous listener, always professional and punctual, knows the Northern VA real estate market inside and out. From taking the time to walk through countless ho...
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We worked with Phyllis' daughter Britt and had an amazing first-time home buying experience. Britt was absolutely amazing from the beginning of our home buying experience through the end to settlement day. She was extremely kno...
We had a wonderful experience and are so grateful to Paige, Britt, and the entire team. They helped us find our dream home and we can’t thank them or recommend them enough! Top quality service, and just all around good people!
The Patterson Group is well-prepared and knowledgeable about the housing market. I highly recommend reaching out to The Patterson Group if you are seeking a real estate professional to assist in the sale of your home, or if you...
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Phyllis Patterson, of the Patterson Group was by far, the best representation we have ever had when buying/selling a home. Phyllis is the consummate professional; highly responsive, well informed on the current market, and her ...
My wife and I worked with Paige Patterson - SHE WAS PHENOMENAL. A tremendous listener, always professional and punctual, knows the Northern VA real estate market inside and out. From taking the time to walk through countless ho...
The Patterson Group is one of the most experienced and trusted real estate teams in the area, serving Northern Virginia for more than 40 years.
