Let’s take a close look at everything that you’re going to be learning through the first time home buying experience. This is everything including your credit, budgeting, financing, selecting a home, homeowners insurance, closing taxes and agencies. As a first time home buyer, you need an education about what’s important in the process. Consider this first time home buying 101 with all the tips you need to make a solid decision. We’ll talk about how to qualify, get your down payment, different buyers programs, and other information. Let’s go ahead and get right into it!
HUD
The first resource that you have is going to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Also known as HUD. What exactly does a housing and urban development do? HUD oversees federal programs that help make quality affordable housing available for everybody. They have a lot of different resources including a home buyer’s guide and mortgage guide. As well, they can help find HUD homes that are for sale and state-specific information that can help you. This is a great first time home buyer tip.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
The second resource available to you is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, also known as CFPB. The CFPB is a federal agency that helps protect consumers in the financial sector. Specifically what they do is they help protect your interest by explaining loan options available to you. They help you make a smart decision about which loan types are right for you. You will avoid costly mistakes when you get to the closing table if you take their advice. “Know before you owe” is an initiative they offer for tips to the first time home buyer. You need to know about your loan options and makes the lending process more transparent and easier to compare. They also have really helpful information regarding loan estimate explainers and closing disclosure. These will empower you to know even more information as you’re receiving quotes from mortgage loan officers.
NAEBA
Similarly, the third resource is the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. Now, these are real estate practitioners that only represent buyers in real estate. Their website has a wealth of information. Having an exclusive buyers agent can be important… These agents are skilled in negotiating a lower cost for a home whereas a buyer/seller’s agent negotiates high and low. An agent that does both is fine as well but you may not want any conflicts of interest. Or you may want someone that’s just really good at lowering pricing. This is important in your first time home buyer guide!
Real Estate Commission
The fourth resource is the Real Estate Commission that is in each and every state. The National Association of Realtors was punished in 2024 and the commission structures are being forced to change. Okay, so right now we’re not talking about real estate commissions… That an agent’s earnings when they represent you successfully in the purchase of your new home. We’re talking about the Real Estate Commissions that govern the practice of real estate agents in the state itself. Oftentimes they have state-specific information that can be very organic and unique to your exact living situation. They can help find specialized first time home buyer programs that might be available to you. They even have examples of what contracts look like. This allows you an opportunity to review the contracts and ensure that you’re comfortable every step of the way.
Seminars
The fifth resource available to you are first-time homebuyer seminars. First time homebuyer seminars are really cool because they can offer a hands on experience without the pressure. Oftentimes they have a real estate broker, a mortgage broker, and even the title company. It hits every single aspect of three of the key players. As well, you can experience first-hand what you’re going to go through from the real estate side. You’ll get a better understanding of what to look for in your mortgage. And an understanding of how the closing process works. You just want to make sure any seminars you attend aren’t just pushing certain people on you. It should really be all about the process.
Go to Experts!
Our sixth resource is actually real estate agents themselves. That’s “first time home buyer” 101 people! The trick is to ask questions before you hire an agent. See how helpful they are first and foremost. Real estate agents study the real estate market and know what’s going on with the market conditions. Market trends, where the current offer strategies are, current listing strategies – this is what we do! And they can share all of this information with you including reviewing the documentation, even your buyer disclosures. Real Estate Agents also have a lot of very helpful information about crime stats in your area. Also, demographic information is something they can help with. They can load you up on any and every resource that you could possibly want. Make sure that you’re not only finding the right home for you, but you’re finding the right neighborhood for you.
We highly recommend that you call an agent for a buyer consultation meeting. You can review the home buying process timeline to prepare yourself before you’re ready to commit. Contact an agent 3 to 24 months before beginning the process. So now if you’re wondering how to find a trusted advisor, you have a few different options. Obviously, the USDRE is your first source as listed agents are licensed and we can actually match you up. If you do a Google search, you’ll get a lot of ads. Sometimes you’ll find one or two at the top of the search results. But just because they’re at the top doesn’t mean they’re right for you. It means they paid the most to be there! And you could be missing out on someone better. What you want to look for specifically are their ratings, their reviews, and their past sales performance.
We really hope this has clarified the first time home buyer process. It’s a lot of information and can be really daunting when you’ve never done it before. But don’t get too overwhelmed. Your agent should help you to not make any mistakes along the way. That’s why you need to have a great agent in the first place!
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