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 your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

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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.

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Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice I 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.

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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.

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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 an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. I may be able to steer you away from certain homes or neighborhoods, suggest hidden gems, or give you pointers that will help you find your dream home for the right price.

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

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Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I 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.

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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. I 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.

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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. I 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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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Craig A.

Teresa did a great job researching and providing us with several houses that met our criteria.
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Adela E.

Carolina Villegas was great. She listens and supports us at every step. She definitely did the extra mile.
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Adrian

Excellent professional in real estate. The best in Weston. She found the best dream house for us in Weston in less than 1 month. We are really happy to work with her.
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Soobum L.

Teresa was enthusiastic to find houses that fit our needs and she always provided answers to my questions promptly. I was pleased with her expertise and I would highly recommend Teresa to anyone.
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Teresa helped us with selling our house while we were on the road. She changed strategy as and when it was required. She helped us buy a house and also sell it after 3 years. She has been a pleasure to work with.
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CK

Teresa has been an outstanding REALTOR. She understood our needs and worked hard to get exactly what we required. She made the whole process easy and provided valuable guidance every step of the way. I will definitely work with...
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Luis M.

Armando and Teresa are the best. I put important decisions in their hands, and their advice was always very successful due to their great knowledge of the market. They are very professional and they dedicate the necessary time ...
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Eugene T.

Armando made my home selling and buying a new home process easy and smooth. His guidance and help were very much appreciated. I will definitely refer family and friends to Armando in the future. Armando was excellent. He was kn...
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Richard

Wanted to thank Carolina for all her help. I had to leave my old place on short notice and Carolina helped every step of the way. If you need a REALTOR who isn’t afraid to lay it into an HOA and pulls no punches to get things d...
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Rebecca U.

Rebecca U.

I have completed 4 separate real estate transactions with Teresa. Through her extreme professionalism and extensive industry knowledge, she has worked to my benefit. She will go above and beyond to do whatever it takes to close...
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Hiram C.

Hiram C.

Teresa and her team were outstanding. They took care of every detail. They sold our house very quickly. They were very transparent and helped us sell our home at a very good price. If we ever need to buy or sell a house in West...
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Michael

Michael

Teresa is amazing. She found me a house so fast, walking me through every step in the process. She took the time to get to know me and my tastes, which saved us a ton of time while we looked at multiple homes. Her sincerity and...
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Greg

Teresa has been incredibly helpful and responsive to all of our needs during this difficult process of finding our perfect home in very tough market conditions. She is well connected and has been providing us with solutions alo...
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Steve

Teresa is fantastic. The knowledge and willingness to go above and beyond created an amazing experience. She was there every step of the way in preparing us to sell, thru closing on our new home. She was truly a professional, d...
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