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.
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 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.
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 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. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.
My 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!). 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.
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.
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.
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.
Nancy provided my wife and me with a strong foundational understating of the NYC real estate market prior to even walking into a building. She emphasized that while our process will end with a purchase, it begins with education...
After years of searching for a home for our family with little success, we were fortunate to find Nancy Halpern. She was so pleasant, warm and optimistic as well as realistic, that I looked forward to our appointments visiting ...
I want to express my sincere thanks and appreciation for Nancy Halpern’s help during our apartment search. We started our journey with Nancy in early summer, looking at over 40-50 one-bedroom units on the UWS. She was patient, ...
I had moved to NYC a year ago at the time and had rented so many apartments between SF and NYC. I was ready to find my long term home. Given I work tons of hours, I was worried I wouldn't be able to invest the right amount of t...
We worked with Nancy on the purchase of our home in Quogue. Nancy was diligent, persistent, thorough, reliable and considerate of our parameters throughout the process. She considered every aspect of the search and transaction,...
Nancy builds enduring, trusted relationships by listening carefully to my needs and synthesizing and distilling a short list of must-see apartments based on those criteria. She values my time and is responsive to my feedback in...
We had a wonderful experience working with Nancy. She demonstrated exceptional professionalism, market knowledge, and dedication throughout the entire process. She was always responsive, attentive to our needs, and went above a...
Nancy Halpern was an awesome agent to work with. She was incredibly knowledgeable, patient, and made the process of finding a home really fun and exciting. She fought hard for me when we finally found a space that suited me in ...
I cannot recommend Nancy Halpern enough. Nancy's expertise and support throughout our extensive apartment search led us to our dream apartment. She worked tirelessly on our behalf, anticipated things throughout the process that...
As first time buyers, Nancy went above and beyond to ensure that not only did we find our dream property within our budget, but we felt comfortable with every step of the process. During our search, she sent daily updates, and...
She has deep experience handling rentals, resales, townhouses, co-ops, condo conversions, and new developments across Manhattan. She knows the ins and outs of New York City living and can offer practical and valuable insights. She has worked at some of the city’s top brokerages and was a recipient of the Diamond Award—which recognizes the top 3% of agents company-wide.
