The Buying Process

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.

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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 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.

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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 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

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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!). 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.

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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. 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.

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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. 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.

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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. 

Success Stories

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  • Barak did a superb job helping us sell one house and find a new one! We had one open house and within 8 days had an offer
    — Mike M.
  • Barak is an unbelievable realtor. He took over my listing that had been on the market for 100+ days and had an offer within 10 days of his new listing.
    — Trevor M.
  • Whether your looking for your first home, or your 5th home. Barak Sky is your realtor. I would and will highly recommend him to all my family and friends.
    — David Y.
  • From our realtor to a new lifelong friend, we would recommend he and his team a thousand times over. If you are looking for a realtor who really cares about your needs, and will spend the time to make sure your happy, the Sky Group is the way to go.
    — Kyle M.
  • Anna sold our house on a tight timeline, as we were planning an out of state move with the purchase of our new house contingent on the sale of our DC house. The whole process was made much better because we knew we had Anna to rely on. She is professional and always available for questions. Our house sold quickly and we were off on our new adventure! Thank you Anna!
    — Amy S.
  • My husband and I are grateful to have worked with Anna Mackler, an agent of the Sky Group, to buy our first home Not only was Anna a dependable and responsive agent, but she also connected us to a vast network of high-caliber professionals who exceeded expectations. From the lender to the roofer whom Anna personally met to provide an estimate for repairs on our soon-to-be home.
    — Shanna D.
  • Barak worked tirelessly to find and show homes fitting my parameters many of which weren’t yet on the market. In the end, we closed on a home I had fallen in love with but was already under contract. We ended up with the first right of refusal despite multiple higher offers and closed lower than asking. That wouldn’t have happened with someone who had a less sterling reputation or less juice. Can’t recommend enough!
    — Dave Y.
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Success Stories

Mike M.

Mike M.

Barak did a superb job helping us sell one house and find a new one! We had one open house and within 8 days had an offer
Read More
Trevor M.

Trevor M.

Barak is an unbelievable realtor. He took over my listing that had been on the market for 100+ days and had an offer within 10 days of his new listing.
Read More
David Y.

David Y.

Whether your looking for your first home, or your 5th home. Barak Sky is your realtor. I would and will highly recommend him to all my family and friends.
Read More
Kyle M.

Kyle M.

From our realtor to a new lifelong friend, we would recommend he and his team a thousand times over. If you are looking for a realtor who really cares about your needs, and will spend the time to make sure your happy, the Sky G...
Read More
Amy S.

Amy S.

Anna sold our house on a tight timeline, as we were planning an out of state move with the purchase of our new house contingent on the sale of our DC house. The whole process was made much better because we knew we had Anna to ...
Read More
Shanna D.

Shanna D.

My husband and I are grateful to have worked with Anna Mackler, an agent of the Sky Group, to buy our first home Not only was Anna a dependable and responsive agent, but she also connected us to a vast network of high-caliber p...
Read More
Dave Y.

Dave Y.

Barak worked tirelessly to find and show homes fitting my parameters many of which weren’t yet on the market. In the end, we closed on a home I had fallen in love with but was already under contract. We ended up with the first ...
Read More

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Please feel free to use this website as a resource for all your DC metropolitan area real estate needs, and if you have any additional questions, do not hesitate to contact us today.

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