First time home buyers resources and information

This page is designed to be a resource for first time home buyers to learn about the home buying process, the advantages of home ownership and the different kinds of home loans available to first time buyers. Many of the links are to other pages of our site, and some are to external sites that we consider to be relevant.

Click on the link to the right to watch a short video about the 9 basic steps to home ownership.

Is home ownership right for you?

Buying a house is the biggest financial transaction most of us will ever make. One of the first questions we usually ask ourselves is "How much house can I afford?"  This link  RentvsBuyCalc is to a very useful calculator to help you evaluate whether home ownership might be financially advantageous for you. You made not know the answers to all the inputs, but you can call us and we'll be happy to help you estimate based on averages in your area.

Now might be a good time to visit our "mortgage basics" area (to the left) to familiarize yourself with some of the terms and concepts associated with home buying. If you hold your mouse over it a number of sub menus will pop up, each about a different aspect of home loans. Most of these pages can be emailed to you in a newsletter format from this RequestIndustryInfo link.

Home buyer resources

All home buyers need guidance, even if it's not your first time. A Loan officer can help you decide which type of home loan program will work best for you, how much you can afford to spend, and can pre-qualify you for that amount. Offers to buy from first time home buyers who are pre-approved for financing are much more attractive to sellers, and may carry more weight than the amount of earnest money you can provide. To talk to a loan officer now, click StaffProfiles and see the contact information for our staff.

Although you certainly can do it on your own, most first time home buyers will benefit from working with a Realtor. They have access to all the MLS listings in their area, and those that specialize at working with buyers will know what properties are being offered by the owners directly as well. After finding out exactly what your needs and wants are in a home the Realtor can show you only those that match your needs, making the home buying process much easier for you. We have links to  some of the Realtors we have worked with in the past who we strongly reccommend to first time home buyers. Your transaction will also involve a title company, an appraiser, an insurance agent, a home inspector and possibly a Real Estate attorney, so we have also provided links to a few of each.

 Thanks for visiting our first time home buyers resource page!