Buying a house is a sequence, and most of the stress in it comes from not knowing which part you are in. So here is the whole process in the order it happens, including the parts that cost you money and the parts where you can still walk away without losing anything.
- 01Get your money ready
- 02Get pre-approved
- 03Search and tour
- 04Make an offer
- 05Inspections and appraisal
- 06Close and get the keys
The same six steps every time. What follows is the detail behind each one.
BEFORE YOU LOOK AT ANYTHING
The money question comes first.
It is a less romantic starting point than browsing listings, and it is the one that decides everything else. What you can actually spend, what that buys in the areas you like, and whether those two things agree. They often do not, and it is much cheaper to find that out now than three weeks into escrow.
- What you have for a down payment, and what you have left over afterwards. Those are different numbers.
- What the closing costs add on top, because they arrive in the same month as the down payment.
- What you would keep in reserve. Something in a house always needs fixing, and it is rarely the thing the inspector flagged.
- Whether your income is the kind a lender wants to see on paper, which is a separate question from whether it is a good income.
THE PART NOBODY EXPLAINS
What an offer actually is.
An offer is not a price. It is a set of terms, and the price is only the most visible one. What else you are offering decides whether a seller says yes as much as the number does, and it is the part first-time buyers are never told.
- The deposit, and how much of it becomes hard to walk away from, and when.
- The financing you are relying on, and how solid the seller believes it is.
- The closing date, and how well it fits what the seller needs.
- The contingencies you are keeping, which are the conditions that let you exit without losing your deposit.
- What you are asking the seller to leave behind or repair.
WHAT YOU CAN STILL WALK AWAY FROM
Contingencies, and what they are actually for.
A contingency is a condition in the contract that lets you back out without losing your deposit. They exist because the alternative is you buying a house you have not inspected, with financing you have not been approved for. In a competitive market you will be asked to give some of them up, and it is worth understanding exactly what you are trading before you agree.
I will not let you waive an inspection contingency by accident, and if you are considering it to compete, we will talk through precisely what you are taking on first. It is a real risk rather than a negotiating tactic, and the time to decide it is before you are standing in a kitchen you love.
WHAT IT ACTUALLY COSTS YOU
The list that is not in the listing.
- The closing costs, which are separate from the down payment and land in the same month.
- The inspections and the appraisal, paid up front, and non-refundable if the deal falls apart.
- The first year of ownership, which costs more than the mortgage because something always breaks.
- The moving costs, the immediate repairs, and whatever you need on day one that the house does not have.
- The time. Looking takes longer than people expect, and the good houses do not wait.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK AT THIS POINT
Straight answers, including the ones that cost me money.
Do I have to be selling a house to work with you as a buyer?
No. Plenty of buyers come to me with no house to sell. If you are also selling, the two transactions need to be sequenced together, which is easier to manage with one person handling both.
Do you show me homes that are not on the public sites?
Some inventory is shared between agents before it reaches the public sites, and I will bring you anything relevant. Most of what you will buy is publicly listed, so the real advantage is in what I do about it rather than in secret inventory.
How do I know what to offer?
By looking at what has actually sold nearby, what is competing with the house right now, how long it has been on the market and what the seller appears to need. Then we decide what the house is worth to you, which is a different question from what the list price says.
Something you may not want to hear
There is no version of buying a house that removes all risk, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something. Inspections, disclosures and contingencies exist because houses have surprises in them. I would rather walk you through the risk than pretend it is not there.
Sending the form or reading this page does not create an agency relationship with Kevin or with Windermere Signature Properties. That happens only under a written agreement that you sign.
WHEN YOU ARE READY
Find out what your house is actually worth.
Send the address and a couple of details. You get the number, the comparable sales behind it, and the honest answer about which route suits you. Nothing is committed by asking.