What You Need to Know as a First-Time Home Buyer

The Espresso ShotEverything all at once. Short and strong.

  • Get pre-approved before you shop, so you know your real budget and sellers take your offer seriously.
  • Many buyers put down far less than 20%. Ask your agent and a local lender which programs fit you.
  • Contingencies are your safety nets. Giving them up can win an offer, but it can also cost you your earnest money.

Buying your first home can feel like showing up for the first day at a new job, when everyone else seems to know where the good coffee is and you’re just hoping someone will point you in the right direction.

I’ve been a renter for years, so I’m looking at all of this from the same side of the table you are. I’ve spent a lot of time learning how it works, and these are the six things I’d want a friend to know first.

1. Get pre-approved before you fall in love with anything. Pre-approval means a lender has actually looked at your income, credit, and savings and told you what you can borrow. It’s different from pre-qualified, which is more of a quick estimate. Sellers take pre-approved offers seriously, and you’ll know your real budget before your heart gets involved.

2. You probably don’t need 20% down. This one surprised me. There are loan programs, like FHA loans (that’s the Federal Housing Administration), VA loans (Veterans Affairs, for people who’ve served), USDA loans (U.S. Department of Agriculture, for certain rural areas), and conventional loans with low down payments, that can get you in with a lot less. Washington State also has down payment assistance programs, like the ones offered through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, that can help cover part of what you’d need up front. Eligibility, income limits, and available help can vary by county and change over time, so check with your agent and a local lender to see what’s available where you want to live.

3. Budget for more than the mortgage. Closing costs, inspections, moving, and the little things a new house needs all add up. None of them should stop you, and I’ve rounded up the ones that catch people off guard so you can plan for them.

4. A home inspection is information, not a pass or fail. Think of it as a flashlight. It shows you what’s going on with the house so you can decide what to do with it.

5. Ask every question, even the ones that feel silly. There’s a lot of jargon in this business, and nobody should make you feel bad for asking what it means. Asking is how you learn, and I’d rather you ask me ten times than nod along once.

6. Write in your safety nets (and know when to loosen them). When you make an offer, you can include what are called contingencies. They’re just conditions that say, “I’m buying this house, as long as these things check out.” Maybe the inspection finds something big, or the loan doesn’t come through, or the appraisal comes in low. With contingencies, you’ve got a way out or a way to renegotiate, so you’re never stuck in a situation you can’t handle.

Here’s the flip side. Sellers often like offers with fewer strings attached, so in a busy market, fewer contingencies can be what gets your offer chosen. More protection keeps you safe from the wrong house, and less can help you land the right one. But giving up a safety net is a real risk, because if something goes wrong, you could lose your earnest money or be stuck with a house you can’t handle, so make that call with your agent, with your eyes wide open, and never just to win.

That’s a balance, and it’s exactly the kind of thing worth talking through before you write the offer.

Buying a home isn’t really about the structure. It’s about the community and relationships a new place lets you build, and the feeling of finally being somewhere that’s yours. My job is to make the road there feel a little less awkward and a lot more comfortable. Let me walk you through it.