Hey everybody,

Mark Gladue here, broker associate and buyer's agent with Lauer Realty Group. Today I want to talk to you about purchasing your first home. 

I get a lot of questions from friends, or family, or friends of friends, friends of the family, even the internet sometimes. “How do I purchase my first home?” 

So today, I wanted to break it down into five really easy steps. Secure financing, find an agent, consider your lifestyle, weigh wants vs. needs, and have fun.

Secure Financing

The first step is to meet with a mortgage lender. Why do you want to do that? Because you want to figure out what you can comfortably afford, how it fits into your budget, and what loan product might be best for you. Sometimes it's not always the conventional 30-year loan, and an exceptional mortgage lender will let you know exactly what you fit into.

Find An Agent

The second step is to find a really awesome and experienced buyer's agent. Sometimes you’ll need to interview maybe two or three people before you find the right fit. You're going to be spending a lot of time with this person, so it's a great idea to make sure that your personalities jive well. You want to find someone that when you go out looking for homes you can make fun of things like shag carpet, or fall in love together with the beauty of the kitchen. 

A buyer's agent's really important.

Consider your Lifestyle 

The third is thinking about the location you want to be in and the lifestyle you want your new home to provide. Where do you want to live? Do you want to be in a neighborhood close to the downtown area, where you can walk to restaurants, coffee shops, nightclubs, things like that? Or would you rather be out in the country, secluded, and not around a whole lot of people? 

Weigh Wants vs Needs 

Next, you’re going to want to weigh your wants and your needs. Let your buyer's agent know what you need in the house and what you want in a house. If you had all of your wishes granted, what would things look like? And more realistically how many bedrooms do you want, how many bathrooms do you want, do you have minimum square footage? Is that apartment that's 600 square feet that you're living in right now just way too small or is it the right size? 

You also want to let them know how you live in a house. They’ll be able to guide you so that they can see things like is it an open kitchen situation or do you need a place to entertain, like a formal dining room? Do you need a finished lower level for those movies or for the pool table or the ping pong table?

Have Fun

The last of the five steps is to have fun. This is going to be one of the most rewarding investments that you make, so you want to make sure that you take time to enjoy it. Even though there's a little bit of fear involved, I know it can seem daunting, it's not as daunting as it seems. This is one of the best experiences you can have. 

One of my favorite experiences is watching first-time homebuyers. When they walk into that just-right house, they look at me and say this is it. 

So if you're looking to purchase your first home, make sure to give me a call, email me, interview me, let me know. 

As always, I’m glad you stopped by.

Mark Gladue