Buyer's Guide

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. 

Our Testimonials

See why our clients love working with us.
Brian C.

Brian C.

Working with Alan Ramirez was an absolute pleasure from start to finish. His expertise and professionalism guided me seamlessly through the entire process of buying my dream home. Alan Ramirez was attentive to my needs, proacti...
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Chantel C.

Chantel C.

We have used Kristina for over 3 years and appreciate her knowledge of all aspects of real estate. We will always go to her in the future.
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Armando V.

Armando V.

It was a pleasure working with Shawn Jolly. He went above and beyond to make sure that we were taken care of in every aspect of the home buying process. Shawn is extremely knowledgeable and at all time we felt like we were in g...
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Jima S.

Jima S.

Very good. Helped me set up everything. Kept me informed on what was happening. I would have been lost without them. Kept updated after everything was complete.
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Vicente A.

Vicente A.

Shawn was very knowledgeable and helpful, service oriented. Great agent, explained and walked me through the whole process. I would highly recommend him if you are buying or selling.
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Trevor H.

Trevor H.

I'll admit, I'm hard to please at times which causes a lot of undue stress on others. Honestly, I haven't been stressed one time in the 7 properties Kristina has helped us buy.
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Eli G.

Eli G.

Shawn was a great person to work with. He had already helped me with my first time home purchase over a year ago and found him on a top agent list for El Paso. He made the selling process now so easy and painless! Knowledge is ...
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Lupe R.

Lupe R.

K2 Realty has been great to work with! The whole staff is very attentive and are quick to respond to all our questions. They are knowledgeable and professional. Highly recommend.
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Jarom C.

Jarom C.

Shawn was amazing. We had to leave El Paso before getting things finished and he went above and beyond and took care of everything. Professional but he felt like a lifelong friend because of his easy going manner and confidence...
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Melissa P.

Melissa P.

My husband and I were relocating to New Mexico from Wyoming. Kristina did everything possible to help us find a home with an easy transition. We highly recommend using K2 Realty Team.
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Buyer

Buyer

Shawn was extremely professional and went above and beyond to help us secure our El Paso home. Being Military we had to do most of the process remotely which could have been problematic but between Shawn and his transaction coo...
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Gary G.

Gary G.

Kiki and Kristina worked very, very hard to find me the exact home I wanted. They were extremely polite, helpful, and patient throughout the entire process. I strongly recommend them to everyone.
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Buyer

Buyer

Shawn helped us with our recent home purchase and he is someone that I would highly recommend to anyone looking to buy a home. Shawn is a true professional who advocates for his clients and communicates with you every step of t...
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Kyle C.

Kyle C.

Best experience! Compared to other realtors, this team is willing to go to bat for their buyers, work with your schedule, and make things happen! No regrets working with Vickie and the rest of the K2 team!
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Robert C.

Robert C.

Shawn made our home buying experience as easy as possible despite these times we are in. He worked tirelessly to find the right home for me and my family. Always had open communication at all times of the day and prompt respons...
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Krista Z.

Krista Z.

This made the process less stressful. They were extremely helpful and were there with us in every step. If you need a team to sell your home, you need to call K2. Get the professional service with team that cares as a friend.
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Kenneth

Kenneth

In my experience it is very rare to come across an agent that has it all. Shawn Jolley definitely does it all! ???? and he can help you buy or sell your home fast and head ache free because of his breadth of knowledge and numer...
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Seller

Seller

We were extremely impressed and pleased while working with Kristina. She is immediate on fulfilling requests and offering solutions to obstacles. It feels as if she is working around the clock to close on your sale or purchase!
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Buyer

Buyer

Words cannot convey how much I appreciate Shawn expertise during the big decision of purchasing a home. It felt daunting at the beginning, but Shawn smoothed the way and explained everything so clearly. I appreciated the time y...
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Jeff E.

Jeff E.

The K2 team was wonderful. They were honest and helped step by step throughout the process of finding a home, the inspections, and making sure we had what we needed at all times. They were quick to respond to any questions we had.
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