Home Buyers Guide for Raleigh | Greenwood Residential

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Daniela S.

Buying a house was such an intimidating process for me. I didn’t even know where to start which is why I cannot thank Andrea enough!. The whole process was so smooth. It was important for me to buy a nice home that I could not ...

Ayana C.

Ms. Garay was one THE best agent I have worked with . This was our third home purchase and Andrea has been exceptional in accommodating our busy schedules and was willing to listen to our concerns, needs, priorities and made sh...

Jo H.

Andrea helped finding exactly what I was looking for. She takes the time to listen and understand your needs and work around them providing the best expertise knowledge of the industry. She guides you through the entire process...

Ann V.

Andrea is truly amazing. It is clear that she loves what she does and she is great at it. She is a great listener, was very attentive to my needs; she guided me every step of the way through the buying process. She is a great c...

Danny R.

I had the pleasure of working with Andrea during my recent home buying experience, and I cannot speak highly enough of their professionalism, expertise, and commitment to excellence. From the very beginning, Andrea took the ti...

Leslie P.

Andrea helped us to secure the home of our dreams! She was polite, friendly, assertive, responsive, and professional. Without her working diligently on our behalf, we could easily have missed the opportunity to bid on our home....

Jervis N.

We were relocating from Connecticut to North Carolina and had no clue where to start nor what to do. Even though we had researched areas, communities, schools, etc., we did not have the right picture until we were contacted by ...

Grace G.

Vernicia and Rachel helped me buy and sell my home. After interviewing multiple teams. I knew with V's communication and Rachel's vast knowledge of the real estate market that Greenwood Residential would be the best choice for ...

Azelma R.

Great communication and expertise at every step of the process! I had a complicated situation, and Rachel was able to make my dream possible with compassion and good humor. I would highly recommend it!

Phil M.

Having spent her life in the Wake/Harnett County area, Cayla has an incredible knowledge of the local market. She works tirelessly to identify potential purchase opportunities and listens intently to the desires of the buyer. I...

Barbara G.

Cayla led me to my dream home! She was very helpful in finding what I wanted where I wanted and on time. She is great to work with. I highly recommend Cayla!

Subash S.

Cayla was assigned by Zillow. On the very first day, I requested her for a Townhome visit on a specific day, she was able to schedule the visit, whereas other agents could not. That was the first impression and that is importan...

Shady R.

Rachel is fantastic when working with you to find what you are looking for. She is good and selecting homes that fit your requirements. Rachel is fantastic for a local who knows the laws and stipulations for NC when relocating.

Buyer & Seller

Across the country, to an area I wasn't the most familiar with. I inquired on their website with details of what I was looking for and within minutes was paired with an amazing realtor on their team. Cayla was amazing. She walk...

Stacey P.

I was shopping for a new house in NC but with little success. My daughter's daughter recommended a realtor, Cayla Morris. Whom she and husband used to purchase their house. As soon as met Cayla I realized I'd found the right re...

David M.

After working with Rachel to sell my home in 2022, I was convinced that she's the only realtor I’ll ever need. Since then, I’ve bought two properties and sold one, and with each process, Rachel's knowledge, professionalism and ...

Leanne L.

From early on when we were still in California, Cayla worked hard to keep in contact and send us listings to try to find out what we would be looking for when we arrived. When we were ready to start looking for our home, she wa...

James T.

My wife and I had a dream of downsizing from our house in Chapel Hill into a small condo closer to where we work and play in Durham. Rachel and her skilled team helped make that dream a reality. The sale went smoothly, and we j...

Mahlet

Rachel is amazing! So helpful, so quick, and knowledgeable! I am so grateful for crossing paths, I have gained so much! For all your advice and your incredibly positive attitude in approaching the current stressful real estate ...

Chris I.

Rachel is always highly responsive and dedicated to making the sales process as smooth as possible. She is an excellent client advocate and provides invaluable knowledge and experience when negotiating with sellers and builders.

Work With Us

Their deeply empathetic nature, honed through personal experiences, allows them to approach each client's journey with compassion, understanding, and a genuine desire to guide them through one of life's most significant transitions. As a team, they work together to provide exceptional service and ensure that every client receives the personalized attention they deserve.

Buyer's Guide