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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 your agent 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 I 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 an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

My 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!). I 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. I 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. I 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.

Andrea G.
Michael G.
Wilson Family
Laurie R.
Jessica R.
Jeff & Joanna P.
Robyn & Mark F.
Lauren & Evan M.
Andy & Cheryl N.
Alison J.
WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Lisa is incredibly patient and knowledgeable. She truly listens to her clients’ needs and offers well thought-out recommendations. Never any pressure. I trust her professionalism completely.

— Andrea G.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Lisa is simply stupendous. She made the process of selling my condo painless. She took care of everything start to finish in a most professional manner. I would not hesitate to recommend Lisa. She is simply the best.

— Michael G.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We are so thankful we met Lisa. Her knowledge of the Delray Beach area made it easy for us to narrow down the choices. Once we decided on a home, getting to the finish line was painless. She is a true professional. Additionally, she is a warm, personable, and fun person and I am sure we will be friends for the rest of our lives. We couldn’t ask for anything more!

— Wilson Family

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

It is a pleasure to work with Lisa Wennick. She is very knowledgeable of the area and neighborhoods to find the perfect home. She does her research which is very important to me. Lisa also has an amazing vision of the potential in the house such as possibilities to open up rooms or change things to make the house work in ways I would not have seen. Lisa is extremely honest and professional in understandi...

— Laurie R.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I am a first-time homeowner and I am so glad I had Lisa to help me with the process. She listened to my needs and helped me find a beautiful home. Lisa was very patient and always available for any questions. As a new homeowner, there was so much I didn’t know and I am glad I had her to guide me through the process, she is experienced and knowledgeable. Lisa and her team made the closing process as easy ...

— Jessica R.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I have been fortunate in my life to have been able to buy and sell some great houses for myself and my wife. I thought that I had always used good agents for all my transactions. I think Lisa has reset that mark. I have honestly never met an agent who went more out of their way to do tasks that were not part of what I would expect to be her responsibility. Even after the sale, Lisa has followed up on thi...

— Jeff & Joanna P.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

When we first met Lisa we were extremely impressed in every way. Her knowledge of the real-estate market is expansive. She prides herself on not only knowing what is currently available but what’s coming available before it’s listed. She is well respected among other agents, builders, and contractors. She exhausted every avenue for us including renting, building and took us to endless homes for sale with...

— Robyn & Mark F.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We began working with Lisa on the last weekend of my pregnancy with our third child, that I was allowed to fly. We flew from Chicago to Florida to check out the homes in the Boca/Delray area as we were considering relocating. In one day, Lisa helped us to get such a good feel for the different neighborhoods and styles of homes that we were able to zero in on a specific community. When we went back to Chi...

— Lauren & Evan M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We had an excellent experience with Lisa. In early February we saw a property that was coming on the market and we knew right away we wanted to try to purchase it. However, it was a difficult acquisition because we were trying to buy at the top of the market and the sellers had an inflated view of the value of their property. We immediately began working with Lisa on a strategy that convinced the sellers...

— Andy & Cheryl N.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Finding Lisa Wennick was the best thing to happen to us while we were relocating and looking for a new home! She has all the technical skills and knowledge needed to help find the home and negotiate the terms of the deal but even more importantly she approached our search as if we were family or life long friends. She clearly cared and worried more about what was best for us, getting what we needed and w...

— Alison J.

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