North Carolina Home Buyers 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 your agent 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 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.

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 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

My Testimonials

Tim W.

Our experience with Matt has always been amazing. He has walked us through some very difficult buying and selling experiences, (anyone in the triangle will tell you how competitive it is) and always took the responsibility of b...

Sara T.

We highly recommend Matt Polinchak if you need any help with buying or selling a house! We weren’t planning on leaving our beloved home any time soon but then our dream house appeared that checked all of our boxes and we decide...

Emily D.

Matt was an amazing resource for me. I knew nothing about the Raleigh area. He was extremely knowledgeable and able to advise me on the pros and cons of different neighborhoods. Matt knew me better than I did after only a coupl...

Megan T.

My parents worked with Matt a few years ago and enjoyed their experience greatly. When my partner and I decided to look for a house, I knew just who to go to! Matt was great about answering our questions quickly, regardless of ...

Jay S.

Matt is phenomenal! He is very professional, readily available, and highly knowledgeable. Matt recently helped my husband and I find the right house to purchase in Cary NC. Matt’s keen analytical skills were instrumental to our...

Hughes B.

Matt was referred by a friend and was very helpful - easy communication, patient (first-time home buyer), and we ended up with a good deal on the home. Would definitely use him again and refer to others.

Devyn L.

Matt was extremely helpful during the home buying process. I was a first time home buyer and Matt was patient and answered all my questions honestly. Also, his quick responsiveness is one of the things I account to putting in o...

Jessica E.

Professional, friendly and honest! We were first time home buyers, new to the area, and purchasing a home during the COVID-19 pandemic! What a mess! We had a million questions and Matt answered them all. His knowledge of the ar...

Jimmy S.

From start to finish Matt was very easy to communicate with and his knowledge of the area was critical to our final decision. I would highly recommend.

Kevin W.

Matt helped me buy my first home and I couldn't have asked for a better person to help me through the process. I moved from out of state, and Matt was very patient with me while I tried to figure out what areas I even liked. On...

Elizabeth P.

I was so happy to work with Matt through the home-buying process, which took a bit longer than anticipated. He kept me informed every step of the way from building to closing and was always happy to answer questions. I apprecia...

Naomi H.

I have nothing but awesome things to say about Matt. He helped us find the perfect spot in East Raleigh and we love our new home. His knowledge of the Raleigh Housing Market and the area we were looking into helped us make a wi...

Mary B.

Matt was amazing. My husband and I are difficult customers and struggled to make a decision and Matt was patient with us. He managed our ever-changing expectations and found us a beautiful home that met all our needs. He guided...

John D.

Matt is very laid back and his calm approach really helps through the process. His knowledge of the market is amazing and he uses it to help find the perfect place to call home. I had a ton of questions throughout the process a...

Joan P.

Matt helped my husband and I through the process of buying a historic home. He was a great advocate and resource through the process, which was relatively complicated given the historic nature of the house + the need for a reno...

Alison B.

Matt helped me to purchase my dream home in Cary. I was living across the country and he made it so easy to work with and helped to get things done locally for me when I was unable to be there. Very appreciative of him througho...

Jonathon E.

I had been waffling on buying a house for over 3 years until meeting Matt. After engaging some realtors, checking the market, and talking myself out of it year after year I finally found the guy patient enough to deal with all ...

Laura H.

As a first-time home buyer, the home buying process can be extremely intimidating. Especially when you work a demanding full-time job and your work schedule changes daily. I closed on my first house today and Matt could not hav...

Vanessa T.

Matt is not only a great guy but also so good at his job! He helped us buy our new home which we are ecstatic about! He is full of great information and so knowledgeable about the happenings in Raleigh. He linked us to so many ...

Brittany K.

I was a first-time homebuyer and new construction builder. Matt was there for me every step of the way from design room choices, to walk-down visits, to builder negotiations and discussions. He helped answer all the questions a...

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Buyer's Guide