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

Seller

Seller

Incredible experience. Couldn't ask for more from your Realtor®. She was always there for us throughout the entire process. Very knowledgeable about every aspect when selling your home.
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John W.

John W.

Knows Denver and especially the Northwest neighborhoods. Maribeth has been my Real Estate Professional for two home purchases, both times she was able to negotiate a lower cost, and both homes have since been appreciated greatl...
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Bruno P.

Bruno P.

Working with Maribeth made our dream of finding a house possible. She is knowledgeable, has a good eye for quality, and takes one’s interests at heart. In an already difficult and highly competitive market, she made it her pers...
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Sharaya C.

Sharaya C.

Maribeth was a key part of our successful house-building and purchasing process. We were so grateful for her guidance as we made a million decisions required when building a home from scratch. Since we bought into a new develop...
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Stephanie

Stephanie

Maribeth is great at what she does. She was very thorough in gathering all the data to help me decide whether it was the right time to put my house on the market. Once I decided to do it, she and her team made my house look fan...
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Jana W.

Jana W.

Aloha, We met Maribeth in 2008 when we purchased our very first home and she was very delightful to work with! So much so that when my husband and I decided to put this house back on the market in 2020, she was our first choice...
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Seller

Seller

We are extremely pleased to have chosen Maribeth as our Realtor® to help us sell our house in the Sunnyside neighborhood in Denver. Maribeth came highly recommended by friends and our hesitation was deciding if we wanted to go ...
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Jason S.

Jason S.

Maribeth helped us find our dream home, during the pandemic, in the craziest real estate market in recent history. Her expertise in all facets of real estate transactions was a huge asset as we navigated buying a home that was ...
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Lonna

Lonna

As a retired Realtor® myself, I know what it takes to be a 10 and Maribeth has all those qualities. She was my go-to choice when I needed someone to sell my place, as I am no longer a licensed Realtor®. When I needed her advice...
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Lorna L.

Lorna L.

We are so happy in our new home and we are so incredibly grateful to have found Maribeth! She came highly recommended by multiple friends and I can say that she lived up to her glowing reputation. From our first visit together,...
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Bob and Inis McConnell

Bob and Inis McConnell

What you did was simply amazing! (We do not use the word amazing often) .... We appreciate your attention to all aspects of the remodel, listing and sale.
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Shona Snowden

Shona Snowden

An outstandingly helpful and hands-on team who helped us negotiate the rather complex sale of our home. They went above and beyond in everything they did. Highly recommended.
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Dan and Rose-Anne Lowen

Dan and Rose-Anne Lowen

Thank you for letting us be the biggest pains in the asses and for sharing our journey!! We love you!
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Rachel Badger

Rachel Badger

Michelle expertly helped me navigate through the sale of my home a few years ago during a tricky market, while concurrently helping me find the perfect home to launch my next chapter in life. She was on top of all the details, ...
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Robin Richardson

Robin Richardson

We were incredibly fortunate to have Michelle as our realtor. She kept our priorities top of mind and advocated for us during all stages of the process. She has a "client focus first" mentality which comes through in every conv...
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Jamie McGinnis

Jamie McGinnis

My favorite part about having Michelle as my buyers’ agent is…. She is on MY team! She thinks of things I don’t think about - like are you sure you want to take care of a yard this big? This kitchen cabinet is too small to fit ...
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Whether you are looking to buy or sell your first home or your 15th, we will advise you from start to finish, and that doesn’t end at the closing table.

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