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.

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.

Passion & Expertise

Our goal is to provide you with the most personalized service possible, meticulously designed to help you navigate the process of buying your dream home. We are dedicated to understanding your unique needs and preferences, ensuring that every step of the journey is tailored to achieve your ultimate home-buying aspirations.

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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.

B

Brandon S.

Highly recommend working with Matthew Schorr at Team Blair. Matt and the rest of the team were helpful and patient with us until we found just the right property and then expertly represented us through the transaction.

Rachel D.

Brian Grocott is the best real estate agent in the Tahoe area. He's honest, organized, knowledgeable, extremely trustworthy and a pleasure to work with. This is our second closing with him and honestly, I wouldn't trust any oth...

Martha W.

Renee McArdle is a truly exceptional real estate agent. I met her at an open house we were looking at just for fun and liked her so much. I called her a few months later when we were actually looking to buy. Just after I talked...

Lindsey M.

Team Blair helped us quickly identify potential homes, including off-market opportunities, in Incline Village when we decided to move there from the West Shore in early 2021. Timing is everything in the Tahoe market, and we are...

Gabrielle B.

Jamie and his team did an amazing job helping us secure our house in Tahoe City! They stayed on top of all listings that came up and were always quick to get us into the homes. They were also amazing in negotiating our final of...

Chris P.

Team Blair Tahoe is amazing! We worked with Taylor and landed a property that exceeded our expectations in every way. We were remote for most of the process, and Taylor went out of her way to be helpful, driving by the lot and ...

Gary L.

Jamie looks out for your interest first, not his. He knows how to evaluate homes, tunes into what you’re looking for, is patient, and doesn’t push. Once you go into escrow, his team is super-responsive and knows their stuff. Th...

Rolayne S.

Everyone at Team Blair Tahoe was easy and professional to work with but Kelly Fraser was amazing. As our lead agent, she led us through the process of selling our family vacation home at Lake Tahoe with the knowledge and willin...

Forrest C.

Our realtor was very knowledgeable about the property and area. Spent several days driving us to and from homesites. And, helped to close our deal in less than 30 days! I’d buy again from Team Blair. Thanks!

Deborah K.

The Blair Team was very supportive, responsive, and patient with us while searched for the perfect place to buy. Good people to work with!

Wei L.

Matt is a very responsible agent who went above and beyond to help us close the deal. Thank you so much, Matt and Jamie!

Scott M.

Matt Schorr and Jamie Blair were great! With their help, my home sold quickly at the right price.

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Experience the power of Team Blair Tahoe, where your dreams of property ownership in Lake Tahoe become a reality. With our seasoned leadership, unwavering ambition, and genuine passion, rest assured that you have a dedicated agent by your side, guiding you every step of the way. Join forces with us and let's make your Lake Tahoe dreams come true!

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Team Blair Tahoe

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(530) 581-1400

[email protected]

Address

521 North Lake Boulevard Tahoe City, CA 96145

Jamison Blair | CA DRE# 01246366
Nicole Blair | CA DRE# 01500181

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