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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 Real Estate Experts

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without real estate experts? 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.

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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. 

See Why Our Clients Love Us

Testimonials

"Christopher is a fantastic agent. He worked diligently to find us our dream home and ultimately helped negotiate a great deal for us significantly under asking. He was communicative every step of the way, and we always felt like we were in great hands. Buying and selling a home can be a stressful experience, but Christopher made us feel very comfortable and sure of our decisions. His knowledge of the local market, as well as current real estate economics, made us confident throughout our home-buying journey. Thank you, Christopher!"
"Christopher is a fantastic agent. He worked diligently to find us our dream home and ultimately helped negotiate a great deal for us significantly under asking. He was communicative every step of the way, and we always felt like we were in great hands. Buying and selling a home can be a stressful experience, but Christopher made us feel very comfortable and sure of our decisions. His knowledge of the local market, as well as current real estate economics, made us confident throughout our home-buying journey. Thank you, Christopher!"
Mish M.
"We absolutely loved working with Christopher. He helped us navigate a tough market, and we’ve ended up closing on our dream house for well under the asking price! We moved from out of state, so he helped us gain an understanding of each neighborhood - and given that he grew up in Conejo Valley, his local knowledge is unparalleled. He always gave sound advice, was incredibly trustworthy, and was highly professional with other sellers' agents. We plan to pass his information along to everyone that we know, and will 100% be using him again in the future could not recommend him more!"
"We absolutely loved working with Christopher. He helped us navigate a tough market, and we’ve ended up closing on our dream house for well under the asking price! We moved from out of state, so he helped us gain an understanding of each neighborhood - and given that he grew up in Conejo Valley, his local knowledge is unparalleled. He always gave sound advice, was incredibly trustworthy, and was highly professional with other sellers' agents. We plan to pass his information along to everyone that we know, and will 100% be using him again in the future could not recommend him more!"
Anya M.
"Christopher was absolutely amazing to work with. He was accommodating to our schedule and provided the knowledge/experience we needed to feel comfortable with our decision. He guided us through every step of the way and even took our calls late at night. Chris connected us with the right people to make the process go as smoothly as possible and continued to make things go smoothly after closing. We used many of his recommendations for A/C installation, contractors, etc. He truly goes above and beyond. Chris`s attitude was truly enjoyable to be around and we would definitely recommend it to anyone."
"Christopher was absolutely amazing to work with. He was accommodating to our schedule and provided the knowledge/experience we needed to feel comfortable with our decision. He guided us through every step of the way and even took our calls late at night. Chris connected us with the right people to make the process go as smoothly as possible and continued to make things go smoothly after closing. We used many of his recommendations for A/C installation, contractors, etc. He truly goes above and beyond. Chris`s attitude was truly enjoyable to be around and we would definitely recommend it to anyone."
Paul D.
"This is our fifth real estate transaction using Chris Potter! We find him to be an excellent realtor that met all of our needs and exceeded expectations every time! Chris helped us buy and sell our homes at a decent negotiated price with painless escrows! Chris managed to get us in to view our current home prior to its listing. Chris worked with us every step of the way with every detail through escrow. Chris was always available within moments of contacting him. Chris Potter is in real estate for a long-term relationship rather than a deal. That said, we would use him again as he meets our high standards!"
"This is our fifth real estate transaction using Chris Potter! We find him to be an excellent realtor that met all of our needs and exceeded expectations every time! Chris helped us buy and sell our homes at a decent negotiated price with painless escrows! Chris managed to get us in to view our current home prior to its listing. Chris worked with us every step of the way with every detail through escrow. Chris was always available within moments of contacting him. Chris Potter is in real estate for a long-term relationship rather than a deal. That said, we would use him again as he meets our high standards!"
Lisa H.
"We had a great experience as buyers working with Chris to purchase our first home. We highly recommend him! Over a 2 year period, Chris regularly consulted with us facilitated 14 showings, and guided us through 6 offers. At every step of our buying journey, Chris was responsive, accessible, and supportive. We especially appreciated Chris’s industry knowledge, network of professionals, and digital tools to help us along the way."
"We had a great experience as buyers working with Chris to purchase our first home. We highly recommend him! Over a 2 year period, Chris regularly consulted with us facilitated 14 showings, and guided us through 6 offers. At every step of our buying journey, Chris was responsive, accessible, and supportive. We especially appreciated Chris’s industry knowledge, network of professionals, and digital tools to help us along the way."
Domenic D.
"I had such a great experience with Christopher and his assistant Melissa! They went above and beyond to ensure our home purchase went smoothly. Christopher is knowledgeable about the market, easy to get along with, and a great advocate for his clients! We will definitely use him again for our real estate needs."
"I had such a great experience with Christopher and his assistant Melissa! They went above and beyond to ensure our home purchase went smoothly. Christopher is knowledgeable about the market, easy to get along with, and a great advocate for his clients! We will definitely use him again for our real estate needs."
Joren C.
"In the midst of an incredibly difficult market, Chris helped my wife and I find our first home! Through months of searching and in and out of escrow Chris’ patience and expertise helped us feel confident navigating the overwhelming process of buying your first home. Highly recommend it for anyone in the market to buy or sell."
"In the midst of an incredibly difficult market, Chris helped my wife and I find our first home! Through months of searching and in and out of escrow Chris’ patience and expertise helped us feel confident navigating the overwhelming process of buying your first home. Highly recommend it for anyone in the market to buy or sell."
David A.
"Christopher was amazing to work with. He did a great job making time for us, listening to all we had in mind, and giving great professional opinions. Buying a home is always tough, and having someone who is cool calm, and collected goes a long way. I have already recommended Christopher to a few folks and will continue too. Thanks for helping us find a great home, Chris!"
"Christopher was amazing to work with. He did a great job making time for us, listening to all we had in mind, and giving great professional opinions. Buying a home is always tough, and having someone who is cool calm, and collected goes a long way. I have already recommended Christopher to a few folks and will continue too. Thanks for helping us find a great home, Chris!"
Katon C.
"We had an incredible experience selling our Thousand Oaks home with Chris Potter! Chris and his team were brilliant in helping us sell our house; because of his work, we had over 100 people come to our open house! We had multiple offers after only one day of an open house, and our house sold for over the asking price, with multiple offers bidding against each other. But more than that, Chris and his team are just really wonderful and easy to work with. Chris is kind, he is a good listener, and he is smart he knows the markets and makes very good, smart decisions that are well thought-out and wise. We are so, incredibly grateful for Chris!"
"We had an incredible experience selling our Thousand Oaks home with Chris Potter! Chris and his team were brilliant in helping us sell our house; because of his work, we had over 100 people come to our open house! We had multiple offers after only one day of an open house, and our house sold for over the asking price, with multiple offers bidding against each other. But more than that, Chris and his team are just really wonderful and easy to work with. Chris is kind, he is a good listener, and he is smart he knows the markets and makes very good, smart decisions that are well thought-out and wise. We are so, incredibly grateful for Chris!"
Alexandra W.
"Chris Potter is an exceptional realtor. He helped my wife and I purchase a home in Westlake Village, recently. Because of Chris’s contacts and expertise, we were able to purchase a home in an incredibly desirable area, and we purchased the home at a very competitive price, off-market. He is always willing to talk through all of the options, and he spends a lot of time with his clients listening to them and helping them decide on a home that is really right for them. Grateful for Chris, definitely use him if you ever need a realtor!"
"Chris Potter is an exceptional realtor. He helped my wife and I purchase a home in Westlake Village, recently. Because of Chris’s contacts and expertise, we were able to purchase a home in an incredibly desirable area, and we purchased the home at a very competitive price, off-market. He is always willing to talk through all of the options, and he spends a lot of time with his clients listening to them and helping them decide on a home that is really right for them. Grateful for Chris, definitely use him if you ever need a realtor!"
Joshua W.

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