First-time homebuyers have a lot coming at them all at once. The journey can be a juggling act with everything that you need to handle. A great way to relieve some of the hurrying pressure is to remember that home “buying is a marathon, not a sprint.” Here are some tricks from the trade from Eileen Tu of Rocket Mortgage. 
Know Where You’re At
There are several steps to follow when purchasing a home, so knowing which step is next is important. The basic steps of the home-buying process are pre-approval, house hunting, offers, escrow, inspection and appraisal, and closing.
The good news is that you take one step at a time. The first is one of the biggest steps which is the pre-approval. Before getting pre-approved, you want to check your credit score and take a look at how much you are able to put down for a down payment. Knowing your finances will help you get a better understanding of how much home you can afford.
“The biggest topics that can create stress and confusion are figuring out down payment options and understanding their finances,” says Tu.
The fun part is next which is house hunting. During this step, you will need to go over real estate listings and go to open houses. A real estate agent can help with an offer once you find your home.
“When an offer is made on a home, the seller may require the buyer to pay earnest money — which is held in an escrow account until the buyer and the seller negotiate a contract and close the deal. With the earnest money, the seller is more confident that the buyer is serious and will not back out of the deal — and it protects them if that happens or the sale falls through,” explains Tu.
Learn the Terms
When purchasing a home, there are tons of terms that you need to understand. If you remember any of them, one of the most important is how mortgages work and are calculated. “A mortgage point — sometimes called a discount point — is a fee paid to lower the interest rate on a home purchase or refinance. One discount point costs 1 percent of the home loan amount. For example, if a homebuyer takes out a mortgage for $100,000, one point will cost $1,000. Purchasing a point means the interest is prepaid to result in a smaller monthly payment, and can greatly reduce the amount of money paid in interest over the life of the loan.”
“One of the most common myths has been that homebuyers need to put down 20 percent to buy a home. I’m here to say that this isn’t true — there are many solutions that offer lower down payment options, especially for first-time homebuyers,” says Tu. When considering nontraditional plans, like putting down less, private mortgage insurance (known as PMI) may come into play. “Private mortgage insurance is a common type of insurance that is needed when someone chooses to put less than 20 percent down when purchasing a home. This is often wrapped into a monthly mortgage payment so it’s important to factor that into budgeting if a buyer is planning to opt for a lower down payment.”
Get the Right People on Your Team
If everything goes right, then you will close before no time. Remember, you cannot do this all on your own, your real estate agent and your lending agent are there for you and are great resources. “Taking a hard look at finances and having a conversation with a lender are both great places to start,” says Tu.
