The steps to buying a house for the first time might seem complicated—particularly if you’re a homebuyer trying to purchase real estate with no prior experience. Between down payments, credit scores, mortgage rates (both fixed-rate and adjustable-rate), property taxes, interest rates, and closing the deal, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. There’s so much at stake with a first home!

Still, if you familiarize yourself with how to buy a house beforehand, it can help you navigate the real estate market with ease. So let’s get started with what to know about buying a house for the first time!

How to buy a house? Follow these steps to buying a house for the first time

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn what it takes to buy a house for the first time, from beginning to end. Whether it’s your first time in the real estate market or you’re an experienced homeowner who wants to brush up on your skills, this is everything you need to know about how to buy a house.

Step 1: Start saving a down payment

One of the most important steps to buying a house for the first time? Figure out your finances. Buying a new home (particularly for the first time) requires a mortgage, where a lender fronts you the money and you pay it back over time. However, in order to get a mortgage, you’ll need some sort of down payment.

So how much do you need?

Ideally a down payment on a mortgage should be 20% of the home’s price to avoid added fees, but if you don’t have that much of a down payment, don’t worry. A mortgage down payment can be as low as 10%, 5%, or even 0% for certain types of mortgages (e.g., VA loans or a USDA loan).

If saving up a downpayment is a real challenge, find out everything you can about government programs. A HUD home is a property owned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. They require lower down payments for eligible participants and often sell at below-market prices.

Step 2: Check your credit score

Did you forget to pay off a couple of credit cards? Unfortunately, it’ll affect your credit score.

In addition to having a down payment, a first-time home buyer will need a decent credit score. This three-digit number is a numerical summary of your credit report, a detailed document outlining how well you’ve paid off past debts, such as credit card and college student loans.

A lender will check your score and report in order to estimate the odds that you will deliver your monthly payment, too.

In turn, the lender will use this info to decide whether or not to loan you money, as well as how much and at what interest rate. If a lender sees some late payments on your credit cards or other blemishes in your credit report, this can lower your odds of getting a loan with a great interest rate, or perhaps even jeopardize your chances of getting any loan at all.

So, it’s essential to know your credit score and take steps to bring it up to snuff with those overextended credit cards and high-interest debts. Here’s more on how to check your credit score and what number is best for buying a first home.

Step 3: Get pre-approved for a mortgage

Another one of the most important first-time home buyer steps? Seeking pre-approval from a lender for a home loan. This is where you meet with a loan officer, ideally a few at various mortgage companies.

Each mortgage lender will scrutinize your financial background—such as your debt-to-income ratio and assets—and use this info to determine whether to loan you money, and what size monthly payment you can realistically afford. This will help you target homes in your price range. And that’s good because a purchase price that’s beyond your financial reach will make you sweat your mortgage payment and put you at risk of defaulting on your loan.

As a buyer, just keep in mind that mortgage pre-approval is different from mortgage pre-qualification. Pre-qualify and you’re undergoing a much simpler process that can give you a ballpark figure of what you can afford to borrow, but with no promise from the lender. Getting pre-approved is more of a pain since you’ll have to provide tons of paperwork, but it’s worth the trouble since it guarantees you’re creditworthy and can truly buy a home.

Before they even meet with a lender, one step homebuyers can take to begin understanding what they can afford as a monthly mortgage payment is to plug their info into an online home affordability calculator. This will calculate the maximum amount you can afford as a monthly payment.

Step 4: Find a real estate agent

Want a trusty home-buying guide by your side? Most first-timers will want a great real estate agent—specifically a buyer’s agent, who will help them find the right houses, negotiate a great real estate deal, and explain all of the nuances of home buying along the way.

Here’s how to find a real estate agent in your area. Note: There is a difference between a real estate agent and a Realtor^®; the latter is a member of the National Association of Realtors® and adheres to a code of ethics. Consider having a Realtor additional insurance so that you’ll get the help you need to ace the process.

Step 5: Go shop for a home!

This is the fun part! As a homebuyer, you can peruse thousands of real estate listings on sites such as Realtor.com, then ask your agent to set up appointments to see your favorites in person.

Since the sheer number of homes can become overwhelming, it’s best to separate your must-haves from those features you’d like but don’t really need. Do you really want a new home, or do you prefer a fixer-upper? Make a list of your wants and needs to get started, and whittle down your options.

Step 6: Make an offer

Have you found your dream home? Then it’s time to make an offer to the seller. Be prepared to write a check to the seller—it’s called “earnest money,” and it’s different from the deposit.

Here’s more on how to make an offer on a house that a seller can’t refuse.

Step 7: Get a home inspection

A home inspection is where you hire a home inspector to check out the house from top to bottom to determine if there are any problems with it that might make you think twice about moving forward. Think: termites, faulty foundation, mold, asbestos, etc. Sure, a lot can go wrong, but rest assured that most problems are fixable.

Step 8: Get a home appraisal

Even if you got pre-approved for your home loan, your lender will want to conduct a home appraisal. This is where the lender checks out the house to make sure it’s a good investment. It’s similar to a home inspection, but for your lender.

Here’s more about how to buy a house and the home appraisal process and what to expect as a buyer.

Step 9: Head to closing

Closing, which in different parts of the country is also known as settlement or escrow, brings together a variety of parties who are part of the real estate transaction, including the buyer, seller, mortgage representative, and others.

Closing is the day you officially get the keys to your new home—and pay all the various parties involved. That will include your down payment for your loan, plus closing costs, the extra fees you pay to process your loan.

Closing costs can be sizable, averaging anywhere from 2% to 7% of the home price.

Here’s more on closing costs for homebuyers.

Step 10: Move in!

Done with closing? Got your loan? Congratulations, you’ve officially graduated from a homebuyer to a homeowner! See, the long-term process of buying a first home wasn’t so scary after all, right? Now, it’s time to kick back and enjoy the many benefits of becoming a homeowner.

 

For this and similar articles, please visit Realtor.com

In the fashion world, September, not January, marks the turning of a page—a time to look toward what’s new.

We like to take the same tack with design: With cooler seasons ahead (in some parts of the world, anyway), now is the time to reevaluate our interiors, taking cues from designers and trend setters.

As such, here are nine design trends we predict will be everywhere this fall (and beyond)—from kitchens that riff on wood paneling to the colors taking over the zeitgeist. Have a look!

1. Wood all over

The wood paneling trend continues; and this fall, kitchens in particular will be getting the wood-all-over treatment. Here, floor-to-ceiling built-in cabinets in a Brooklyn, NY, townhouse feel at once retro and earthy.

Photograph by Adrian Gaut, styling by Glen Proebstel, courtesy of Starling Architecture, from Kitchen of the Week: Resurrecting Modernist Design in a Landmark Brooklyn Heights Townhouse.

2. Curvy kitchens

Forget right angles: Lately, kitchens are all smooth curves, making for a cook space that’s visually striking and easier to move around. Case in point: In Kitchen of the Week: A Living-Room-Inspired Minimalist Kitchen in Stockholm by Nordiska Kök, the cabinets are more like high-end furnishings than generic, big-box cupboards.

Photograph by Kristofer Johnsson, styling by Caroline Sandström, courtesy of Nordiska Kök. See also Kitchens of the Week: 9 Curvilinear Cook Spaces, Trend Edition.

3. Buttery yellow

Butter yellow is here to stay: The color is showing up everywhere, from Paris museums to design-forward homes and furnishings to floors. See: The Butter Trend Takes Over Interiors: 13 Rooms Drenched in Pale Yellow for a few of our favorites.

Styling by Alexa Hotz; photography by Jonathan Hökklo for Remodelista, from A Colonial House in Bellport with Uncommon Style from French Designer C. S. Valentin.

4. Stripes

Stripes are making a comeback, and they’re not just for the summer cottage. Try them on armchairs or sofas (see 10 Easy Pieces: Striped Sofas for a few ideas), in the bedroom, or even on the walls if you’re feeling bold.

Shown is the playful Roma Sofa from Urban Outfitters.

5. Brick floors indoors

In the flooring section of our book, Remodelista: The Low-Impact Home, we advise: “Just say no to the synthetic stuff” and stick to natural materials instead.

The latest trend in natural flooring material isn’t, in fact, new at all: Bricks are one of the oldest and most durable building materials around, and we applaud their use indoors (as well as out).

Read more in Trend Alert: Brick Floors, Interiors Edition. Shown here is the Heatherhill Beach House project by Norm Architects; photograph by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen.

6. Wetroom-esque bathrooms

In the bath, we’re noticing floors, walls, and even ceilings done entirely in tile.

We’re intrigued: In addition to creating a modern, cohesive look, it could make for easier cleaning.

Photograph by Neeve Woodward, courtesy of Katie Lockhart Studio, as seen in Bathroom of the Week: Two Bath Remodels with Bold Green Tile in Auckland.

7. Hole-punched design

Call them apertures, hole-punches, or punctures: We predict perforated design details will be everywhere this fall, like this chair with cut-outs spotted in Urban Indoor-Outdoor Living: A Young Couple’s Redesign of a “Charmless” Row House in Ghent.

Photograph by Tim Van de Velde, courtesy of Atelier Avondzon.

8. Folding screens in the boudoir

The new headboard? Moveable, modular folding screens make a dramatic backdrop for the bed—like this glossy, black number at the James Bradley Hotel. See more favorites in Trend Alert: 7 Folding Screens in the Bedroom (Headboard Edition).

9. Glimpses of green

The next color trend on the horizon? Vibrant, verdant green. Stay tuned—we predict we’ll be seeing lots more of it, as in this wine bar in New York City. For more, see Parcelle: A Wine-Focused Restaurant in Greenwich Village, Filled with Vintage Gems.

Photograph by Michael Carnavale.

 

For this and related articles, please visit Realtor.com