Your first 90 days of buying a home
Nobody tells you the order of operations, so here it is.
Weeks one to two: numbers before houses
Lender conversation, pre-approval, and an honest budget that includes taxes, insurance and any association fees. You want a monthly payment you'd be comfortable with in a bad month, not a good one.
Weeks two to six: looking properly
We tour with a filter, not a wish list. Three or four homes at a time, and a conversation after each one about what changed in your thinking.
Weeks six to eight: offer and contract
Price is one term among many. Timeline, contingencies and how you handle the inspection often matter more to a seller than the last two thousand dollars.
Weeks eight to twelve: to the table
Inspection, appraisal, underwriting, final walkthrough, settlement. This is the stretch where people get quiet and anxious, so it's the stretch where I over-communicate.
Still got a question about this? Send it over.
I answer these myself. No call center, no assistant screening the awkward ones.