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Buyer's Guide

Empower your home buying journey with expert tips and insights.

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. 

Testimonials

"Craig will go above and beyond to help you sell and/or buy a house. He guides his clients through the entire process and makes sure everyone has a good understanding of everything taking place. I have had the pleasure of working with him on three transactions now (2 purchases, and 1 sale) and will continue to do so as long as I stay in this area."
"Craig will go above and beyond to help you sell and/or buy a house. He guides his clients through the entire process and makes sure everyone has a good understanding of everything taking place. I have had the pleasure of working with him on three transactions now (2 purchases, and 1 sale) and will continue to do so as long as I stay in this area."
Laura P.
"Excellent service, very knowledgeable a pleasure to work with. Craig sold our home first home in 2003 and also helped us buy a home. We are using him again because he has worked in the upland area for many years. Always quick to respond, and again very knowledgeable."
"Excellent service, very knowledgeable a pleasure to work with. Craig sold our home first home in 2003 and also helped us buy a home. We are using him again because he has worked in the upland area for many years. Always quick to respond, and again very knowledgeable."
Eva F.
"Flint Reality/Help U Sell made selling my house in today's market easy and at the right price. Craig and I worked together using traditional approaches, but with me as the seller in a hands-on role with Craig as a coach/facilitator. His expertise and guidance made the whole process painless and left me with the feeling that this transaction was too good to be true. If you want to save a lot of money, then selling your house using Flint Reality is the right choice! Craig handled the transaction for both the seller and buyer for the price of one!"
"Flint Reality/Help U Sell made selling my house in today's market easy and at the right price. Craig and I worked together using traditional approaches, but with me as the seller in a hands-on role with Craig as a coach/facilitator. His expertise and guidance made the whole process painless and left me with the feeling that this transaction was too good to be true. If you want to save a lot of money, then selling your house using Flint Reality is the right choice! Craig handled the transaction for both the seller and buyer for the price of one!"
Seller
"More and more folks are bypassing conventional selling/buying traditions. Craig at Help U Sell bridges the gap for those who want to save big but still have the security and seasoned expertise of an agent to help wrap things up. Craig deserves recognition in each category listed above. Craig always keeps me abreast of any updates, changes, or requests. His response is returning my calls was always within the 1/2 hour, never leaving me hanging on outstanding issues. He negotiated on my behalf and gave me the feeling he was truly looking out for my benefit This is the way to sell or buy a home and Craig gets our highest recommendation."
"More and more folks are bypassing conventional selling/buying traditions. Craig at Help U Sell bridges the gap for those who want to save big but still have the security and seasoned expertise of an agent to help wrap things up. Craig deserves recognition in each category listed above. Craig always keeps me abreast of any updates, changes, or requests. His response is returning my calls was always within the 1/2 hour, never leaving me hanging on outstanding issues. He negotiated on my behalf and gave me the feeling he was truly looking out for my benefit This is the way to sell or buy a home and Craig gets our highest recommendation."
Seller
"I have worked with Craig for several years now and he cares about his client's needs and is very good with follow-through during the transaction."
"I have worked with Craig for several years now and he cares about his client's needs and is very good with follow-through during the transaction."
Ron P.
"Craig is a very professional realtor. He was prompt in answering my questions and was on time for all of my appointments."
"Craig is a very professional realtor. He was prompt in answering my questions and was on time for all of my appointments."
Buyer | Seller
"Craig Flint was an immense help in my home-buying process. Being a first-time homebuyer, he walked me through every step. Extremely knowledgeable and professional. I appreciate his patience and would highly recommend him! Thank you, Craig!"
"Craig Flint was an immense help in my home-buying process. Being a first-time homebuyer, he walked me through every step. Extremely knowledgeable and professional. I appreciate his patience and would highly recommend him! Thank you, Craig!"
Teresa T.
"My wife and I had the pleasure of doing business with Craig Flint and he has changed our whole life. My wife and I were shopping for our first house in Southern California and we made the right decision by choosing Craig Flint to represent us and help us purchase the right house. His professionalism, knowledge of the market, patience, and overall expertise landed us the perfect house on which we closed not a month and a half later. Since that experience, we have been glad to have stayed in touch and even called Craig a friend. We could not recommend Craig highly enough."
"My wife and I had the pleasure of doing business with Craig Flint and he has changed our whole life. My wife and I were shopping for our first house in Southern California and we made the right decision by choosing Craig Flint to represent us and help us purchase the right house. His professionalism, knowledge of the market, patience, and overall expertise landed us the perfect house on which we closed not a month and a half later. Since that experience, we have been glad to have stayed in touch and even called Craig a friend. We could not recommend Craig highly enough."
Buyer
"Craig helped us purchase and sell our first home, as well as purchase the home we currently own. He went above and beyond to ensure that we found what we were looking for both times. His attention to detail and ability to explain all steps of the buying and selling process helped us- especially the first time. He genuinely wants what is best for his clients, and that comes through! We recommend Craig if you are looking to buy and/or sell your home!"
"Craig helped us purchase and sell our first home, as well as purchase the home we currently own. He went above and beyond to ensure that we found what we were looking for both times. His attention to detail and ability to explain all steps of the buying and selling process helped us- especially the first time. He genuinely wants what is best for his clients, and that comes through! We recommend Craig if you are looking to buy and/or sell your home!"
Seller
"Craig did an outstanding job with helping us buy our first home in CA. Craig is very knowledgeable. He always responded to texts and emails immediately. He answered the telephone. He is an excellent communicator. He started as our realtor now he is our friend. I am thankful that Craig helped us buy our first home in CA. I will call him again when we buy the next home in CA. A very pleasant and wonderful experience having him as our realtor."
"Craig did an outstanding job with helping us buy our first home in CA. Craig is very knowledgeable. He always responded to texts and emails immediately. He answered the telephone. He is an excellent communicator. He started as our realtor now he is our friend. I am thankful that Craig helped us buy our first home in CA. I will call him again when we buy the next home in CA. A very pleasant and wonderful experience having him as our realtor."
Ramczi M.

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