Buying a House for The First Time

Last Updated on November 21, 2023 by growinghome.la

As someone buying a house for the first time, there’s so much you won’t know until you experience it. My personal experience as a first time home buyer inspired me to start my business, Growing Home. As I’ve started my business, I’ve realized that there’s not enough detailed resources from those on the other side.

Sure, there are homebuyer checklists everywhere, but who really tells you how it might feel throughout the process and gives you tools to help you have the best experience possible?

I recently had the pleasure of speaking with my new friend, Laura Moreno, who hosts The First Time Homebuyer podcast. I hope that you will find some key takeaways you can use as you prepare to buy a home for the first time.

The First Time Homebuyer Podcast Interview

In this interview, I get real about my first time home buying experience, and share the key things everyone should know as they’re buying a house for the first time.

How to find the best professionals to help you navigate the process
The strategy we used to increase our home value by $600,000 in 18 months
What we would do differently if we were buying a home for the first time again

… And so much more. So if you ever feel like you’re stuck on your homeownership journey, pause — take a deep breath — and listen to my interview with Laura.

The way our homes look and feel makes a huge difference for how we feel. And [they] can really help us live our best lives…our homes shape our lives and so it’s really important to feel like you have a space that really reflects you…Your home is a reflection of who you are.

Here’s a glance at the interview…

[01:30] My story of how my husband and I were buying a home for the first time in May 2020, after we had to cancel our wedding plans!

[3:25] What is Growing Home? How does my business help people?

[6:01] What I would do differently (and the same!) if I could be a first-time homebuyer again. How mindset is a huge part of your home buying experience and why you should map out your homebuyer goals when you’re buying a home for the first time – before you even sign up for Zillow or Redfin alerts.

[8:32:] Why I recommend finding your lender before you work with a real estate agent.

[9:34] Why you should never find your real estate agent through a home listing website! Bottom line: it’s the luck of the draw and anyone could be on the other end of the computer.

[11:34] Why our second real estate agent was way better than the first agent we connected with.

[13:20] How our closing process went and Part 2 of why I recommend finding your lender before your real estate agent.

[14:50] What it means to sell a home, “as is” and how it could affect your closing process.

[16:06] Why and how we decided to do a big renovation to increase the value of our home. Some struggles I faced with my personal finances to later becoming an “ideal borrower”

[19:25] I share the numbers behind our renovation, ups and downs of the process, why it’s so important to have a plan for the funds you are investing in and the strategy behind our refinance.

[30:03] My biggest advice for when you’re buying a home for the first time is to have solid financial footing in place before buying a home. The top mistakes I see – like not knowing what kind of home you want and not knowing how much you can afford.

[33:16] I share how I’m launching my new digital course, The Stress-Free Homebuyer, and more about what it will cover. I also share about how you can get started today by downloading my free workbook, Map Out Your Dream Home.

Click here to listen!