If you're thinking about buying your first home right now, you're braver than you think.
The headlines will tell you it's impossible. That rates are too high, prices are too high, you don't have enough saved, you missed your window. I want to tell you something different: every single client I've worked with who took the leap is glad they did. Not because it was easy, but because nobody who owns a home has ever wished they waited longer.
This guide is everything I tell my buyers before we do a single thing.
What the process actually looks like.
Buying a home isn't one big decision. It's a hundred small ones, and having the right person next to you for each of them changes everything.
Step 1: Get pre-approved.
Before we look at a single house, you need a pre-approval letter. Pre-approval means a lender has actually looked at your finances and told you what you can borrow. In Utah's market, sellers won't take you seriously without one. They are needed in order to write an offer. This is the biggest duck we're referencing when we mention "getting your ducks in a row" during this process.
Step 2: Sit down with me.
Steps one and two are interchangeable. What matters is both happen before looking at homes. This is where I get to know you and your goals as well as your criteria. Not just bedrooms and bathrooms. I want to know if you need main floor living because bad knees run in your family. I want to know if your backyard needs to feel like the mountains, not a mountain view, actually touching mother nature with your bare feet. I want to know if you have a commercial vehicle and need an HOA that won't come after you. The details matter.
Step 3: Start looking.
This is the fun part. We'll take everything you told me and go find it, checking every box we can, balancing what you want and need with what makes sense financially to keep you in your qualifying and comfort range.
Step 4: Make an offer.
This is where having a negotiator matters. An offer isn't just a number. It's terms, contingencies, timelines, and leverage. Every detail is either working for you or against you.
Step 5: Under contract.
Once you and the sellers have come to terms and every document is signed by both parties, you're under contract. Most people think once you're under contract, it's done. It's not. This is actually where negotiation is just beginning. Negotiation can open back up during inspection and appraisal.
Step 6: Earnest money.
Have you ever put down a security deposit on a lease? This is similar. It's a deposit you put down when your offer is accepted, typically 1% of the purchase price. Earnest money ultimately goes towards your down payment or closing costs in the end. It shows the seller you're serious. This is also the money we work hard to protect throughout the transaction, as there is a point where this money becomes non-refundable should you back out of the contract.
Step 7: Inspection.
A licensed inspector goes through the home top to bottom. This is one of the most important steps in the process and one of the biggest moments for negotiation. What we find here matters, and how we respond to it matters even more. If there is a safety concern, this is the time we negotiate for the sellers to fix it or offer more concessions for you to fix it once you own the home.
Step 8: Appraisal.
Your lender orders this to confirm the home is worth what you're paying for it. Some loans also require repairs on the home in order for them to fund it. I like to describe the appraisal as the lender's inspection. If it comes in low, that opens another negotiation. If it comes in high, congratulations: you're walking in on instant equity.
Step 9: Final loan approval.
During your due diligence period, including inspection, appraisal, etc., your lender has been building your loan and doing a deeper dive on your finances than what was initially looked at in the pre-approval. Near the end your lender does a final review of everything: your finances, the property, the appraisal. This is called "clear to close." When you get that call, you're almost there.
Step 10: Title and docs.
A title company reviews the history of the property to make sure there are no liens or surprises. They also prepare all your closing documents and typically run the actual closing process at the table.
Step 11: Closing.
You sit down, you sign, it becomes official. This is the moment everything you worked for becomes real. However, we have to wait for the loan to actually be funded and the title company to record the deed in order for the house to truly be yours and for you to get keys. This stumps a lot of buyers: they think when they sign the closing documents, they walk away with keys. This funding and recording process can take up to 48 hours.
Step 12: Funding and recording.
The keys are yours. Welcome home.
What I want for you when this is over.
I don't measure a successful transaction by whether we closed. I measure it by whether you walk away understanding exactly what happened and why, educated enough that you could explain the process to your best friend if they asked.
70% of buyers forget their agent's name within a year. I'm not interested in being that agent. When you close with me, I'm still your resource. When rates drop and you want to talk about refinancing, call me. When your neighbor asks if you know a good agent, I want to be the name that comes out of your mouth without hesitation.
You took the leap. That makes you my kind of person.
Let's find you a home.