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Buyer's Guide

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 your agent 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 I 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 a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically, yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, and this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

Passion & Expertise

My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service possible, meticulously designed to help you navigate the process of buying your dream home. I am 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!). I 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. I 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. I 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. 

Success Stories from Happy Clients

What My Clients Say

"If you are looking for a realtor, look no further! I had been looking for a year and in less than 5 days Mari found our dream home! We are under contract! Mari will talk to you, listen to your wants and needs. She exceeded herself and she is truly a blessing. I can not wait to be at the closing table with Mari there to share this moment. All thanks to god first and Mari of course!"
"If you are looking for a realtor, look no further! I had been looking for a year and in less than 5 days Mari found our dream home! We are under contract! Mari will talk to you, listen to your wants and needs. She exceeded herself and she is truly a blessing. I can not wait to be at the closing table with Mari there to share this moment. All thanks to god first and Mari of course!"
Angeli V.
"Mari is an awesome realtor and very knowledgeable. With her years of experience in real estate you can be sure that she will step up to bat for her clients and help you find your dream home as well as sell your home. Her marketing skills are amazing and she will produce results selling your home fast! As your agent, she will definitely put a great deal together for a buyer or seller. My realtor is awesome! Thanks, Mari."
"Mari is an awesome realtor and very knowledgeable. With her years of experience in real estate you can be sure that she will step up to bat for her clients and help you find your dream home as well as sell your home. Her marketing skills are amazing and she will produce results selling your home fast! As your agent, she will definitely put a great deal together for a buyer or seller. My realtor is awesome! Thanks, Mari."
Anthony D.
"Mari Diaz is a great realtor, in the market for a home see her she will not only find you a perfect house she will get you your forever home"
"Mari Diaz is a great realtor, in the market for a home see her she will not only find you a perfect house she will get you your forever home"
Ermida A.
"Mari was easy to work with and extremely professional. She helped with everything from repairs to staging. Great negotiator and around great realtor. Highly recommend."
"Mari was easy to work with and extremely professional. She helped with everything from repairs to staging. Great negotiator and around great realtor. Highly recommend."
Antonio D.
"I met Mari in fall of 2019 during a process of purchasing investment property for myself. She did excellent job in presenting it and selling it to me. We, together researched the listing, but she worked on fitting all the reports to my specific needs from the beginning. Mari treated me as important, valuable and unique client; all of our appointments were fit to my schedule, and she was highly engaged and well prepared for every one of them. Her responses were timely and fact oriented, something that I needed and emphasized. Very professional and enthusiastic relationship was created from a day one. Mari accountability, confidence and empathy maked whole process of purchasing easier for me; I would definitely use her in a future."
"I met Mari in fall of 2019 during a process of purchasing investment property for myself. She did excellent job in presenting it and selling it to me. We, together researched the listing, but she worked on fitting all the reports to my specific needs from the beginning. Mari treated me as important, valuable and unique client; all of our appointments were fit to my schedule, and she was highly engaged and well prepared for every one of them. Her responses were timely and fact oriented, something that I needed and emphasized. Very professional and enthusiastic relationship was created from a day one. Mari accountability, confidence and empathy maked whole process of purchasing easier for me; I would definitely use her in a future."
Buyer
"Mari Diaz is an awesome realtor she is professional and very knowledgeable my house sold in a week and I bought another home the process took about 5 months in all not bad to sell and buy a home the experience was great she shows you a lot of homes she returns phones calls she explains things thoroughly and she is very patient, she listens to her clients needs and gets the right home for you so if you are looking for a home call Mari she gets the job done."
"Mari Diaz is an awesome realtor she is professional and very knowledgeable my house sold in a week and I bought another home the process took about 5 months in all not bad to sell and buy a home the experience was great she shows you a lot of homes she returns phones calls she explains things thoroughly and she is very patient, she listens to her clients needs and gets the right home for you so if you are looking for a home call Mari she gets the job done."
Angela M.
"I was a first-time homebuyer and needed someone to hold my hand through the whole process. That's exactly what Mari did! She was super responsive to the many questions and status updates I asked of her. I also needed the deal to close asap and she kept her foot on the gas the whole time. Oh, and she's also very nice and friendly. Thanks for a great experience!"
"I was a first-time homebuyer and needed someone to hold my hand through the whole process. That's exactly what Mari did! She was super responsive to the many questions and status updates I asked of her. I also needed the deal to close asap and she kept her foot on the gas the whole time. Oh, and she's also very nice and friendly. Thanks for a great experience!"
Matt L.
"Mari is Awesome in Every way. I can't remember when I dealt with a more thorough and knowledgeable Real estate agent. We wouldn't have gotten our new home without her guidance. In fact she is now listing our old house for sale for us. And even coordinating some (Actually most) of the work. Literally the best my wife and I have ever worked with. If you give Mari a chance, she will not steer you wrong. Proud to call her our Agent and now our Friend. We would highly recommend her to anyone seeking a quality and knowledgeable real estate agent to walk you through the entire process. She earns her commission. She is Great, we would give her more than 5 stars if we could."
"Mari is Awesome in Every way. I can't remember when I dealt with a more thorough and knowledgeable Real estate agent. We wouldn't have gotten our new home without her guidance. In fact she is now listing our old house for sale for us. And even coordinating some (Actually most) of the work. Literally the best my wife and I have ever worked with. If you give Mari a chance, she will not steer you wrong. Proud to call her our Agent and now our Friend. We would highly recommend her to anyone seeking a quality and knowledgeable real estate agent to walk you through the entire process. She earns her commission. She is Great, we would give her more than 5 stars if we could."
Ali E.

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