First Time HomeBuyer Needs Advice

Hello everyone,

We are first time home buyers and we need some advice.  We have been saving for a downpayment for awhile and have been renting in Irvine for years.  We are finally ready to buy our first home.  My question is what is the first step for us?  Do we meet with an agent, arrange financing with the bank, or something else? We know we would like to buy in Irvine and know the items we would like in our new home, but besides that we don't know what we should do next.  We would like to buy this year.  Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I would recommend your first step to speak to a good lender to get pre-approved so you know what your true purchase budget is.  The lender can also discuss all the different type of loans to see which one might be the best fit for you.  I HIGHLY recommend you reach out to Soylent as I refer him to all my buyers and have personally used him for both of my home purchases.  Work with an agent who is familiar with the area/s that you are most interested in buying in.  That being said, I know Irvine/Tustin Ranch like the back of my hand since I do most of my purchase & sale transactions there and give opportunity for my buyers to buy my upcoming listings. I also provide buyer agent commission rebates to all my buyers and have all the referrals you would ever need (lenders, home inspectors, contractors, etc).  Feel free to PM me if you would like to discuss further.

I agree with USC, talk to a lender first (I also recommend SGIP aka John Wheaton).

Then once you know your budget, interview some realtors starting with the TI recommended ones (I use Scott Gunther).

Good luck!

I second USCTrojan's advice on securing your financing first and narrowing down a price range.  After that it really depends if you are buying a resale or new construction.  On the new builds you need to bring an agent on your first physical visit to get a split of the rebate from the builder. Either way I would give USCTriojan a pm as he helped us buy our first Irvine home and hes helped many others on this board as well.  No pressure, gave great advice, and the most patient of realtors I've ever worked with.

You've taken a good first step by coming to TI! This board has a wealth of information. As you start looking at homes, you'll notice that a lot of the floor plans and villages have striking similarities. This board helps identify differentiators (i.e. Great Park has sigificantly higher HOA's, part of Orchard Hills is zoned for TUSD, etc etc).

Only thing I haven't seen mentioned is use Redfin and go to open houses! Familiarize yourself with what kind of home you want and what neighborhood. Be an informed buyer and don't rely on your agent to do all the work!

My two suggestions:

1) You've been saving, but it's time also to train your budget for home ownership. Example:

If rent is $2,500, assume your new home payment is $3,500. If your apartment pays your utilities in that $2,500, assume your home ownership expenses will be at least $500. Once you pay your $2,500 rent, put the home ownership expense equivalent - $1,500 - into a savings account the same day.

Don't count this money towards your down payment. Once you move in, spend it, but for now just save it and forget it. This practice will help make the transition from renting to home owning very easy.

2) Once you've seen the open house, come by about 3 hrs later and knock on a few doors. See what the community is like without an open house going on, who your neighbors might be, and other things that can help decide if this is the right area to purchase in, or not.

Soylent Green Is People.

Agreed on getting a lender to prequalify you. Once you start looking and want to make an offer, it will go pretty quickly and your offer wont be as strong without a prequal letter and a competitive down payment.

Better get prequal or that home you thought you were gonna get will get bought right under you.