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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 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 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 a 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.

Our goal is to provide you with the most personalized service that is designed to help you buy your dream home

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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.

We know that the Bend area offers you the next-level lifestyle you’re looking for.  The Vandenborn Group is here to help you purchase a new home and bring an end to your search for that lifestyle; begin living it!  Our vast knowledge and experience allow us to assist you in all situations. Whether you are a first-time homebuyer, moving up, downsizing, or purchasing an investment property, we are on your side. Our professionalism, integrity, and negotiation skills shine, showing that we are committed to you. Let us be your trusted advisor and partner! Buying a home can be a stressful time, and we recognize this. Our dedication to working for you helps create a seamless process and an enjoyable experience. One of our greatest joys is handing keys to clients for their new homes.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I would highly recommend Natalie and Trish. They were very professional, communicative, and friendly. Natalie helped my family and I find the home we were looking for and answered any questions we had during the process in a timely manner.

— Buyer & Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Natalie and her team are the best in the business. She's vastly knowledgable about the market and all the nuances that come with buying and selling homes. Best of all, there is no pressure with Natalie. She's exactly what you need in a real estate agent, someone who wants what you want, and will go to bat on your behalf when she needs to. We've bought and sold homes with them, and highly recommend them t...

— Scott

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We would recommend Trish Hansen as a full service seller’s broker. The listing looked polished and professional. She was organized, thorough, and motivated. Trish provided excellent service even answering the phone evenings and weekends, and going out of her way to make the transaction go very smoothly. She was in constant communication with the buyer’s broker and mortgage company and kept us informed re...

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I would give Natalie 6 out of 5 stars if I could. She was recommended to us by friends who had recently moved to Bend, and we knew from our first phone meeting with her that she was the agent for us. She and Trish were attentive, engaged, and thorough from the start always there with an answer whenever we had a question and in front of the process from the beginning. Buying a house is a stressful experie...

— Pinaire

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Trish in an amazing realtor! She was very motivated in finding the right options for us in a new home and all while trying to sell our previous home. She is a hard working individual that will not stop working for you until your home is sold and or purchased. She truly was a pleasure to work with and at the end we sold or old home, purchased our dream home and gained an amazing friend. Thank you Trish fo...

— Charles O.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Very helpful and knowledgeable about everything. First-time buyer and she walks me through everything A+ wonderfully. A+ in the future if I have to sell it I will be using her as my agent. Highly recommended.

— Rob M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

I am not a first time homebuyer, but a fourth time homebuyer. Trish was terrifically helpful with finding me the right properties to look at, and scheduling viewings on weekends when I could make it over the mountains to Bend (I live in Eugene), even during the COVID pandemic. She also took charge to chat up a homeowner long enough for me to actually look at the home without the homeowner following me ar...

— Susan A.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Natalie was very professional, diligent and amazing resource for us during our home purchase in Sisters. Her team was equally helpful during the process as well. Everyone was very friendly and courteous to work with. Amazing to work with. Highly recommend!

— David B.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We were recommended to Natalie by a business associate and so glad we did. Over the years we have bought and sold numerous houses and had mixed results with brokers. Not this time! Natalie and her team were a delight to work with and organized, responsive and professional from start to finish. Being concerned while living out of town in Southern California during the entire process, and having a renter l...

— Joe

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

We just wanted to take a moment to express our gratitude and admiration for the outstanding service that Trish Hansen provided us during our recent real estate purchase. In a few words, you have truly gone "Above and Beyond" our expectations. From the very first moment we went up to Bend OR, and met you in person, we felt reassured that we had found not just a real estate agent but a trusted partner. We ...

— Maria B.

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We pride ourselves in providing personalized solutions that bring our clients closer to their dream properties and enhance their long-term wealth. Contact us today to find out how we can be of assistance to you!