Buying your first home can feel overwhelming when you don’t know what happens next.

In this episode of First Time Homebuyer Pros, Dat Nguyen walks you through the entire home-buying process—from what you should do before speaking with a lender all the way to getting the keys to your first home.

You’ll learn:

• What to check before starting the mortgage process
• Why your down payment isn’t the only money you’ll need
• Financial moves you should avoid while preparing to buy
• How to choose the right mortgage lender
• What actually happens during mortgage pre-approval
• Why the most you qualify for isn’t always what you should spend
• How to choose the right real estate agent
• What makes a strong offer in a competitive market
• What earnest money is and how it works
• What happens during the home inspection and appraisal
• What mortgage underwriting is actually looking for
• What “clear to close” means
• What to expect during the final walkthrough and closing day

If you’re thinking about buying your first home—even if you’re still months away—this episode will give you a clear roadmap of what to expect and help you avoid many of the surprises first-time buyers run into.

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Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

Today we’ll be talking about how to find a good lender and what questions to ask them to make sure they’re a good fit for you.

For each section, we go into detail to help you better understand the process.

Let’s first start by just listing a few of the ways to find a lender:

1. Realtor referral
2. A friend or coworker who recently bought a home
3. An Online Search
4. A referral from an organization

Some questions to ask a potential loan officer:

1. How long have you been working in the industry?
2. What types of loans do you primarily work on?
3. What types of loans do you like working on?
4. What do you like about doing loans?
5. What is your communication style and method, how often will we be talking?
6. I’m really new to this process, do you work with a lot of first time home buyers?
7. Do you have any first time home buyer programs? Any down payment assistance programs?
8. How long are your loans taking to close?
9. What’s the market looking like right now? What should I know?
10. What do you need from me to get started?

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

One of the first steps to home ownership is choosing a real estate agent.

I’d like to go over a few ways you can find an agent, and the types of questions you can ask.

Want to get connected with a vetted agent right away? We’ve partnered with Home&Money to help you get connected quickly and easily. Simply head over to https://homeandmoney.com/fthb/ and fill out the simple form to be connected right away with a qualified agent!

I love working with first time home buyers to help them become more educated in the process, and feel confident with their purchase. I love seeing people go from renting to owning a home and building equity. Some clients buy a starter home, others are buying their forever home. Each person is different and each purchase is unique. That’s also what I love about this, our industry is always changing and staying on top of those trends helps you be a better agent.

View the full blog post about Choosing a Real Estate Agent

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

Today we’ll be talking about what is a pre-approval or pre-qualification.

We’ll also talk about what kind of documentation you may need to get that letter.

Let’s start at the beginning, a pre-approval or pre-qualification are both letters that your loan officer will create that states how much of a loan you could be approved for. This letter is used while you are shopping for homes as well as when submitting offers on homes.

See detailed show notes about Pre-Qualifications vs Pre-Approvals and when you need one.

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

Today I’ll be talking about What is a Credit Score, and is Credit Karma Accurate.

See full show notes @ https://fthbpros.com/what-is-a-credit-score-and-is-credit-karma-accurate/

A credit score is a number that represents your creditworthiness. this number is generated from the information in your credit report. the higher your score, the less likely you are to miss payments or default on your loans and obligations.

Credit Karma uses the VantageScore 3.0 model to generate its scores, which is a widely used scoring model for credit monitoring. Because each lender has its own criteria for approving loans, your score on Credit Karma may not perfectly align with the score a lender would use to evaluate your loan application. It's accuracy varies heavily on the type of tradelines on your report, and how long ago they were reported as well as the type of loan you are looking for.

In summary, Credit Karma is a good way to check your credit score and get an idea of where you stand. However, it's not perfect, and your score will be different than what a lender sees. Mortgage lenders usually use FICO Scores, so it's always best to check with them directly to see what they're looking for. You'll need a good credit score to get a favorable interest rate and loan terms on a mortgage, and better credit scores can not only give you better interest rates, but more buying power.

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

Sometimes called the first time home buyers loan, FHA loans are one type of loan that you may come across during your research. We’ll take a closer look at what an FHA loan is and how it might benefit you as a first-time home buyer.

We'll cover the following topics:

• An Introduction to FHA Loans
• What types of FHA loans are there?
• What Are the Benefits of an FHA Loan?
• What additional fees are associated with an FHA loan?
• What are the income and loan limits for an FHA loan?
• What homes are eligible for an FHA loan?
• Are there other loan options with lower down payments than an FHA loan?
• Other types of FHA loans

See full show notes, article, and details @ https://fthbpros.com/what-is-an-fha-loan/

Join Our Facebook Community @ https://www.facebook.com/groups/fthbpros/

An FHA loan is a mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), a government agency that is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). FHA loans are available to all kinds of borrowers, including first-time home buyers with limited credit histories. This type of loan is attractive to first-time home buyers because it has more flexible lending requirements than a conventional mortgage.

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

We're talking about buying distressed homes for less than market value, are they worth it? Raj Sharma brings his knowledge of REO, short sale, and pre-foreclosure homes to the episode, to give you an idea of what these homes are, how to find them, and if they're worth it for a first time home buyer.

Raj is a Southern California real estate agent who is a veteran of the 2008 housing crisis, who has worked with the banks in valuations as well as nearly a hundred buyers of distressed homes over the last 13 years.

If you are looking for alternate ways to buy homes at a discount, or are looking to buy a home to do a full remodel, hit play!

Full Show Notes: https://fthbpros.com/buying-an-reo-or-short-sale-home/

Raj's Contact Info:
DRE LIC# 01507253/01886334
Email: Raj@legacyhomesrealty.com
Phone: (951) 314-4251
Website: LegacyHomesRealty.com

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.

Saving up for a down payment on a house can seem like an impossible task but there are ways to make it happen. I give 8 different tactics that can be used and combined together to help you get your down payment in 12-24 months.

See the full article and show notes here: https://fthbpros.com/how-to-save-for-a-down-payment-on-a-house/

Don't let the down payment keep you from getting into a home!

Send us Fan Mail

Free First-Time Homebuyer Tools:
FTHBPros.com

Connect with Dat Nguyen:

Email: hello@fthbpros.com or dat@elendingteam.com
Instagram: @Datloans
Everyday Lending Group NMLS 1379110

If you know someone thinking about buying their first home, send them this episode. The more you understand the process before you start, the easier it is to make confident decisions when the right home comes along.

Follow First Time Homebuyer Pros so you don’t miss the upcoming deep dives on pre-approval, credit, mortgage rates, writing offers, appraisals, underwriting, and more.