Buyer's Guide

Everything you need to know as a buyer, from finding your dream home to accepting an offer and successfully closing the deal.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Our Testimonials

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I. Mayol

Kevin was my realtor and was with me throughout the entire process. He was looking for an apartment for me for like a year. He responded super fast at all times. Super responsible, super diligent. If a problem arose, he would l...

J. Sasso

The experience with Eduardo Sánchez (runner) was a positive one. Throughout the entire process there was good communication and transparency. Grateful to Eduardo and Balckmont.

E. Rios

Keven Rodriguez of Blackmont Homes. A very professional and diligent young man. I left a message on the Zillow app late at night, and he called me back early the next morning. He was diligent and professional from the start. Th...

R. Aleman

Working with Omar was an absolute blessing. From the very beginning, he treated us like family, not just clients. Omar took the time to understand what we were looking for in a home, and he guided us through the entire process ...

B. Angus

Phenomenal customer service and attention! Our home buying experience was great despite some hurdles(bank) along the way. Blackmont made sure my family was taken care of and provided step by step assistance. Thank you for ever...

R. Guzman

We listed our home with Jose Ramos. It was an emotional process leaving our first home which we were outgrowing with our expanding family. Selling our home is what we consider to be a huge success story and Jose is responsible ...

M. Dior

José Ramos was the real estate broker who helped me find my first home. He was very diligent and helpful throughout this whole process. I am so happy and grateful with his service. Highly recommended.

E. Calderon

My experience with Blackmont is superb. I am a client from Cusa Consulting and Kevin Rodriguez is a professional realtor who cares about his prospective clients. He is very reliable, transparent and a go getter! Edgar E Caldero...

L. Torres

We had a fantastic experience with Paola from Blackmont Homes. She helped us find the beachfront apartment we were looking for in a remarkably short time. Communication with her was smooth and efficient throughout the entire pr...

I. Perez

I was searching for a realtor in Puerto Rico to help me purchase my first vacation home and Airbnb property. The process wasn’t easy; many realtors wouldn’t return my calls, and I was on the verge of giving up. Then I made one...

J. Decene

Eduardo did an outstanding job representing us and keeping our needs his priority. He went above and beyond with any hiccups coming our way. Definitely the best.

C. Basto

Karla- was excellent. Took her time showing us properties till we found the perfect spot. Highly recommend her. Very Knowledgable about the area and showed us multiple options. Speaks Spanish and English

H. Maldonado

Karla helped me to rent and eventually sell my house. Karla knows the Market very well. Helped me to do some changes to the property to make it more attractive and did the approrpiate research on potential prospects to save me ...

J. Marrero

Erick helped make the transaction very easy. Very professional and respectful. Was available to answer questions at all times, helping with his knowledge on the matter very helpful. Since the moment we contacted for information...

Roger B.

Jamie was very efficient and responsive during the process she assist in every aspect of the buying process and after the purchase. I'm looking forward to work with Jamie again in the future.

Jesica B.

Mi experiencia con ella de Realtor fue excelente!! Gracias a ella logré adquirir mi primer hogar mucho más rápido de lo que otras personas lo han hecho. Es bien comprometida con su trabajo. Y no descansa hasta verte lograr tu s...

F. Luis

Luis did a great job assisting us finding an apartment to rent. He was always available. He really went beyond! His advice was really valuable for us!

S. Ramirez

Paola did an outstanding job with the purchase of my condo. She went above and beyond throughout the entire process. She was informative about the neighborhood and the market. She paid extreme attention to detail on everything ...

Fortuño

Paola was fantastic! She would respond almost immediately to any of our requests. We were not planning to buy the unit, but she made the whole process so smooth that we ended up buying the property!

R. Varipapa

I found Paola on a hunch through Zillow, and she turned out to be one of the best real estate agents I’ve ever worked with (and I've done a bunch of real estate deals). She’s exceptionally knowledgeable, highly responsive, and ...

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