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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, 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.

My 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!). 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.

Hernán L.
Daysha R.
Teresa S.
Priscilla E.
Julia D.
Maria L.
Divine
Kimberly A.
Caroline M.
Socal Motorsports
Kooter
LahLah M.
Chase B.
Buyer
Shereka B.
Karshna S.
Dwanyell H.
Alice W.
Rochell S.
Juan C.
WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose helped us find the right home and negotiated great terms. Very happy with the process and our purchase. I will recommend her to my family and friends. I will reach out to her on our next purchase.

— Hernán L.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I absolutely loved working with Rose. At the start of my home selling journey I was very unsure of what I wanted, and she was very patient and understanding. This was my first time selling a home, and she made the process extremely easy. I even moved states during my process, and she went as far as to constantly check on the home for me and kept me updated daily. Rose was a great negotiator and my home s...

— Daysha R.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is an awesome agent. She takes her job very seriously and looks out for her clients’ best interests. If I ever had the need to refer any of my clients, I would not hesitate to do so.

— Teresa S.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose demonstrates extensive knowledge of the client's market area, real estate laws and property listings. Offers professional advice to clients with integrity and patience. Buying or selling a home, Rose, ranks high with the best of available agent representatives.

— Priscilla E.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is an excellent realtor! She works hard to get her customers the right price, the maximum amount of assistance and is with them every step of the way! I highly recommend Rose! She is professional and gets the job done!

— Julia D.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I am so grateful that Rose helped me through my journey in getting my home. She was a blessing very helpful and with her guidance I am now in a house that I wanted.

— Maria L.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is knowledgeable about Houston real estate market! She will be a great realtor for anyone!

— Divine

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

An Amazing Realtor, she truly works the business so that buyers and sellers are left satisfied and with a true understanding for the landscape of Real Estate. Thank you Rose for being a true resource in this industry!

— Kimberly A.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is a wonderful REALTOR! She has helped my clients that are moving to Houston find a home and they all been very happy with her representation. Thanks, Rose!

— Caroline M.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I can't Thank Rose enough. She was awesome from the first day we met. She was extremely patient with us and explained everything to us. It was our first time buying a house, and she was there through the whole process, beginning to end. I highly recommend her if you're looking to buy a house, she is who you would want to go with. She helped us find the right house, find the right financing, and made sure...

— Socal Motorsports

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is a very competent realtor who knows and is in touch with the market trends and a very good advisor who helped us to make the right decisions. I am an international buyer who did not know the Houston housing market. In a one-month span, I arrived in Houston; she relentlessly took us to all of the houses and areas we wanted to see. On the second day, we found the house we wanted to buy, made our bid...

— Kooter

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

My fiancé and I had the pleasure of working with Rose when we were searching for our new home. There are limited houses on the market, and it is extremely competitive for a buyer. Oftentimes, the houses were off-market before we even got a chance to see them. Nonetheless, Rose helped us get close with the keys to our new home in 30 days! She provided exceptional service by accommodating our schedule, bei...

— LahLah M.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose helped me buy and sell over the past couple of years. She usually ends up doing the other realtor's job half the time with people not being as committed to their clients as she is to get things done in a timely manner. I loved her ability to navigate slippery situations with the Pandemic. She will always be my go-to realtor in the Houston market.

— Chase B.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Not only does she work for you, but she explains and simplifies to this 1st home buyer. She made this rough experience a smoother transition.

— Buyer

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is knowledgeable in her field and provided me with a lot of information on the area I wanted to relocate to. She is very welcoming!

— Shereka B.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Thank you so much to my Realtor, Mrs. Rose Dunn, for all your help, including going above and beyond the call of your duties. We were extremely grateful for all of your hard work and dedication you've done to help us sell our home. We are endlessly grateful to have you as our agent and couldn't be happier with the way everything has worked out. While working with you, it has been extremely stress-free. A...

— Karshna S.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose is an excellent realtor. She will go above and beyond to satisfy her client needs. It was definitely a tough journey to endure while trying to purchase our dream home but Rose made it possible.

— Dwanyell H.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

I highly recommend Mrs. Dunn for her expertise and knowledge of the real estate market. She goes above and beyond the call of duty to get the job done effectively and efficiently.

— Alice W.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

Rose went above and beyond to help me into my new home! The process was a bit stressful but whenever I had questions or needed clarity, her response was quick and helpful! I will definitely work with Rose again when that time comes for me to upgrade to a bigger home. I highly recommend her as your realtor if you’re looking for someone reliable that takes action to get you into what you are looking for. T...

— Rochell S.

WHAT MY CLIENTS SAY

We are very happy with her great work, and she never gave up on finding us a home. If it weren't for her we wouldn't be able to find our dream home. Even when we didn't qualify for the requirements of the loan home she never gave up. She's always there at 100 percent. Thanks, Ms. Rose!

— Juan C.

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First-time buyers, Luxury Buyers, seasoned investors, or sellers, I’m committed to guiding you with expertise and care at every step. I’ll make your real estate experience exceptional with personalized attention and profound market insight!

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ROSE DUNN

(832) 422-7385

[email protected]



1 RIVERWAY STE 1700
CONROE TX 77056