Michigan Buyer's Guide | Paul Lademan real estate

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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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.

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.

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.

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.

What Clients Are Saying

Real experiences from buyers and sellers who trusted Paul with their real estate journey.

Amber S.

Paul Lademan with Key Realty in West Branch comes highly recommended! He is super knowledgeable and professional. Responds quickly and is on top of getting showings set up. He was such a pleasure to work with!

Joyce R.

Paul Lademan did a great job helping me sell my house in West Branch. He worked through the negotiations and everything went smoothly. Key Realty and Paul are top-notch and I would highly recommend them.

Kevin W.

10 home bids, veteran friendly, very reliable and understanding and helps to make informed decisions.

Cory B.

Paul maintained excellent communication and was very patient with us during the long inspection process and our subsequent exploration of the property. We appreciated his punctuality and timeliness.

Bailley L.

Paul was absolutely wonderful to work with. In this crazy market, we never felt pressured into anything and he gave us great advice along the way. He was always on top of getting our showings scheduled as soon as homes hit the ...

Denise H.

Paul Lademan of Key Realty made selling our home a breeze. Great communication, knowledge and a pleasure to work with. We would highly recommend him for your buying or selling needs.

Michael K.

Paul Lademan made selling our home simple and easy. He always available for questions. We felt confident through the whole process. We would highly recommend Paul to sell your home.

Bill L.

Paul Lademan from Key Realty helped us buy our house/property in Alger. He was very professional, experienced, helpful in every way and was always looking out for our best interest. I appreciated his honesty and demeanor and wo...

Jamie L.

Paul Lademan at Key Realty did an awesome job helping us close on our new home. He stayed on top of everything and kept us informed every step of the way. Highly recommended.

Dennis W.

I would recommend Paul to anybody that Needs to sell their house or to purchase a property. I really enjoyed my experience with Paul He follows up with you to make sure everything is good. Me and my wife were really happy with ...

Joerin A.

Paul Lademan from Key Realty WB was absolutely wonderful to work with. He was knowledgeable of the area and a fantastic communicator. Paul went above and beyond to help from start to finish with our home purchase!

Katy M.

Paul was a wonderful realtor to work with every detail of the purchase was a great experience. Very prompt with all are questions and showings.

Ronald S.

My wife and I had the pleasure of working with Paul as our buying agent. We were very impressed with his honesty, competence, and outstanding communication during the entire process. Purchasing a home or property can be a daunt...

Cheryl B.

Paul is a wonderful Realtor that made my selling experience smooth and easy. He is knowledgeable, friendly and is always there to answer any of your questions or concerns. I highly recommend. Paul for all your real estate needs.

Brian C.

Paul was a pleasure to work with. He stood up and stepped in to help us. Facilitated a quick and efficient closing. A stand up quality guy you can trust to accommodate and assist you with every aspect of your realtor needs.

Renee D.

Paul is a great realtor who made our purchase as easy as it can be. Any questions I had, he was always available and there were no dumb questions. I would highly recommend Paul Lademan as your realtor!

David M.

Paul Lademan was a pleasure to deal with as our Buyer agent. Anything we asked him to do or help with he did with efficiency and great competence. We did not have a lot of experience, but in the Realty business he is the best w...

Yolanda S.

If you are in need to buy or sell Paul Lademan of Key Realty in West Branch is the person to call! Had called him and shared I wanted to put my cabin on the market. He came by and Paul walked me through all that needed to be do...

Michelle W.

Paul was great! He helped us through the sale of my mom’s house and we couldn’t done it without him. We are down state and he stepped in and was there for the appraisal and took care of other essentials so we didn’t have to tra...

Paul W.

Paul Lademan met and exceeded expectations. Offer and sale in just a few days.

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Whether buying, selling, or investing, Paul is always available to provide honest advice, local insight, and hands-on support from start to finish.

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Buyer's Guide