Washington Buyers Guide | Abi Paulsen Real Estate Agent

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.

Passion & Expertise

My goal is to provide you with the most personalized service possible, meticulously designed to help you navigate the process of buying your dream home. I am dedicated to understanding your unique needs and preferences, ensuring that every step of the journey is tailored to achieve your ultimate home-buying aspirations.

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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.

Testimonials

S. M.

Abi is the most professional, wonderful, and reliable real estate, professional I’ve ever worked with. From the very first phone call, she was incredible. She has truly unique knowledge about the market in the DMV and helped us...

S. C.

I had an exceptional experience working with Abi! Her attention to detail and expertise made the home-buying process seamless, which is very important in buying my 1st home. She went above and beyond to help me find the best ho...

Cy R.

I have been working professionally with Abigail Paulson for years. It would not be an exaggeration to say you will find her an amazing human being: kind, helpful beyond belief while highly professional. Besides she is brilliant...

L. G.

I appreciate Abi's effort in helping me find a home during COVID. It has been a very interesting but fun experience. The whole process felt relatively easy. Abi understood my needs and answered all my questions (no matter the t...

L. D.

Abi was extremely helpful and professional. I would highly recommend her service.

J. F.

Abi is very professional and polite. She will answer all your questions truthfully and explain things to you in the simplest way if needs be. She made it happen for us, even when there were a lot of setbacks she went a full hun...

S. L.

It was rather a nerve-racking experience week to week. Close Friday, delay, close next Friday, delay, etc. What I learned was buying a home from the govt is not a fun process. Our Realtor Agent Abi Paulsen was very professional...

J. M.

Abi was always available to answer our questions about any concerns. If I call her and she is not able to answer my call at the time, I can be sure that she will return my call before the end of the day. She worked very hard on...

K. J.

We worked with Abi to sell our mom's house when we needed to relocate her out of state. Since we were all out of state during the sale, Abi went above and beyond by helping us find and coordinate contractors to get the house re...

C. R.

Abi is amazing! My wife and I liked her from the moment we met her and we knew we wanted to work with her by the end of our first meeting. She went above and beyond with several items, like cleaning up after the repair guy fini...

Cy R.

I have been working professionally with Abigail Paulson for years. It would not be an exaggeration to say you will find her an amazing human being: kind, helpful beyond belief while highly professional. Besides she is brilliant...

Kelly

Abi was incredible. I was moving to the DC area but couldn’t get down there to look at any apartments. Abi went to each one and sent a detailed video of the entire premises for each place she looked at (and the roads/neighborho...

Jameka I.

I'd like to keep this short; however, I have so much to say. Abi listened to what I wanted in a new home, why I wanted the new home, as well as my budget and she kept all these things in mind from the beginning until I closed o...

Gwen

Abi Paulsen was the absolute best real estate agent we could have ever chosen to sell our home! She's professional, experienced, knowledgeable, and has a very engaging personality. Abi was recommended to us by a friend. Thank y...

Claire H.

Abi is the most professional, wonderful, and reliable real estate, professional I’ve ever worked with. From the very first phone call, she was incredible. She has truly unique knowledge about the market in the DMV and helped us...

Catherine S.

Abi Paulson is the absolute best! We bought a new home on a tight budget in a hot market and with a rapid turnaround; we then needed to sell our former home, again with a tight budget and quick turnaround. Abi was invaluable th...

John C.

Abigail Paulsen is a consummate professional. She has represented me in multiple transactions. When I needed out-of-state and out-of-the-country real estate services, she recommended competent professionals and stayed involved ...

Debbora B.

If I could add more stars to this review, I would. At every twist and turn, Abi Paulsen made an otherwise impossible move possible. She was valiant in representing my interests, patient beyond belief, thorough, and helpful with...

Ted K.

Abi is amazing. We were relocating from another state and knew nothing about where to look for a house or any of the details in Maryland. From the beginning, she put us at ease and went to bat for us. She is knowledgeable and p...

Misty K.

Abi is a gem! We had a quick turnaround out-of-state move and she was always able to accommodate our last-minute house-hunting sessions. She understood what we were looking for and if a house didn't work, she would let us know....

Work With Abi

"I approach every client's business with a high degree of integrity and enthusiasm," she says. "My ability to be patient and diligent in stressful environments, and to communicate openly to keep people well informed are vital to reaching a positive, satisfying outcome."

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