Congratulations!  You have decided to buy your first house.   Home ownership is great.  I went through the process of buying my first house about 4 years ago.  A great fix up house went for sale in our neighborhood.  My mother-in-law knew a Realtor who we met with, saw the house, and wrote an offer.  Our Realtor was amazing, he helped us negotiate, set up inspections, got us a credit for repairs, assured us when we had doubts, and ultimately helped us to make a very big purchase.  In fact, it was this experience that led me to become a Realtor.  I wanted to provide the same great service and help others buy and sell houses. 

The reason I tell this story is because I have been there.  I understand that this is a daunting task and I am here to help.   When I work with first time home buyers the first thing I do is meet in person and have a “Buyers Counseling Session”.  I explain how the process works, help to set up financing, answer any questions, find out their needs and dreams and then set up a plan to get them into a house.  We work together to make it happen! 

When the time is right for you to hire a real estate professional call or email me at gbautista@cbsuccess.com .  Here are some links specifically to help first time home buyers:

Family and Housing Resources offer great programs with up to $20,000 down payment assistance and money for repairs after you buy.  They also offer classes and counseling for new buyers.

http://www.familyhousingresources.com/programs.html#

Realtor.com has this page that offers a lot of articles aimed at answering those common questions and dispelling common myths about buying property.

http://www.homefair.com/homefair/homefair/first.html

About.com  If you don’t know about “About”, you really should.  They have great articles on everything.  Here is information about buying your first home.

http://homebuying.about.com/od/howtobuyahome/a/firsttimebuyers.htm

Mortgage Help.  These articles help explain the different types of mortgages and their pros and cons.   Beware though, Lending Tree will sell your contact info if you give it to them. 

http://www.lendingtree.com/stmrc/fthb/fthbarticle6.asp?bp=