Search

Leave a Message

Thank you for your message. We will be in touch with you shortly.

Explore Our Properties
welcome to our

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 our team will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

Step 4: Choose Real Estate Experts

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without real estate experts? 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.

Passion & Expertise

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

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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.

Default Image

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 Our Clients Say

Testimonials

"Lillard Realty was outstanding to deal with. Every step was handled with the utmost professionalism and ease. Aundrea's continued ability to find solutions to problems went above and beyond the call of duty. I would highly recommend Lillard Realty if you are looking to buy or sale in the South Fork and surrounding areas."
"Lillard Realty was outstanding to deal with. Every step was handled with the utmost professionalism and ease. Aundrea's continued ability to find solutions to problems went above and beyond the call of duty. I would highly recommend Lillard Realty if you are looking to buy or sale in the South Fork and surrounding areas."
Dana E.
"We highly recommend Aundrea at Lillard Realty Group for all of your real estate needs. It was no surprise that Aundrea was able to sell our property quickly after seeing her attention to detail. She went out of her way to take the very best pictures, wrote a very descriptive summary highlighting the positives of the property and frequently refilled the listing pamphlets in the box on the property! In addition, during the entire process, she was very informative and communicated frequently!"
"We highly recommend Aundrea at Lillard Realty Group for all of your real estate needs. It was no surprise that Aundrea was able to sell our property quickly after seeing her attention to detail. She went out of her way to take the very best pictures, wrote a very descriptive summary highlighting the positives of the property and frequently refilled the listing pamphlets in the box on the property! In addition, during the entire process, she was very informative and communicated frequently!"
Deborah D.
"I can’t say enough about Aundrea and her professionalism as a Realtor. Her knowledge and expertise makes it a joy to work. I would recommend Lillard Realty Group to anyone looking for real estate, see for yourself, you won’t be disappointed"
"I can’t say enough about Aundrea and her professionalism as a Realtor. Her knowledge and expertise makes it a joy to work. I would recommend Lillard Realty Group to anyone looking for real estate, see for yourself, you won’t be disappointed"
Susan B.
"If you want a top notch agent that meets all your needs, Aundrea Lillard is that person. She listens and will work with you feverishly to find exactly what you are looking for. If I could give her 10 stars I definitely would! Highly recommended!"
"If you want a top notch agent that meets all your needs, Aundrea Lillard is that person. She listens and will work with you feverishly to find exactly what you are looking for. If I could give her 10 stars I definitely would! Highly recommended!"
John B.
"There's so much I can say about this agent. Our needs have changed many times over the years, and we have sought her services 3 times. She helped us sell our first house, buy and sell our second house, then buy our last house. Aundrea's attention to detail, investigative instincts, and strong negotiating tactics have kept us from making costly mistakes and allowed us to find the absolute best for our family. We now live on our dream farm thanks to her eagerness to listen to her clients and do her best to make their dreams a reality. If you're looking for a hard-working realtor who cares, she is it."
"There's so much I can say about this agent. Our needs have changed many times over the years, and we have sought her services 3 times. She helped us sell our first house, buy and sell our second house, then buy our last house. Aundrea's attention to detail, investigative instincts, and strong negotiating tactics have kept us from making costly mistakes and allowed us to find the absolute best for our family. We now live on our dream farm thanks to her eagerness to listen to her clients and do her best to make their dreams a reality. If you're looking for a hard-working realtor who cares, she is it."
Jason R.
"Aundrea was a dream to work with. My husband and I are first-time home buyers and Aundrea took the time to walk us through each step of the process. She helped educate us so that we could make the best possible decisions. I highly recommend Aundrea to anybody looking for their next home."
"Aundrea was a dream to work with. My husband and I are first-time home buyers and Aundrea took the time to walk us through each step of the process. She helped educate us so that we could make the best possible decisions. I highly recommend Aundrea to anybody looking for their next home."
Casey P.
"Aundrea is amazing to work with! She puts her clients above everything else. She gave us great advice and was super professional to work with. Our house sold in 3 days. It doesn't stop there, Aundrea is with you every for every step of the process."
"Aundrea is amazing to work with! She puts her clients above everything else. She gave us great advice and was super professional to work with. Our house sold in 3 days. It doesn't stop there, Aundrea is with you every for every step of the process."
Seller
"Aundrea is very professional, knowledgeable and caring. She makes the selling process seamless. She returns calls promptly and keeps you informed on each step of the process. I highly recommend her."
"Aundrea is very professional, knowledgeable and caring. She makes the selling process seamless. She returns calls promptly and keeps you informed on each step of the process. I highly recommend her."
Seller
"Very professional, and kind. A pleasure to work with. Helped me with buying a house that fell through. It was an odd house and she expressed reservations due to the resale-ability of the house, but was not pushy against it. The Inspection found some issues that the sellers were not willing to come down on the price for so it fell through. 5 months later we contacted her about another house and she jumped right in and walked us through the process on that one and it went through."
"Very professional, and kind. A pleasure to work with. Helped me with buying a house that fell through. It was an odd house and she expressed reservations due to the resale-ability of the house, but was not pushy against it. The Inspection found some issues that the sellers were not willing to come down on the price for so it fell through. 5 months later we contacted her about another house and she jumped right in and walked us through the process on that one and it went through."
Buyer
"Aundrea was very professional, did her homework on comps before our first meeting, knew the market pricing and was honest about our property. I would recommend her to all. She was very pleasant and hard working. Our property sold within 2 days."
"Aundrea was very professional, did her homework on comps before our first meeting, knew the market pricing and was honest about our property. I would recommend her to all. She was very pleasant and hard working. Our property sold within 2 days."
Seller

Follow Us On Instagram