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.

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WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Extremely knowledgeable and thorough, would not go with anyone else in the area. Perfect valuation on the home we sold and got us seller credit on our purchase in a market where that's impossible right now.

— Buyer

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Dawn was there for us every step of the way during the listing and selling of our home. Selling a home is stressful even under the best of times, she stayed connected and was our advocate through the entire process. I would 100% recommend Dawn.

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We’ve moved around the country quite a bit, but nothing could prepare us for all of the interesting nuances of CT real estate. We were lucky to work with Dawn, who helped us find the perfect home and had great contacts to help us through the buying process (home inspection, etc.). She made things easy and was super responsive throughout. Thanks, Dawn!

— Kristen P.

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This is my second and my husband's first time working with Dawn. She is always on point, well-versed in her job role, and a very down-to-earth person to be around. She is very detail-oriented and is great at reminding you when things need to be done. She has a strong work ethic and is very organized. I am so happy that we used her again to sell our house! She did a great job with promoting and helped us ...

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

It was a pleasure working with Dawn this summer. She helped me and my mother find the perfect home in CT for a reasonable price despite the very competitive market. She was extremely helpful with suggestions for additional home inspections for the type of home we ended up purchasing which later uncovered items we were able to negotiate a fair agreement with the seller to address. When we ran into an issu...

— Kelly Nicole L.

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Dawn is the best realtor ever! We are so happy that she was recommended to us by a friend that we’ve recommended her to all of our home-buying and non-home-buying friends. With over 30 years of experience, she has strong negotiating abilities complemented by a network of connections. She’s very logical and orderly which is exactly what you want in the complicated process of buying a home. Throughout the ...

— Katrina M.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Our first home-buying experience couldn’t have been any better. My wife and I feel so fortunate to have been connected with Dawn, as she made everything easy for us each step of the way. Before working with Dawn the prospect of buying our first home was daunting, especially given the uncertainty associated with the pandemic. Dawn took us under her wing, treating us more as a family than as clients, and h...

— Anthony G.

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Our interaction with Dawn is much higher than just a 5-star experience! She is spectacular and always goes above and beyond your expectations. She helped us sell our home in Wallingford and buy our first investment property with ease and now she is helping us find our next dream home. Dawn’s service is extremely personable, professional, and enjoyable. She has all the knowledge, experience, and character...

— David Z.

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Dawn is the best realtor ever! We are so happy that she was recommended to us by a friend that we’ve recommended her to all of our home-buying and non-home-buying friends. With over 30 years of experience, she has strong negotiating abilities complemented by a network of connections. She’s very logical and orderly which is exactly what you want in the complicated process of buying a home. Throughout the ...

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Our interaction with Dawn is much higher than just a 5-star experience! She is spectacular and always goes above and beyond your expectations. She helped us sell our home in Wallingford and buy our first investment property with ease and now she is helping us find our next dream home. Dawn’s service is extremely personable, professional, and enjoyable. She has all the knowledge, experience, and character...

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Our first home-buying experience couldn’t have been any better. My wife and I feel so fortunate to have been connected with Dawn, as she made everything easy for us each step of the way. Before working with Dawn the prospect of buying our first home was daunting, especially given the uncertainty associated with the pandemic. Dawn took us under her wing, treating us more as a family than as clients, and h...

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

It was a pleasure working with Dawn this summer. She helped me and my mother find the perfect home in CT for a reasonable price despite the very competitive market. She was extremely helpful with suggestions for additional home inspections for the type of home we ended up purchasing which later uncovered items we were able to negotiate a fair agreement with the seller to address. When we ran into an issu...

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Extremely knowledgeable and thorough, would not go with anyone else in the area. Perfect valuation on the home we sold and got us seller credit on our purchase in a market where that's impossible right now.

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Dawn was great to work with. We were living out of state and she was very helpful with meeting contractors who needed to be let in. She always had our best interests in mind.

— Buyer

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Dawn was always available when needed. She calls to check on me and is flexible to accommodate my availability. She's still checking to see how everything is going even after the closing. Dawn was there for us every step of the way during the listing and selling of our home. Selling a home is stressful even under the best of times, she stayed connected and was our advocate through the entire process. I w...

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

This is my second and my husband's first time working with Dawn. She is always on point, well-versed in her job role, and a very down-to-earth person to be around. She is very detail-oriented and is great at reminding you when things need to be done. She has a strong work ethic and is very organized. I am so happy that we used her again to sell our house! She did a great job with promoting and helped us ...

— Seller

WHAT OUR CLIENTS SAY

Dawn was incredibly helpful; she went above and beyond to provide exceptional customer service and was highly communicative. She always had our best interest at heart and fought to get us the best home for the best deal every step of the way. I couldn’t recommend her more highly.

— Buyer

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The easiest thing in the world is to praise Dawn D'Auria. I have worked with many realtors for the places I have called home in many cities: Dawn has been the best of the best. She helped me understand the market around New Haven; she understood my needs and my price range; she consistently recommended the best houses in the best locations, and she helped me with 1) the process of offer-making; 2) the in...

— Buyer

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For anyone looking for one of the best real estate agents in CT, I highly recommend Dawn D’Auria. A close friend recommended Dawn to me when I was ready to sell my condo in Wallingford back in 2020. My friend and her family had used Dawn for their buying and selling needs throughout the years and she assured me I was going to be in good hands. Immediately, I was impressed by Dawn’s superior knowledge of ...

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My wife and I were in search of a condo for a family elder to downsize when we met Dawn in 2021 as the listing agent on one of the properties we viewed. Though we didn't purchase that unit, we liked Dawn so much that we contracted with her as our broker and worked closely together over 3 months until we closed on a great property. The entire experience was smooth, very pleasant, and painless. Dawn was on...

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