The home-search process
How showings, offers and timelines actually work.
Buy Property
Buy with confidence.
Clear guidance, honest pacing and a buyer's agent whose job is your interest — from first-time purchases to luxury, new construction and land.
Interactive
First-time homebuyer checklist
Preference worksheet
Your top five non-negotiables
Pick up to five features the right home must have.
Five features you can live without
Pick up to five preferred features you would trade away for the right home.
10 steps to homeownership
- Decide what you want your monthly payment to be.
- Review your credit and clean up anything that is fixable.
- Get pre-approved with a lender you trust.
- Choose your agent and sign a buyer representation agreement.
- Define your location, property type and must-have features.
- Tour homes and compare them against your worksheet.
- Write a competitive offer and negotiate terms, not just price.
- Schedule inspections and review findings during the option period.
- Complete appraisal, survey, title work and final loan approval.
- Do the final walkthrough, sign at title and get your keys.
What can I afford?
Run the numbers
Illustrative result
$269,182
Based on a 36% debt-to-income guideline, roughly $2,100 per month toward housing including taxes and insurance, over a 30-year term.
Financing preparation
Documents to gather and questions to ask a lender.
Inspection overview
What inspections cover and how findings are handled.
New construction
Builder contracts, options and representation.
Luxury buying
Discretion, private showings and specialized marketing.
Land and acreage
Utilities, access, water and survey considerations.
Connect with a lender
Get introduced to a local lender
Hilary will introduce you to a trusted Panhandle lender for pre-approval. You are always free to choose your own lender.