Short video (YouTube) by Andrew Lamb offering practical advice for first-time homebuyers: the first step is to speak with a lender/loan officer and obtain a mortgage pre-approval. The speaker explains why pre-approval clarifies true affordability (including taxes, insurance, HOA/Mello-Roos, and monthly payment), helps target appropriate neighborhoods/price ranges, and strengthens offers. The video also offers referrals to trusted local lenders and encourages viewers to ask about first-time buyer programs, down payments, interest rates, and closing-cost assistance.
Chapters
Hey, Andrew Lam here. I just wanted to quickly talk to you about the first step in the home buying process. Thanks again for joining our video blog today. I want to talk about the first step, the very first thing you should do when you are thinking about buying a home and that is talking to a lender, a loan officer. The best thing you can do is get pre approved so that you know exactly what you're looking for in terms of price price. If you're looking at condos, you'll know what monthly payment you can afford so that you can figure out if the HOA fee is too high or just right. Maybe you need to stay in a condo complex that has an HOA under $300 instead of one that has it at 408. These are the nuances, these are the things that really matter when we're going out and seeing homes. Because a lot of the websites out there will show you principal and interest, but they won't show you the other fees involved or monthly cost involved with buying a home like insurance and taxes and potentially hoas or Mello Roos. So talking with a lender lets you know exactly what you can afford so that then you can figure out from there where you can buy. Certain neighborhoods have certain prices. So if you can only afford a home up to 450, you know that prices you out of some areas, but it does give you some freedom versus you know, if your pre approvals only for 300. So the last thing we want is for you to get your heart set on a home only to find out later or in the middle of the home buying process that you can't afford the home. And also if you want to write a strong offer, having a pre approval letter will allow you to do that and basically say that someone's looked at all of your income, your debts, your credit and has verified all the information so that it's a sure thing when you get into contract. So that's the first step. If you're looking for a great local lender, we can refer you to someone that we trust and have worked with quite often. And it's a simple email introduction and then you can ask any question you need. First time homebuyer programs, you know, how much do you need for down payment? And just look at all of your options, this interest rate versus that interest rate, some closing costs help like we love talking about all of that upfront so you know exactly what you're getting into. So thanks for joining us today. If you have any questions about this process or if you want to get started, feel free to give us a call or reply or comment. Thanks so much. Sam.
