My First Step Into Buying My First Home

So, after renting my whole life, everything from studio apartments to full 3 bedroom houses, and I've been renting for 10 straight years now, my wife and I decided it was finally time to buy a house. We rented because we kept moving. Imagine if I didn't move, though, I could've had 10 years already built up into our house. That's 10 years of money, a LOT of money, I'll never see ever again. Yes, it's time to hunker down.

I suppose deciding a house was my first step, but what's my first step into actually buying a home? I'm not sure. That's why I'm using The Buyer's Agent. I set up an appointment to meet Daniel McLaughlin. He's someone I've known just from working at these radio stations for a couple of years. I see him in our hallway sometimes and hear him on News Talk KIT talking about what's going on with real estate. Basically, what I've heard for the past year or so is that it's a 'buyer's market' which means if I'm thinking about buying a house, now is the time to do it.

This has nothing to do with buying a house or anything, but I was immediately impressed that The Buyer's Agent office had a playroom for kids, including a free stand-up arcade video game. I stopped by briefly after I picked up my daughter from school just for the formal introduction and he kind of gave me a crash course on what I'm to look forward to. Within seconds I was already at ease and assured that if I wanted to buy a house, he would help me find what I need within my price range, arrange to get approved for a loan and even find other ways of saving money so I'm not paying the listing price and other fees that may be included in buying a home. Many of these fees most people may not know about until you agree to buy the house. Any help I can get with saving money is OK with me!

I had a few questions that's been preventing my home buying right off the bat.

--How do I get approved for a home loan?
--What kind of house can I afford?
--Are there any grants or credits that I can take advantage of to help me buy my first home?

Basically, how can I buy a house without using as much money as possible. I'm not cheap, I'm thrifty. Any way I can save money up front, that's what I'm looking for. Fortunately, the Buyer's Agent have all kinds of tricks up their sleeve to save me as much money as possible including special deals if you fall in certain income brackets. That's something that's definitely worth asking. I was also amazed to find out that, after crunching a few numbers, I can pretty much afford to live in house that is what we're looking for for about the same price, or cheaper, than what I'm paying for rent.

You see these Home Buying Seminars that The Buyer's Agent have pretty often. You should pre-register with me! I'm going to find out more to get me excited to start searching for a home.