First Time Homebuying Tips

Are you a first time home buyer or maybe it has been a while since you bought a new home? I remember when Lee and I bought our very first house. We were living in an apartment at the time. We were ready to settle into a home we could call our own. We moved to a new community in Conroe on the other side of 45, not too far from 105. After living there for a couple of years, Lee took a new job in Houston. The commute was not ideal so we put our house on the market and began looking at houses in Katy. We found one in a master-planned community and that’s when we caught the “master-planned community” bug. Unfortunately things didn't work out at Lee’s new job and he went back to his previous job.

Lee and I drove past Grand Central Park daily and were intrigued about the new community being built. Since our house was already on the market, we thought… “what if”. One day I stopped into a couple of model homes. One builder in particular really got my attention. I made an appointment for Lee and me the next day so that he could look around. The rest, as they say, is history.

Here are some tips for new home buyers that I hope will come in handy:

1. Know how much house you can afford by speaking with a lender/ your bank for guidance (it’s free).
2. Enlist the help of a real estate agent (again, free). You can interview 2-3 Realtors to determine who would be a right fit for you. After all, they know all of the language and can really lighten the home buying load!
3. Do your research regarding the different areas you’re considering to buy in. Is it close to a highway, schools, church, shopping, etc.?
4. Research the different builders. What do they offer? What makes them unique? This can be said of the community as well.
5. Time to shop! (This is the fun part!)
6. Which came first - the chicken or the egg? I don’t know, but that’s how I feel about picking a lot and picking a house! If you find a house you like, you may be limited to which lot it can be built on unless it’s a brand new section. Or you can pick a lot and then see which houses can be built on it.
7. Fill out the qualification application, make your new home selections and … wait!

The wait can be fun because seeing the house being built is exciting. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I highly recommend Grand Central Park by Johnson Development. Given the chance, we would buy here all over again and guess what.. We almost did!