The decision to stop renting and buy a house comes down to three things: financial stability, lifestyle readiness, and market timing. If you have a steady income, at least three to six months of expenses saved beyond your down payment, a credit score above 620, and plans to stay in one area for at least [...]
An FHA loan is a government-backed mortgage that lets you buy a home with a credit score as low as 580 and a down payment as small as 3.5%. A conventional loan is a privately backed mortgage that typically requires a credit score of 620 or higher and a minimum down payment of 3%, but [...]
PMI stands for private mortgage insurance. It is a monthly fee your lender adds to your mortgage payment when you put down less than 20% on a conventional home loan. PMI protects the lender, not you. If you stop making payments and the lender has to foreclose, PMI covers part of their loss. The good [...]
Signs you're not ready to buy a house are worth paying attention to. Not because homeownership isn't a good goal. It usually is. But because buying a house before you're ready causes financial damage that takes years to recover from. Every year we teach home-buying classes around the country, and we meet people who bought [...]
Austin in 2026 is a different real estate market than Austin in 2022, and most first-time buyers are still operating on outdated information. Prices peaked in mid-2022, then fell roughly 18 to 20 percent across the metro. Inventory has surged to levels we haven't seen since before the pandemic. Days on market are now near [...]
So you've been doing the math. Your rent is $1,800. A starter house in your area is $300,000. The lender wants 3 to 5 percent down, which is $9,000 to $15,000. Plus closing costs. Plus an inspection. Plus reserves. And you've got, what, $4,000 saved up after the last car repair? Yeah. This is where [...]
Buying a home in Raleigh, NC, is an exciting milestone, but the process can often feel like trying to solve a puzzle with missing pieces. Between the competitive nature of areas like North Hills, Downtown Raleigh, and nearby Cary, and the steady growth driven by the Research Triangle, the local market moves fast. Most people [...]
Buying a house in Texas can feel like trying to solve a puzzle without seeing the full picture. In a place known for big hats, big skies, and being the biggest state, a lot of people also assume you need a big down payment to buy a home. You hear numbers like 20% down, closing [...]
This $30,000 figure might sound like marketing hype, but stick around and you'll see that the math actually checks out when you understand where first-time buyers typically lose money. The How To Buy A House Class doesn't just teach you the process. It arms you with specific strategies that directly impact your bottom line for [...]
Most first-time homebuyers spend months scrolling through listings, imagining which room would be the nursery or where the couch would go. Then reality hits during the mortgage application, and suddenly they're scrambling to explain a questionable credit score or wondering why their savings aren't nearly enough. Financial preparation for buying a home should start long [...]
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