Buyer's Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Buyer's Guide

Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

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Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

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Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

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Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

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Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

My Goal is to Provide You with the Most Personalized Service that is Designed to Help You Buy your Dream Home

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Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

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Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

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Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

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Step 8: Select Your Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

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Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

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Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Congratulations!

After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams. 

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Barb T.

Barb T.

Peggy was a diligent patient realtor till we finally found the home we desired. She was a stickler for detail, always looking out for our interests. If you need a great Realtor to go to bat for you don't pass her up.
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Patti H.

Patti H.

Peggy Brannick is a dream. I very much enjoyed working with Peggy, from the first day we met until the day of closing. She is extremely knowledgeable, detail-oriented, and always on top of the situation. I was impressed and ext...
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Yvette N.

Yvette N.

Peggy takes care of business for you! From the start, Peggy listened to what we were looking for. I flew from the East Coast within a week to find a house. Peggy spent every single day with me from morning until late afternoon....
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James P.

James P.

Best in class Denver Real Estate Professional. Peggy Brannick handled the recent sale of our home in Denver. From the moment that we engaged our service until the closing, her knowledge of the Denver market, the outstanding way...
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Jese S.

Jese S.

It's been 10 years since I worked with Peggy and I still keep in touch with her. She spent a year with me from 2007 to 2008 looking for the right house for me. This was a hard time in Colorado Real Estate. Lots of foreclosed an...
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Hazeley G.

Hazeley G.

Peggy is a no-nonsense realtor. She will tell you exactly how it is, no sugar. To me, when you are dealing with your life you should not be looking for someone to brush your hair and feed you grapes. Peggy gets the job done and...
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Owen R.

Owen R.

I moved into my home 6 years ago. Before that, I was a happy renter for over 20 years! One day I talked with Peggy Brannick about the possibility of me buying a home. That's where it all started, and my life was set to change f...
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Lang Family

Lang Family

I highly recommend Peggy for all of your real estate needs. She is very thorough, very knowledgeable, very competent, and very professional. She did a tremendous job for us and I would hire her again. She knows the Denver area ...
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Amy L.

Amy L.

Peggy helped get us out of our current home and into the home we will stay to raise our children. She took on a tough job and bulldozed through it. She is a no-nonsense businesswoman and is an expert in the industry. Very knowl...
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Tony D.

Tony D.

Buying and Selling a home can be stressful, to say the least. In addition, you want solid professional service and information that gets you the best results and respects your time. In addition to all this, it is an added plus ...
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Robert O.

Robert O.

I give Peggy Brannick full credit for the reason that I own my first home. She took the time to show me every possible home in my target areas and price. Connected me with all of the necessary people from inspectors to my aweso...
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Karen M.

Karen M.

Recently I worked with Peggy on the sale of my home and I only have high praise for her knowledge and professionalism. I held a real estate license in the past and knew enough to get me in trouble. Luckily I contacted Peggy for...
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Dave H.

Dave H.

I've worked closely with Peggy in a variety of facets related to the administration of a large and complex estate and trust for approximately 13 years now, and have nothing but total respect and appreciation for her abilities. ...
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Nicole P.

Nicole P.

I have worked with Peg for several years and I have a great respect for her work ethic. Not only is she friendly and sincere, she is a dedicated advocate for her clients in all phases of the transaction. Peg is one of those peo...
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Leann B.

Leann B.

She was honest, helpful, and extremely knowledgeable. With her guidance, I was able to look at several homes and finally decided on one I couldn't be happier with. Peggy took the time to get to know me and what I wanted.
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Corina L.

Corina L.

Peggy helped my husband and I find our first home. She educated us on priorities and wanted us to find that special place that we could call home, at the same time choosing a good neighborhood for our kids to go to school. Pegg...
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Mharti H.

Mharti H.

I loved having Peggy as our real estate agent and would recommend her to anyone. She is a great professional and individual.
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Marjie C.

Marjie C.

She was extremely knowledgeable and accurate with the mounds of paperwork involved. Her patience and attention to detail along with correct answers were much appreciated.
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T.L.

T.L.

Peggy takes a great interest in her clients. Her decisions are made on what is best for the client.
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Suzy S.

Suzy S.

I highly recommend Peggy for all of your real estate needs. She is very thorough, very knowledgeable, very competent, and very professional. She did a tremendous job for us and I would absolutely hire her again. She knows the D...
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Cathy S.

Cathy S.

I met Peggy in 1998 when I joined the Sagebrush Elementary PTO. We became friends immediately! Peggy was highly committed to her other job as well as this volunteer position on our boards. She was conscientious in the planning ...
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The service you deserve, the real estate agent you trust, knowledge of product and market, strong negotiating skills, timeliness and attention to detail, dedication to customer satisfaction, and excellent follow-through skills.

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