Buying Minnesota Homes Real Estate Properties

First Time Buyer's Guide for Minnesota Real Estate

  • Get in touch with a lender that knows all of the "special" first time home buyer programs that there are to offer here in Minnesota. Unfortunately, many lenders are not familiar with the "ins and outs" of these programs. However, our team works with a first time home buyer specialist: Alec Grebis of The Minnesota Home Loan Partners. He comes very highly recommended, and he understands which program suits which buyer the best. With the tightening of the credit markets, many convention types of loans have become more difficult to secure. However, for first time buyers, there still is a great number of options available.
  • Home Listings Online MN Find out what program suits you the best, and determine what amount of home you qualify for. Do you qualify for a $100,000 property, or $300,000? Are you looking to do an interest only loan, 30 year fixed, 5 year ARM? Take some time to "learn the lingo" and find what product best suits you.
  • First Time Home BuyersFind an agent you like! Hire an agent who will go to bat for you! Having someone who will accompany you through the home buying process is critical. Your agent will help you determine what the home is worth, what is a fair offer price, and he or she will also step you through the transaction. Purchase agreements can have numerous contingencies. Have someone on your side who understands the "paperwork" and will guide you to a successful closing.
  • Do some homework before you start looking at homes! What areas are you interested in? What features are you looking for in a home? Be realistic of course. Depending upon the price range and area you are looking, you may have to adjust the search accordingly. Feel free to look online at the mls listings. Find various listings you like, and then, after seeing the mn mls and all of the listings your agent has showed you, pick out your favorite ones. Go out and your "top picks" in person.
  • Be particular, but do not be unrealistic. As we all know, there is no "perfect" property. As a first time buyer, it is hard sometimes to get beyond the "imperfections" that may be in a home. As with any type of real estate, there will be issues. The important thing to realize, is how significant an "issue" that item may be. Is it a scratch in the wall? Or is the foundation sloping? Is there a minor crack in a window or is the roof leaking? Keep it all in perspective!
  • Don't ask too many people for his or her opinion. Remember, you are buying the property, and you will be living there! It will be great to have your mom, your dad, your uncle John, mother in law, and really all of your family look at the home. Each of them will offer some suggestions on home ownership, on what you need to be aware of, what you need to do, etc. At the end of the day, it is your home. Your opinion will matter the most!
  • Know your timeframe! When are you looking to move? When is your lease up? Expect a closing time of 30-60 days. In other words, say you write up an offer on May 1st. Expect the soonest for you to close to be June 1st. It is always negotiable, but most sellers need at least 30 days. Your lender also will need at least a few weeks in order to underwrite your loan.
  • Are you looking for more of a "starter" property with the idea of moving up in a few years? Or do you plan on staying in the home longer? No one can predict the future of course. But you can save yourself a lot of grief by buying and then wanting to quickly sell in a year or two. With the fees you have in buying and selling, you really need at least a couple years of home ownership in order to have it "make sense" financially. Knowing your time frames can save you a lot of money and headaches in the long run.
  • Get a home inspection! However, remember, no home is perfect! A home inspection will allow you the ability to see what is right with the house, and what is wrong. Again, keep it in perspective. Is it a major fix? Or is it a minor fix? Does it need to be fixed right now, or is it something that will need to be fixed within the next 10 years or so?
  • Work to get the best price possibly, but don't be unrealistic on the price of the property. Have you agent send you comparable sales. What are other homes selling for that are similar in style, square footage, year built, and city? Do your best to negotiate, but at some point, don't be afraid to step it up and buy the home!

Our agent, Adam Maas on The Minnesota Real Estate Team, was absolutely incredible. He went above and beyond our expectations throughout the entire home buying process! He was very willing to work around our very busy work schedules and was also always there to answer any questions that we had along the way! We have felt confident recommending him to our friends and family. He helped us to purchase our first home together and we are planning on using him as our agent when we are looking at investment properties. - Patrick and Amy McGuire, St Paul, MN