loader image
Close
Mobile Full Width Tablet Small Desktop
  • Home
  • About
    • All About Theory
    • Meet the Team
    • Theory Companies
    • Theory Cares
    • Fill The Barrel
  • Buy
    • Buy With Theory
    • 2022 Homebuyer Guide
    • Virtual Home Buyer Bus Tour
    • Your Guide to the PNW
    • Featured Listings
    • Home Search
    • Sign In
  • Sell
    • Sell With Theory
    • Free Home Estimate
    • 1 Hour Cash Offer
    • Sold By Theory
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Home
  • About
    • All About Theory
    • Meet the Team
    • Theory Companies
    • Theory Cares
    • Fill The Barrel
  • Buy
    • Buy With Theory
    • 2022 Homebuyer Guide
    • Virtual Home Buyer Bus Tour
    • Your Guide to the PNW
    • Featured Listings
    • Home Search
    • Sign In
  • Sell
    • Sell With Theory
    • Free Home Estimate
    • 1 Hour Cash Offer
    • Sold By Theory
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Contact

First-Time Homebuyer FAQ’s

Buying a home is one of the most important decisions of your life – especially buying your first home. Is the homebuying process a bit overwhelming and confusing to you? You’re not alone! Below we’ve answered some of the most frequently asked questions that we receive from first-time homebuyers.

1. Should I buy a home or continue to rent?

If your situation allows, buying a home is the way to go. When you rent, the money that you spend every month goes straight to your landlord, and you will never see that money again. If you pay $1,000 every month for rent, and you rent for 30 years, you’re basically throwing away $360,000. If you buy a home, on the other hand, your monthly payment will most likely be cheaper than your rent would be (interest rates are extremely low right now), and you would be building equity in your home. Win-win! Not only will you have your home paid off in 30 years, but your home will also be worth WAY more than it’s worth now, as real estate increases at a rate of about 5% every year.

2. How much money does it really cost to buy a home?

There are FHA & Conventional loan programs that are designed to get buyers into homes for as little as a $0 down payment. More commonly, FHA buyers are required to put 3.5% down. “Conventional” buyers typically put 5% down. VA loans are great and require 0 down. When you buy a home, you can also expect to pay up to 3% in closing costs.

3. Can I really get a home loan with bad credit and no money for a down payment?

There are 0-down loan programs that will allow you to have a credit score in the low-600’s. If your credit score is below that, there are companies that are great at credit repair and can help you put a plan in place to hopefully qualify for a home loan within a few months. When it comes to credit repair, the resounding advice you will hear from lenders is: “stick with it!” Your credit score probably won’t shoot up to 700+ overnight, but once it does, you’ll be glad you stuck it out!

4. What are closing costs?

Closing costs are expenses that are associated with buying a home. Some of these fees include: loan origination fee, appraisal fee, pre-paid interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and title/escrow fees. They usually run 2.5% – 3% of the sales price. The good news for you is that it is very common that a seller will pay for a buyer’s closing costs. This is part of the negotiations, which your real estate agent will guide you through.

5. Does a real estate agent cost me anything? How do I find a GREAT one?

There are many ways to find a great agent. The way that most people find a real estate agent is through a referral. If you hear that your best friend had a great experience working with Theory Real Estate, and that friend raves about their experience, you should consider taking their advice and at least interviewing their agent. A GREAT real estate agent will have a very good sense of the market, make educated recommendations about your offer, and answer any questions you have throughout the process.

As a buyer, your real estate agent does not cost you a penny. The seller typically pays both real estate agents’ commissions. Lots of buyers insist that they do not want to work with a real estate agent. Those buyers will drive by a “for sale” sign, call the listing agent, and make an offer directly through them. The problem with this scenario is that the listing agent for a property works for the SELLER. It is their job to put as much money as possible in the seller’s pocket. You don’t want that; you want somebody that is representing YOU.

6. Why does my real estate agent insist that I talk to a lender before looking at homes?

The real estate market is very competitive right now. What this means is that when a house is listed, the seller often receives multiple offers within 24-48 hours. If you love the house, and if you REALLY want it, you’ll want to make an offer right away. BUT, if you have not talked with a lender, and if you do not have a pre-approval letter, you are not able to make an offer.  A listing agent (most of the time) will not submit an offer to the seller if it is not accompanied with a pre-approval letter. If you talk with a lender and get your pre-approval before you start looking at houses, you won’t have this problem!

7. How do I find a GREAT lender?

Like when you are looking for a real estate agent, the most common way that people will gravitate towards a lender is if they are referred. Your real estate agent will have a great list of lenders that he/she has worked with, so check with him/her if you haven’t had another lender recommended to you. A GREAT lender is someone who will get back to you right away and answer any question you may have about the process!

“

“I think that’s the easiest it’s ever been for me to buy or sell a home!”

Brad Rasmussen -

“

We had a distressed property in Tacoma that required a lot of repair before we could sell. The task soon became overwhelming and that’s when we contacted Theory Real Estate.  They purchased the property “as is”. Within 3 weeks,  we closed on the deal. The Theory team is amazing!!  Every person we came in contact with was friendly, professional and efficient.

John and Diane Simchuk -

“

We are new investors to this market. We met Isaac and Alan through a good friend, and we are so thankful to have met them. They are the nicest, caring, most professional, kind-hearted people we have met in a long time. We would recommend these guys to ANYONE.

Anthony & Sarah Wooden - Tacoma

“

We have bought 2 homes and sold 1 home with Theory. We would recommend them to all our friends.

Rhonda & Rickey Wilks - Buckley

“

We worked with Theory to find our perfect house, but ran into a couple obstacles with the seller. The Theory team was always there with answers and went above and beyond all of our expectations.

Ceirra & Kenny Williams - Spanaway

LET'S GET SOCIAL

We're halfway through the year...have you hit your We're halfway through the year...have you hit your cap yet?? If not, it might be time to consider switching to a brokerage that can help you reach your goals sooner 🚀At Theory, we offer some of the most competitive numbers around. You'll get a 90/10 split for a Agent-Generated Transactions, a low $10,000 cap, and your $100/month office fee gets you a free Beaker Collaborative membership with all the perks 🔥Combine this with our fantastic support for agents & awesome team oriented culture, we are ready to help you take your business to the next level and achieve all your real estate goals 💯Want to learn more about all the different ways we can help you succeed? We've love to chat, get in touch with us at the link in our bio 😎
Happy Birthday to Joseph "JP" Perez, an agent here Happy Birthday to Joseph "JP" Perez, an agent here at Theory and honestly one of the coolest dudes around! When JP isn't busy killing the real estate game, he's also a performing artist under the stage name TheCriticalShow! He's currently got a fresh EP that just released, and we highly recommend giving it a spin. He's a fantastic businessman & entrepreneur, and an even better artist. We're blessed to have you at Theory JP, have an amazing day celebrating 😎 🎉
Happy Birthday to Jay Yazzie, a fantastic agent he Happy Birthday to Jay Yazzie, a fantastic agent here at Theory! Jay has hung his license with us for quite a few years now, and we couldn't be more thrilled about that because he's an awesome businessman and entrepreneur who knows how to work hard and make things happen. Plus, he's just a super nice guy and always a joy to be around! Have an awesome day celebrating, Jay 😎 🎉
Fantastic Tri-Level home in the Puyallup community Fantastic Tri-Level home in the Puyallup community of Lipoma Firs!! Tons of usable space & a super unique layout ☀️ 🏡📍 10574 190th St E, Puyallup
👣 2,776 SqFt
🛏 4 Beds
🛁 2.5 Baths
💰 $649,999If you've been looking for a lot of space for all your people to do all the things in, this is the place to be! You've got nearly 2800sf of usable space, including a ton of storage, a 2nd floor office nook & a 3rd floor HUGE bonus space that can easily double as a 5th bedroom or multi-gen living. Fully fenced with a 2-car garage, a neighborhood park/playground, great schools, freshly painted, and completely wired for smart home technology, too. Great commute location only 25 min to JBLM, close to shopping centers, and plenty of restaurants nearby. They don't make this layout anymore so here's your chance to get in where you'll fit in!If you're interested in this home, contact Jamie at 253-792-9402!
There's been lots of talk lately about higher inte There's been lots of talk lately about higher interest rates meaning it's a bad time to buy a home...(Let's forget for a second that anything below 7% is still historically average, and that the housing market is becoming much more favorable for buyers right now)Even with all that aside, when you make a rental payment, 100% of the money disappears FOREVER. You see no return on it, it's gone ☹️When you make a home payment, even though some of it goes toward your interest rate & taxes & insurance, the bulk of your payment goes right back into your net worth in the form of home equity 🤑When you make a mortgage payment, you are literally GIVING MONEY BACK to yourself 😀So even if mortgage rates are a little high right now, even if home prices have shot up a lot the past couple years, you’re still likely better off paying into a mortgage than paying rent 💯#TheoryThursday
THIS SATURDAY!! It's not too late to sign up & get THIS SATURDAY!! It's not too late to sign up & get certified for Down Payment Assistance through WSHFC while learning how to make your dreams of home ownership a reality 💯Remember you DON'T have to be ready to buy a home soon to attend. We've had people complete this course and not buy for several years, and we stuck with them the entire way 👊Since the class is all virtual, you can do it entirely from home! Sign up at the link in our bio 🚌
This kitchen is a dream. Really the entire interio This kitchen is a dream. Really the entire interior of this house is unbelievable...and it could be yours 🤩Located out in Shelton, while the 4,000SF house is incredible & loaded with unique features, this property is so much more:🌳 28 acres with TONS of open grass surrounded by trees
🛶 Seasonal pond
🏹 Shooting range
🐓 Large chicken enclosure & coop
💰 Multiple income producing assets including a detached 2 Bed/2 bath home, Mini Home, RV parking, & a 1,000 SqFt Shop that can be rented out (or kept for your own use) that altogether could generate over $5,000/month incomeYou can see the rest of the photos and a full breakdown of all the features inside the main home at the link in our bio!If you are interested in this property, please contact Jamie at 253-792-9402 😎
Fully Remodeled & Turn Key ready for move-in, this Fully Remodeled & Turn Key ready for move-in, this charming Craftsman is a one-of-a-kind gem in the heart of Tacoma 🤩📍 3816 E J St, Tacoma
👣 1,348
🛏 3 Beds
🛁 1.75 Baths
💰 $464,950This two story home has an open concept floor-plan that allows lots of natural daylight to enter into the house! Luxury vinyl plank throughout the whole house with the main level offering a living room area and a spectacular chef's kitchen with stainless steel appliances & quartz counters! The kitchen opens into the HUGE fully fenced backyard! Upper level has three bedrooms, including primary bedroom with en-suite bath. New roof, gutters, all new siding, exterior doors, new patio, new heat pump, new electrical panel, new plumbing, new exterior and interior paint, all new millwork, and RV and boat parking! Excellent location close to freeways and shopping!If you're interested in this home, contact Anikah at 206-839-7319!

Office

5413 South Tacoma Way
Tacoma, WA 98409

Phone

253-537-HOME

Email

hello@theoryRE.com

© 2022 Copyright Theory Real Estate.  |  Privacy Policy  |  Site by Deep Root Design