Talk to a lender before you look
It is the least exciting step and the one that saves the most time. What a lender tells you changes which houses are worth seeing, and arriving at a showing already able to move is worth more than any negotiating tactic.
Understand what earnest money is
It is a deposit that shows you are serious, it goes toward your purchase, and there are specific windows in which it is at risk and specific windows in which it is not. Ask your agent to walk you through exactly which is which before you sign anything.
The inspection period is not a formality
This is your window to learn what you are buying. Go to the inspection. Follow the inspector around. Ask what is urgent, what is routine maintenance and what would worry them if it were their house.
Deadlines are the whole game
Most transactions that fall apart do so because a date slipped. Financing dates, inspection dates, appraisal dates. Know which ones are yours and which ones are somebody else’s.
You are allowed to walk away
First-time buyers often feel committed the moment an offer is accepted. Within the contract’s protections, you are not. Knowing that changes how the middle of the process feels.
Nothing here is legal, tax or mortgage advice. Talk to your lender, attorney or CPA about your situation.