None of the following is financial advice (I don't work for you, you don't work for me, you must do your own research) + none of this is a request for aid
I typically shove business and money ramblings on @notfinancialadvice but I am in my feelings because I just had a week of Very Large Numbers on what it means to fix it up and build it out.
I have an inborn need to be helpful because I like attention people have helped me along my path to get to where I am and it feels good to give back.
As of writing (early October 2025), markets are (generally) leaning heavily towards buyers because of Every Reason. If you are a buyer, you (probably) have more power to negotaite.
Here are some things I have learned over the last few years in getting here and in general already know:
Mortgage calculators exist and can help you figure out how much you can afford on paper.
Usually, you have to put down 20%. If you cannot, then you may qualify for PMI, which stands for Private Mortgage Insurance. It will add to your monthly output, but it may or may not be worth it, considering what you want and how much you have to get it, etc.
PMI is not permanent. It exists until the balance hits 80%. So if you have 15% down, once you have paid your mortgage enough to lower the balance to 80%, you can request it go away (or wait for it to go away, I would recommend requesting it).
This is stupidly important because the initial down payment is often the biggest crunch one faces.
Another maybe even more stupidly important thing is that you must remember -- look into my beautiful eyes -- you must remember the bank, credit union, lender, etc. works for you.
They are not doing you a favor.
They are working for you.
Do not be afraid to ask questions.
Do not be afraid to walk away.
The same goes for real estate agents.
The same goes for every website you go to that you're looking up house prices I'm not going to give anyone free advertising you know the sites I'm talking about.
"Asking price" is the seller's opening bid.
Your bid is (probably) going to be lower.
If someone says "Yeah you better act fact I've got 3 other people looking at this place, two of them are cash offers."
Keep going to your second choice, and maybe don't do business with the person who said that to you.
Do not let anyone intimidate you into buying property. (Or, really, anything).
Your best bet is to figure out what you want, then start asking people questions. Real estate agents and/or bankers, depending on if you're more focused on "I want to live/work/play HERE" (real estate) or "I can afford X, where can I go?" (banker)
And by "banker" I mean generally speaking. Credit union, etc. If you have an account there, they might be able to help you faster.
Don't be afraid to ask more questions.
Don't let anyone whom you're about to sign a giant contract over be rude to you or intimidate you or make you feel small. You're literally in control of this.
Don't let anyone tell you that "you have to buy" -- it is a choice, it has implications, positive and negative, equity in something making your life worse is not valuable.
If you don't know where to start?
Start with whomever is closer.
Real estate office or financial institution or website if you prefer doing things online.
It is hard and expensive and you can do it, it's done every day, and I cannot stress this enough: You don't pay for this until everything has come together.
If you spend 3, 6, 12, 18 months figuring it out with someone, that's fine. It takes as long as it takes.
Ask about home inspections (someone who knows their stuff says "this place is falling apart and will ruin you" versus "this place needs work, here is an outline".)
Ask about community help and grants.
This is literally me just googling "First time home buyer grants."
Help and programs and assistance and all the things are there.
This is going to become especially relevant in the coming years because...
...things are becoming, hm, interesting, in the world of money.
do what makes sense for you
I knew what I was getting into when I bought this place. I specifically selected it because it was last renovated somewhere between 35 - 50 years ago and thus was cheap to acquire, the jokes are just part of the processing of things.
