- Well, thanks, Alex, so much for coming on
and sharing your wisdom.
- Glad to be here.
- So appreciate it.
Alright, you guys.
So, when you're looking to buy a home,
here are three things to remember
when it comes to your money—
to know that you are ready to buy that home.
First and foremost, I want you completely out of debt
and a fully funded emergency fund
of three to six months of expenses in the bank.
So, this is great, because this sets you up
for your house to be a blessing, not a curse.
And, Alex, you know that, but it is; it's so key.
- For sure.
- So, you need to be out of debt
and have that emergency fund.
- That's right.
- If you're broke, you guys, and you buy a house,
you become broker is what ends up happening.
So, getting a solid foundation is so, so key.
And then next, I want to make sure
that you have a good down payment on your home.
So, Alex, I always tell people 10–20% down payment
is the ideal world, so would you agree with that?
- Yeah, for sure. So, we recommend putting 10% down.
By doing that, you are— keep in mind, these folks
are working toward ultimately getting the home paid off.
Right, and so, if somebody says, "Hey, can I get a loan
and put nothing down?" They are out there. Those are options.
It's just not consistent with where we're trying to go.
- I think that that is great advice.
And, you guys, if you are saving up for a down payment,
you can click the link in the show notes
and get my free Down Payment Goal Tracker
to help you stay encouraged while you're saving up
for that down payment.
And then, last but not least,
when you're taking out your mortgage,
make sure to get a 15-year fixed rate
and that your payment is no more than 25%
of your take-home pay, so that's key.
All right, Alex, you've been doing this for how long?
How long have you been selling homes and helping
people buy homes?
- Six weeks now.
- (laughs) I, literally, was like,
"You're really good at this."
- 12 years.
- 12 years, okay. So, what are some things
that people should be looking for
when they're going to buy a home?
- The first thing I would do
would be encourage them to remember
what got them here, right?
Patience, they're working a plan, and they've had discipline.
And so, what you don't want to do
is throw all those things out,
get into the process, be overly emotional,
and then put yourself in a bad situation, right?
The second thing that we want to encourage people
that have never bought a home before
is that this is your first home.
There's probably going to be a second,
maybe a third, a fourth, a fifth.
This is not your forever home.
So, just keeping that in mind—
- Because it's emotional, right?
Because, when you're buying a home,
you're imaging yourself in it— especially your first one, right?
This is the biggest purchase you've
ever made in your life, for most people.
And it's, like, this is where I'm going to raise my family.
This is where life's going to happen.
It's going to be so exciting and so great.
But it's probably not going to be your dream home—
especially your first one.
So, I think that's a great, realistic expectation
just to throw out there and remember. So, that's good.
- Yeah, so now that we have the right mindset,
then we're going to work on three things
before we go shopping.
The first thing is getting really clear on a budget.
We know what y'all recommend with having a mortgage,
with HOAs and taxes—no more than 25% of your take-home—
but that doesn't mean they are clear on their budget.
So, they need to get clear on their budget first.
- That's good.
- The second thing would be a wish list—
and not just a wish list, but prioritizing your wish list.
And some of those may be non-negotiable,
and others may be strong preferences.
That's going to be really helpful
for somebody starting out.
- And those non-negotiables, I think, are so important,
because, I mean— I think about, for instance,
it could be a yard, right? You're like, "I don't want
a zero-lot-line. We want a yard."
And what it does is it just starts narrowing down
what you want. And those big priorities—
those non-negotiables—you're still going to have options.
But it's not like this whole world of houses,
and it's so overwhelming.
It does narrow it down and it helps you be wise
in those decisions, and I think that's so smart.
- The third thing is going to be choosing an agent—
hiring an agent.
Yeah, we recommend reaching out
to an Endorsed Local Provider in your area
for most state services.
And when you're looking for an agent,
when you're interviewing those agents,
we recommend reviewing anywhere from two, three,
however many it takes to be comfortable.
And you're probably going to be comfortable
with them because you trust them.
- Yes.
Trust is huge.
- And not a blind trust, like, "You're the expert.
I don't know what I'm doing."
But, "We're partnering together, and I'm trusting you
to guide me. I'm trusting that you're going to be patient
with me to answer questions that I have," right?
If red flags pop up or whatever it may be,
I'm trusting that you're looking out for me
and that you're giving me really good advice.
- Such good tips.
Okay! So, I want to know some red flags—
some things when someone walks in a home
that they have to just run out the back door,
and you're like, "Get out of there. Don't do it."
What are the big red flags to look for?
- Yeah, just throughout the process—
Okay, so we're assuming that you're working with an agent
that is an ELP and that you trust them
and that you're comfortable with them.
But if you hear the words—I was just thinking about this—
If you hear the words coming out of anybody, all right?
- I can't wait.
- Of like, "That's not a big deal," and then they want
to keep moving on—huge red flag for me.
- So good.
- And it may or may not be, but I—
- But they're not taking the time to explain it.
- And these folks should expect that they take the time
to explain it to the point that they are comfortable
making their own decision to move forward—or not.
- So good. Oh, I love that.
Guys, there's so much in this. Yeah, for real, though,
such great advice, Alex. Thank you.
And I know you guys probably learned a ton,
so seriously, thanks so much for coming on.
- Yeah, my pleasure.
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