Eight Steps to Buying a Home

1. Decide what you want and why. A home for ten years, a first purchase, a duplex to house hack, or a place for an SMU student. The reason shapes everything that follows.
2. Get fully pre approved. Not pre qualified. Underwritten. It takes longer than a pre qualification and it is the difference between winning and losing a competitive house.
3. Set the all in budget. Principal, interest, property tax, insurance, HOA and any MUD or PID. Use the affordability calculator and the Home Check.
4. Choose two or three communities. Not ten. Our guides explain the trade offs.
5. Tour with an agent who has seen the comparables. You should know what a house is worth before you walk in, not after you fall in love with it.
6. Write the offer on terms, not just price. Option period length, earnest money, appraisal language and closing date all matter to a Dallas seller.
7. Inspect and negotiate repairs. Most Dallas houses are on clay soil with foundation movement. A specialist inspection is money well spent on anything built before 1990.
8. Close. Final walkthrough, wire the funds, sign. Remote online notarization is available if you are not in town.