The Game of Buying a Home (7 things worth knowing)

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Today, let's review the game of buying a home.

Knowing the homebuying process can:

- Save you time.

- Save you money.

- Help you build wealth with real estate.

Unfortunately, house prices rarely go down.

The Modern Home

Since the 1960s:

- The average home size has doubled.

- The cost of labor to build a house has went up.

- The cost of materials to build a house has went up.

Which makes buying a home more expensive.

It can be frustrating.

Especially if you want to buy your first home (or your first rental property).

But learning the game of homebuying can change everything.

And appears to have been a good bet since the 1960s:

^{Home price history}

Seeing a chart like this motivated me to buy 7 properties.

Which feels strange to say.

Because I grew up in a lower-income town, was raised by a single mom, and got a lot of Cs in math.

There was no trust fund waiting in my future.

But I'd often find myself thinking..

"If I could just figure out how to buy my first home and maybe a rental property or two..."

My Homebuying Journey

Over the next decade I found myself getting 7 loans to buy 7 properties.

Which also feels strange to say.

Because in the beginning, I thought getting a home loan would be this terribly hard thing.

Something only well off people did.

And I sure wasn't well off when getting a loan to buy my first tiny condo.

But after spending a decade working in finance, I realized homebuying is just a game.

And knowing how it works can change everything.

The Homebuying Checklist

Buying a home the first time can be dang confusing.

But knowing how the process works can save a lot of time and money.

Here's the 7-step checklist I wish I had when buying my first tiny condo.

Hope it's useful.

Let's dive in:

1. Prepare Your Finances

Pay off high-interest debt like:

- Credit cards.

- Personal loans.

- A car loan (if possible).

The less monthly debt payments you have.

The easier it is to qualify to get a home loan.

Saving 3-6 months of monthly expenses is helpful (if possible) since unexpected things happen..

If you want to buy a home. Things to remember: Rent = the MOST you’ll pay Mortgage = the LEAST you’ll pay Plan ahead for this stuff too: - a new ac - a new roof - a new fence - a new carpet - a new furnace Life's full of surprises.

— JOHN HENRY (@thejohnhenry) October 10, 2025

Having less debt and more savings is a low-stress way to begin your homebuying journey.

2. Figure Out Your Payment

Decide on a monthly house payment you can comfortably afford.

Afterwards, looking at houses for sale using the free redfin app was one of my favorite ways to see if what I wanted was realistic by tinkering with their payment calculator..

 

Deciding on your monthly house payment and using a mortgage calculator helps you prepare to buy.

3. Save Homebuyer Money

Start saving for your new house.

Which often means saving for:

1. A down payment.

2. Closing costs.

Here's the most common places people find money to buy a home:

The amount of money needed to get a loan and buy a home varies depending on your goals.

4. Get Loan Pre-Approval

America has the most flexible home loan programs in the entire world.

Some programs don't require a down payment like the VA Loan.

Some programs only require a 3% down payment like the Conventional Loan.

And other programs only require a 3.5% down payment like the FHA Loan.

Here's the most common types of loans people get to buy a home:

Talking to a loan officer will help you figure out all of your homebuying options.

5. Find a Real Estate Agent

Interview 2 or 3 real estate pros in your area.

Many can be found with past customer reviews on sites like this one:

 

Pick a real estate pro you trust that has your best homebuying interests in mind.

6. Hunt for a House

Work with your agent to help find your ideal home.

There's many free tools available like Redfin that will notify you immediately when new homes hit the market.

 

After finding your ideal home, your agent will help you make an offer.

They'll also help you schedule a home inspection to identify any problems with the home.

Hunting for a home, making an offer and doing a home inspection helps ensure you find the best home for you.

7. Close on Your Home

Finalizing your home loan with your lender..

And getting insurance on your new home are some of the last few steps.

Then signing the final paperwork and sending any outstanding money owed to the title or closing company.

Your agent and lender will help guide you through the last few steps before getting the keys to your new home.

The bottom line

One of the most stressful things about homebuying is not knowing what to expect.

Especially the first time around (or so I've found).

It can feel chaotic and confusing.

But after learning the process, it frees up more time and attention for other important things like:

- Getting as many homebuyer credits as possible to keep costs down.

- Shopping for homeowners insurance to save money.

- Shopping for the best interest rate.

Things that make a huge difference in the long run.

And can save thousands of dollars.

If you see yourself buying a home or a rental property in the future. I hope this little checklist is useful on your homebuying journey.

That's all for today.

See you next Saturday.