Atlanta Home Buyers Guide

A Step-by-Step First Time Buyer's Guide

Buying a home is one of the most exciting milestones of your life. To prepare yourself for this moment, you need to know what to expect during the process. This step-by-step first-time buyer’s guide created by your agent will help reduce the stress of buying a home and help you enjoy the journey as much as possible.

Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice I said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for an agent like me to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will I help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but I also have a knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where my expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let me show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

MY GOAL IS TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE MOST PERSONALIZED SERVICE THAT IS DESIGNED TO HELP YOU BUY YOUR DREAM HOME

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Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). I will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. I will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. I can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

Step 8: Select Your Loan

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Congratulations!

After signing the final paperwork to complete the purchase, you are now the owner of a new house. It may take a few days for your loan to be funded once the paperwork has been returned to the lender, but once that check is delivered to the seller, you’ll be all set to move into the home of your dreams.

Testimonials

Emilie

Chase is in a class all by himself. He is the best realtor in Atlanta.

Diana

Chase made our home buying/selling experience pleasant and easy to navigate. We were able to buy our new home and sell our existing one in a timely manner, which was a huge plus for us.

Charles

Great management of the listing and sale of my home in Midtown highly recommend Chase. From staging to timing to execution, it all went as planned. The support staff and team really coordinated to make sure all details were han...

Dharti

When an agent makes purchasing a home feel easy, they are clearly amazing at what they do. He’s extremely knowledgeable, addressed all my questions promptly, and went out of his way to make sure the whole price went smoothly. C...

Vickers

We've worked with Chase for two home purchases and one sale, and he's made the process smooth and easy for us. We couldn't be happier with the homes we've found through him, and our place sold in two days with multiple offers. ...

Diane

Chase is one of the most buttoned-up and professional people I have ever met - in any field. He understands the Atlanta market and my goals. He is a trusted advisor. I regularly recommend him to my friends looking to buy or sel...

Teresa

It was a pleasure to work with Chase in the purchase of our home. He is very professional, has a great knowledge of the market, and was able to find exactly what we were looking for. He supported us through the process, providi...

Rob

Chase was extremely professional and made the process seamless and simple for me. Chase treats the profession as a full-time job and is extremely passionate about real estate and looking after his client's needs first. I would ...

Scott

We retained Chase in connection with a relocation from the West Coast. It was our fifth relocation, and I've never been happier with a real estate professional anywhere. First and foremost, he listened carefully to what we were...

Sarah C.

We can't say enough good things about Chase Mizell. First of all, he cares about his clients’ needs listens to what we say we want, and also intuits what we may need. With this combination, he finds the most amazing prospects (...

Stu

Chase was an amazing sales agent. He is incredibly responsive and has just the kind of 'bulldog' personality that gives you confidence he's out there really pushing your property. He was also upfront with me. He told me what I ...

Randy

I knew Chase casually and knew of his excellent reputation, but just assumed that his staff would take care of many details of selling our home. I was very pleasantly surprised at how much Chase personally handled almost everyt...

Kelly

Chase has helped me buy and sell one home and recently helped me buy a great place. He understands his client well and will be the best defender of his client's interests in negotiations. I have worked with several realtors in ...

Terry

After 16+ years in our Midtown Atlanta condominium, we made the difficult decision to sell it and move closer to our grandchildren. Once we made that decision it was easy to select our realtor. There was no question that Chase ...

Jason G.

I have had the pleasure of working with Chase Mizell on several of my home purchases and sales. He is the hardest-working realtor I know. His knowledge of the market, both inventory and value, is unmatchable. All of my transact...

Barbara

When you look for a house, above all in a country that is not yours, it could be really hard. You need to be guided in your choice by someone who is really aware of what he is doing, and he knows really well the home business a...

Kevin C.

Chase is the consummate professional. Chase helped us purchase our townhome. He came to us via a recommendation after we had a bad experience with another agent. We were first-time home buyers and the first thing he did was sit...

The Sandlers

There's just not enough space allotted here to write all the reasons we would HIGHLY recommend Chase Mizell. After a four-year search with numerous realtors, we were lucky enough to meet Chase 4 months ago. Chase consistently i...

Steve S.

I am very particular and very demanding in my business approaches and compliments from me come few and far between. Chase was the listing agent for my home in Ansley Park. Chase sells more than $30,000,000 annually NOT by luck ...

Brian

Simply put, we got our dream house thanks to Chase. We were referred to Chase by close friends who were so pleased with their experience that they almost insisted we work with him. As first-time homebuyers, Chase was instrument...

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Chase is dedicated to helping you find your dream home and assisting with any selling needs you may have. Contact him today to start your home-searching journey!

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Buyer's Guide