The First-Time Buyer Roadmap: Pre-Approval to Keys

Buying your first home has a reputation for chaos it doesn't deserve. Done in order, it's a short list of steps — and only the first one requires courage.

Step one: the ten-minute call

Before documents, before credit pulls, before browsing listings "just to see." We talk through where you're at: income, savings, timeline, and what you're hoping for. You leave the call knowing whether you're ready now or what specifically closes the gap. No cost, no commitment, no credit pull until you say go.

Step two: pre-approval

This is the short homework: recent pay stubs, two years of W-2s or tax returns, bank statements, and ID. Most people gather it in an evening. I review it, run the numbers with any down payment assistance you fit, and you get a real pre-approval — a number a seller takes seriously, not an online estimate.

Step three: the hunt

Kristin takes over the showings — Kyle, Buda, San Marcos, or wherever your commute and budget point. Because she and I work from the same file, the question "can we actually afford this one?" gets answered the same day, not after the weekend.

Step four: offer to close

Offer, inspection, appraisal, final loan approval, and the closing table. My job in this stretch is speed and no surprises: you'll know what's happening at every stage and what, if anything, is needed from you. When the file is clean, closings here can move fast — and we plan the timeline around your lease, not the other way around.

Step five: keys

Then one more thing most lenders skip: a check-in after you've moved in, and a rate watch so if the market gives us a chance to improve your payment later, you hear it from me first.

Start with step one — the ten-minute call

Step 1 of 3 · What do you need?

Getting financedPre-approval, down payment help, the loanBoth — I'm starting from zeroFinancing and finding the home, one teamFinding a homeTouring, offers, negotiation