Why You Should Take a First-Time Homebuyer Workshop (and Graduate to Homebuyer)
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Buying your first home is an exciting milestone, and a complicated one. Never made an offer, shopped for a mortgage, read a contract, or negotiated contingencies? You may find yourself overwhelmed.
Luckily, first-time homebuyer workshops taught by seasoned real estate professionals abound. Think of these classes as primers to help you understand the homebuying process, step by step. These in-person or online workshops are easy to find—try a simple Google search such as “local first-time homebuyer workshop.”
And best of all? Many of these workshops are free. Here’s what you should know about finding and taking a course as well as what you can expect to learn.
Why take a first-time homebuying seminar?
Buying a first home can be an intimidating undertaking if you don’t understand the entire homebuying process.
Many buyers jump straight into attending open houses. And while oohing and aahing over a home’s spa shower is exciting, looking at properties should be Step 3 or 4 in your homebuying journey. First, you’ll want to find a real estate agent and a mortgage lender.
“I learned that there is a lot to think about when purchasing a home,” says Kamyar Shah, the fractional chief operating officer at Kamyar Shah. “I had no idea how much time it took and all of the information you have to gather to make sure you are making the right decisions. I was also surprised by the amount of money that goes into purchasing a home and having a down payment.”
Don’t take a workshop in Iowa if you live in Idaho
“You want to take a local course so that you can learn about not only the general homebuying process but what the market is like in your town or area,” says Katie Wethman, founder of the Wethman Group, a real estate team in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, DC.
Wethman, who has taught homebuying classes for 11 years, begins her seminars by explaining the difference between a buyer’s market and a seller’s market.
“Buyers need to know what’s going on in their unique market,” says Wethman. “What’s the average price point? How much inventory is out there? How quickly are homes selling?”
Once you understand market conditions in your area, you’ll know who has negotiating power: the buyer or the seller. If it’s the seller, you may need to be prepared to waive contingencies since you’re competing with other buyers. If it’s a buyer’s market, perhaps you can be aggressive with making a low offer. (These days, most areas are distinctly seller’s markets.)
Other basic workshops
Basics covered in the class include why lining up financing before viewing homes is imperative. Once you know what type of monthly payments you need to cover, you’ll know your price range. And you won’t waste your time looking at homes you can’t afford. (Get a jump on crunching these numbers with a mortgage calculator.)
By taking a homebuyer education workshop, you’ll know how to ensure that you are mortgage-ready, advises Kathy Bennett, CEO and founder of Bennett Packaging, who took a homebuying workshop with her husband. “You’ll know what documents you need to give to the underwriter so you can get approved quickly.”
“It was very interesting to learn about the different types of loans that are available for people who are purchasing their first home,” adds Shah.
You’ll also learn how to make an offer.
“I talk about the contingencies that form an offer so that buyers know what safety nets will protect them in case something goes wrong, such as a problem discovered during the home inspection,” says Wethman. “Then we talk about what closing costs are in the area and what happens at settlement.”
Seasoned buyers can also brush up on their skills
People generally buy a home every five to 10 years. Yet, just because you successfully purchased a home before doesn’t mean you’re going to remember everything.
“The homebuying process and contracts change over time,” says Wethman. “And odds are the market is completely different from the last time an existing homeowner bought a property.”
The bottom line on first-time homebuyer workshops
Some classes are simply sales pitches for an agent looking to represent you. But remember to do your research before signing with an agent. The golden rule when it comes to agents? Interview at least three before settling on one. You want an advocate who will not only negotiate for you but also protect you from unforeseen issues that will inevitably crop up. In other words, it’s OK to take a workshop without hiring the agent who taught it.
Also, the workshop should be one hour at most. You don’t want to leave feeling overwhelmed and struggling to digest a ton of new information. But you do want to feel like you can go out there and start house hunting with confidence.
“The homebuyer workshop helped us immensely when we were finally planning to own a house as opposed to renting one,” says Bennett. “The homebuying process is stressful enough. But by knowing what comes next, you aren’t left to guess about the homebuying process. You can make informed, sound decisions that help you reach your goal. It played a critical role in our buying process, and I recommend it.”
Daniel Bortz contributed to this report.
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