I remember my first purchase. I bought it almost on a whim, three weeks after Amazon announced HQ2, and I learned more in the following year than in any class I ever took. First-time buyers get more of my time, not less, because there is more to explain and the stakes feel bigger when it is your first one. Here is what people ask me.
If you only read one block.
Run the numbers honestly, and then ask how long you plan to stay. In Arlington County and Fairfax County the monthly cost of owning is often higher than renting the same home in the first few years, because of the mortgage rate, taxes, insurance, and maintenance you now own. Buying starts to win when you hold long enough for appreciation and principal paydown to outrun those costs, which in this market has typically been a handful of years, not months. If you expect to be here five or more years and your income is stable, buying usually deserves a serious look. If you might move in two, renting is often the smarter move, and I will tell you so.
I built a free rent-versus-buy calculator that compares net worth under both paths over time. Use it before you call me. Then call me and we will pressure-test it together.
Less than most renters assume. Conventional loans exist at 3% and 5% down for qualified buyers, FHA allows 3.5% down with more flexible credit, and VA loans allow zero down for eligible service members and veterans. Virginia Housing, DC's HPAP program, and Maryland's Mortgage Program each offer down payment and closing cost assistance to buyers who qualify, and the rules change often enough that I check them every time rather than relying on memory. Lower down payments usually mean mortgage insurance, which I will explain in dollars rather than acronyms, along with when and how it goes away.
I work with lenders who are patient with first-time buyers and who will underwrite you fully before we shop, so the number we search at is a real number. I am not a lender and I do not get paid by one. I just know which ones pick up the phone.
House hacking means buying a property you live in and renting out part of it: a duplex where you take one unit, a house with a legal basement apartment, or a home with a spare bedroom or two you lease. The tenant's rent offsets your mortgage, and because you live there you qualify for owner-occupied financing with a low down payment instead of investor financing. I did this in Arlington County with my own first purchase and it is the reason I became an investor at all.
It is not for everyone, and the rules matter: lenders have specific guidance on counting rental income from the other unit toward qualifying, and each jurisdiction has its own rental licensing rules. I know both, and I have a free house-hack calculator that shows you what the numbers look like before you fall in love with the idea.
A fifteen-minute call to understand what you want and where you are financially. An introduction to a lender who fully underwrites you, so you know your real number. A search built around neighborhoods and property types that fit, including the ones you have not considered yet. Tours where I point out what matters and what is cosmetic. An offer strategy based on the specific seller and what they value. An inspection I attend with you, explained item by item. Negotiation of repairs or credits. A walk-through, a closing, and a set of keys. Then I stay in touch, because the questions do not stop at settlement.
I explain each step before it happens and again while it is happening. There are no stupid questions in a first purchase. There are only the questions you did not ask.
Shopping before being fully underwritten, then losing the house to a buyer who was. Ignoring condo and HOA finances, which can matter more than the unit itself. Waiving the inspection out of fear instead of structuring one that protects you. Stretching to the top of the approval number without leaving room for the first-year surprises. Choosing a home for the current life instead of the next five years of it. And waiting for rates or prices to fall, which is a strategy, just rarely a good one. I will walk you around each of these.
When you work with me, you work with me. I do not hand you to a junior agent or a transaction desk after the listing agreement is signed. I show up to the inspection, I negotiate the repairs, I am the one texting you back at nine at night. Behind me is a bench of vendors I have used on my own properties: contractors, inspectors, painters, stagers, lenders, title. You get the bench and you still get me.
I also speak Spanish, if that is easier for you or for the people helping you decide.
The first conversation is free, and I explain exactly how buyer representation and compensation work before you sign anything. No surprises, in writing. Call or text 650.380.3038, or send me a note.
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