Buyer's 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.

Our 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

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Samira Kopic, Chicago, IL

Meldina Dervisevic is amazing! Sold my property within few weeks and at asking price.

Nadira Pekovic, Lincolnwood IL

Meldina is an extremely well seasoned Realtor. She is highly sensitive to the expectations in different circumstances and has the ability to adapt in order to achieve the highest quality results for her clients. She has saved m...

Saba, Chicago.

All l can say is that she was there for me from being till the end (from listing's/closing). She was available for me ANYTIME even when she was out of a country she would call me back within 5 minutes if l had any questions o...

Anthon, N

Meldina was always there for every step of the way. I got the top value for my property in the area. I love that she spoke my language for easy transaction

The Stewart Family, Chicago, IL.

Meldina was fantastic to work with, excellent communication throughout the sales process.

Flora, Chicago IL

Meldina was introduced to me by a Church member/ friend of mine who had worked with Meldina and was very happy with her service. And Meldina met my expectations. Meldina was professional, attentive to detail, always picked u...

Enis Masic, Des Plaines, IL

I recently had the pleasure of working with Meldina as my agent, and she was nothing short of amazing. From our first meeting, she demonstrated exceptional professionalism and a deep understanding of the market. Meldina took th...

Amela, Schaumburg

Meldina is that absolute best I could never work with anyone else. She's extremely professional and a master at her career. I'm so grateful I found her!

Sarah and John, Chicago

Very professional and quick. We love her.

Annette D., FC, CO

I recently worked with Meldina Dervisevic when buying a condo in Chicago. She was professional, knowledgeable, and fun to work with. It was a pleasure to work with someone who clearly enjoyed her job. Meldina was organized an...

Sevdah munjakovic

Excellent broker

Mladen Buljan, Chicago

Having Meldina handle sale of my commercial property turn out to be best move . Her professionalism and knowledge help me get trough whole process without much stress I can highly recommend her services , and give her at lead...

Hagit Meroz IL,Chicago

She is very profesional. Thank you for selling our house

Del Bransky, Chicago, IL

Meldina Dervisevic was great to work with! She was available whenever I had questions, and would get back to me with answers. I appreciate her honesty and professionalism. I highly recomment Meldina!!

G.k.

Thank you meldina it was a pleasure working with, looking forward to doing business again.

Sam, Skokie, IL

Working with Meldina was a truly positive experience. Meldina was incredibly knowledgeable about the local market and provide invaluable guidance throughout the entire process of purchasing my home. Meldina was always responsi...

Gordon and Vito Miladinovic

Meldina communicated with us immidietly on all matters and was very accessible throughout the process! She was very polite and knowledgable on the process and it was obvious that she had our best interest in mind at all time...

Boyan S.

"Great to work with, and found me a great home. I look forward to finding a new home with her help."

Enis M.

"I recently had the pleasure of working with Meldina as my agent, and she was nothing short of amazing. From our first meeting, she demonstrated exceptional professionalism and a deep understanding of the market. Meldina took t...

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"The best service I received! I used her to purchase and rent my investment property 5 star."

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