What to Expect When Buying a Home
The path to homeownership has a few key steps:
1. Deciding what you want
2. Planning your budget
3. Touring homes
4. Making an offer (often more than one)
5. Evaluating the home
6. Closing
Here’s what each step looks like.
1. Deciding What You Want
Start by narrowing down your location. Walk the neighborhood during the day and at night. Ask yourself:
- Who’s out and about?
- Are the streets well-lit?
- Do you feel safe walking around?
Once you’ve chosen a few areas, think about the home itself. Do you want something move-in-ready or are you open to making upgrades?
Then, make two lists:
- Must-haves: e.g., an attached garage, a fenced backyard, space to work from home
- Nice-to-haves: features you’d love but could live without
Be honest about what matters most — you may need to compromise.
2. Planning Your Budget
Now that you know what you're looking for, it's time to make sure it's within reach.
Use Olly’s budget calculator to figure out what fits your lifestyle.This is a non-binding estimate of what you’re eligible to borrow. Olly Offer can connect you to trusted lenders to make this step easy.
- Use Olly’s budget calculator to figure out what fits your lifestyle.
- Search online or visit neighborhoods to get a feel for what your budget buys.
- If it feels out of reach right now, that's okay — consider a savings plan to work toward your ideal home.
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Once you’ve landed on a budget that feels right, get a preapproval letter from a lender. This is a non-binding estimate of what you’re eligible to borrow. Olly Offer can connect you to trusted lenders to make this step easy.
3. Touring Homes
You can tour homes in two ways:
- Open houses (no appointment needed)
- Private showings (scheduled visits with the seller or their agent)
If you’re still exploring, open houses are a great, low-pressure way to get a sense of different layouts and finishes — and what your budget really gets you.
Not sure what to look for? [Here's a checklist.]
4. Making an Offer (or a Few)
This is where things get real.Your offer becomes a binding contract — usually called a “purchase agreement” or “purchase and sale agreement.” It includes:
- Basic terms: purchase price, buyer/seller names, and earnest money deposit (which you’ll get back if you cancel for a valid reason)
- Contingencies: protections that let you walk away under certain conditions:
- Financing - if your loan isn’t approved
- Inspection - if the home has serious issues
- Appraisal - if the home isn’t worth what you offered
- Title - if legal issues are found in the title report - Competitive levers: strategies to strengthen your offer — Olly Offer can walk you through these and help you assess your odds.
You'll submit your offer with your preapproval letter to show you’re a serious, qualified buyer.
If the seller accepts it — congrats! If not, they may respond with a counteroffer, suggesting new terms. You can either accept, reject, or counter back.
5. Evaluating the Home
Once your offer is accepted, you’ll wired your earnest money deposit. Once you do, you’re officially "in escrow." During this phase, you’ll:
- Get final loan approval from your lender
- Hire inspectors to evaluate the home
- Review reports and possibly negotiate repairs or credits with the seller
It might sound stressful, but Olly Offer will guide you through every step.
6. Closing
Closing typically happens in person. You’ll:
- Sign loan documents and the final purchase contract
- Review and sign the deed, which officially transfers ownership
- Pay any final closing costs
- Get your keys!
Congratulations — you’re now a homeowner!
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