Let’s face it - real estate can be an intimidating place if you’re just starting out. They don’t teach much of this stuff in school and unless your parents were in real estate, you weren’t taught it at home either. If it’s your first time buying or selling a home, the game is a whole lot different than when your parents were in your shoes.

Between deciphering real estate jargon (is escrow even a real word?) to navigating a bidding war, it can feel like your parents trying to learn the latest TikTok dance.

However, it’s all good fam. Nest Realty has your back. Hint: this is part of why real estate agents can be helpful in the first place!

At Nest Realty, we’re ready to help make your first home buying process feel as breezy as your favorite thrifted oversized sweater.

Whether you’re sick of rising rent prices in Utah or ready to see what it takes to buy your first home, here’s a quick guide to tackle one of the most difficult parts of first-time home buying: getting started.

Step 1: Check Your Credit Glow-Up

When’s the last time you turned in your report card? Hate to break it to you, but those days are not exactly over. Your credit score is kind of like an adult report card where the better your score, the more likely you’ll be to snag a mortgage (home loan) with a killer interest rate.

✅ Pro Tip: Download a free credit monitoring app like Credit Karma to get the lowdown on your own credit score and receive personalized advice on how to improve it or get the ball rolling to build credit if you haven’t already. Banks take your credit score into account when you apply for a loan for a new home, so aim for this number to be as high as possible.

Step 2: Save Smarter, Not Harder

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably realized life is expensive these days. You might know that you need to have a certain percent of the price of a home you hope to get a loan for ready to put down right at the start of the loan.

Good news for you first-time home buyers: you don’t need 20% down to buy your first time. There are first-time homebuyer programs out there that let you put as little as 3-5% down for a loan. Start saving now and have a goal in mind for how much you’d like to put down on your first house.

✅Pro Tip: For a $300,000 home, 3% down would equal $9,000. If you were to put aside a bit of money every day, that would equal about $25 per day. Could you save $25 per day if it meant you could purchase a home at the end of the year? Worth it.

Step 3: Partner Up with a Pro

Unfortunately, there’s no app for real estate yet that allows you to swipe to find that perfect realtor. However, finding a good real realtor works kind of like swiping on dating apps. You want an agent who is not only knowledgeable but also understands your vibe as a person. (And navigating the real estate world alone is not recommended.) Plus, real estate has its own weird vocabulary of lingo that can be confusing if you’re not a real estate agent. Part of the benefit of a real estate agent is having an interpreter who can translate everything so you’re not getting yourself into any hot water (other than the jet tub in your new primary bathroom).

📣Meet Trello Prince and Brett Knudson with Nest Realty:

• Trello’s got the cinematic marketing skills to make your home look like a Pinterest board and the experience in real estate to make sure you aren’t paying any more than you should.
• Brett has the marketing know-how to deliver some creative solutions and also knows Utah like Swig knows soda.

✅Pro Tip: Real estate agents like Trello and Brett can help guide you through everything from virtual showings to negotiations all while feeling like you’re working with an old friend.

Step 4: House-Hunting, but Make it Fun

Once you get your pre-approval letter and have selected your agent to work with, it’s time to start the fun part: the search for your dream home. We will sit down with you and go over your wants and needs in a home. Then, we’ll consult the available homes on the market that fit what you’re looking for. We’ll send you a list and have you pick your favorites to go see in person.

✅Pro Tip: There is no perfect house. At least, we haven’t found one yet. Try to focus on:

• Location > Aesthetic. You can fix the ugly carpet in the bathroom (gross), but you can’t move a house closer to Trader Joe’s.
• Layout > Size. A smart floorplan beats extra square footage you’ll never use. Plus, you can use your savings on utilities to get an extra shot of espresso in your latte.

Step 5: Celebrate Your Glow-Up

You’ve made all the right moves, signed on the dotted line, survived the home inspection, and snagged the keys to your new home. Now, the only thing left to do is celebrate! Throw that housewarming party, post the new key picture, and give yourself a pat on the back. You did it!

✅Pro Tip: Lambrusco wine pairs excellently with a celebratory charcuterie board.

Ready to Start?

Stop doomscrolling Zillow (it’s not helping) and let’s make your homeownership dreams a reality. Hit us up today to tell us about your goals and how we can help you accomplish those. We want to get you the house you're looking for, within your budget, and make the process fun and enjoyable.

You can either contact us directly or fill out our questionnaire on our site to determine where the best place to start is.

We can’t wait to help you find or sell your home, but most importantly, we can’t wait to meet you!