Welcome to “How I Bought My First Home,” a new Lifehacker series where I ask real people about how they really sealed the deal on their first home. This week, I chatted with Sam*, a youth pastor in Ohio.
Earlier this month I shared how a 24-year-old in Maryland bought his first home, and before even reading the article, most readers knew the big twist: help from parents. I know—it’s how these articles usually go. That’s why I’m grateful for those of you who reached out to share how you managed buy a house without generational wealth. Here’s my interview with Sam about he and his wife Julia* about how this couple navigated the home-buying process for the first time, and how you might be able to follow in their footsteps.
First off, let’s get to know our homebuyer
Here’s what to know about Sam and Julia:
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Age: 32 years old (Sam); 31 years old (Julia)
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Location: Cincinnati, OH
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Marital status: Married
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Job/income: Youth pastor, $55K (Sam); graphic designer, $60K (Julia)
Now, let’s take a look at the home-buying costs
Sam shares the cost breakdown of his first home:
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Cost of home: $158,000
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Down payment: $4,700
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Closing costs: $4,400 ($3,500 of this paid by seller)
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Reserves: $20,000 (includes funds for emergencies and renovation)
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Moving: $114 (U-Haul and accessories)
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Mortgage payments: $944 monthly
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Insurance/taxes: $243
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Total monthly payment: $1,187
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Loan lengths: 30 years
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Interest rates: 6.25%
Now, here’s my Q&A with Sam about the ins and outs of securing his first home in the current market.
How did you approach setting a budget and deciding how much home you can afford?
We have been renting a place for the past two years and wanted to find something a little more stable as our rent continued to climb. We currently have two incomes, but my wife is looking to move to part-time work (or full-time mom) as we start a family. With that in mind, we tried to base it off of my salary with some flexibility, staying in the 30% range of my salary if possible. This put us around $180,000 for our max house price.
What should first-time homebuyers know about mortgages?
Shop around. This is potentially the biggest financial decision of your life, so make sure you’re getting the best deal. Even if it affects your credit score, you’re paying this off for potentially the next 30 years, so make sure it counts.
Don’t forget about your local credit unions! We found a rate that beat the national lenders by 0.5%, saving us $200-300/month. They offered a very competitive PMI at $31/month since we knew we couldn’t put 20% down. Credit unions are much more likely to hold onto your mortgage (national lenders can pass your mortgage around from company to company), and you can’t beat their personalized service. We ended up opening an HSA account with them because of how easy they were to work with.
How much of your income goes towards your mortgage?
With two full-time jobs, we’re at 15%, though we know that could change in the future.
What unexpected costs cropped up?
We had several things pop up in the process. We had to completely re-do the electrical in the house, which we knew about going in. My dad, a retired electrician, was fortunately able to help with most of it. Unfortunately, we ran into one part that he wasn’t comfortable doing, so that was an unexpected $4,000.
We also used IKEA for new kitchen cabinets to save some money. When it arrived in 70 boxes—literally, 70 boxes—we knew we couldn’t put it together in a manageable amount of time. That was an additional $3,500 we contracted to an IKEA installer. We had to take out an additional loan, but the time (and inevitable crying) saved was so worth it.
What would you have done differently?
I had looked at several different first-time homebuyer grants offered by the state of Ohio, but I was too far in the loan process to fully vet them. If I had a second chance, I would look more in-depth at how they work.
What tips do you have for other first-time buyers?
Look at the house for what it could become, not what it currently is. Smelly carpets can be replaced. Floors can be re-stained. If you’re willing to watch some YouTube videos and talk to your local hardware store, most things can be renovated in your house. I learned how to install baseboards, take out a non-load-bearing wall (with help from friends), change a toilet, and so much more.
Find the best realtor you can. We literally would not have bought a home without their help. In late 2023, houses were listed and sold within about 48 hours, and at our price point, we often were up against investors with cash offers. We wrote personalized letters to attach to our offers, but I’m not sure how much it helped against a cash offer. Our realtor was able to make contact with an investor who decided against flipping a house, selling it to us at a markup for him, but still within our price range. He was also able to negotiate several upgrades to be finished in the house by the investor so we wouldn’t have to do them.
One move-in tip from our realtor: Take the PDF of your home inspection and write down all of the individual problems listed, then rank them from most to least pressing. Now you’ve got a list of your super-fun home improvement projects for the next five years.
How long did the home-buying process take you, start to finish?
We started looking with our realtor in September 2023. After putting in six offers on different houses, not to mention another three or four that had cash offers before we could even attempt an offer, we closed on our home in January 2024.
*Name changed to keep the subject anonymous. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
