First-time buyers
Nobody explains this properly the first time.
So let's do it properly. What you actually need saved, what the monthly number really includes, and how families help with a down payment without creating a problem at underwriting.
Start here
Four things worth knowing before anything else
You don't need 20% down
Conventional financing starts at 3% for a first-time buyer, FHA at 3.5%. Twenty percent avoids mortgage insurance — it has never been a requirement to buy.
Your payment is four things
Principal, interest, taxes, insurance. In Texas the tax line is large — budget roughly 2–2.5% of the home value each year, and more inside a MUD or PID.
Family can help
Gift funds from parents or siblings are allowed, including from overseas. They need a donor letter and a clean paper trail, which I'll walk you through.
Pre-approval is not a credit disaster
One hard inquiry. Mortgage enquiries inside a 45-day window count as a single event for scoring, so shopping properly does not compound the hit.
The money
What you actually need at the table
On a $500,000 home in Collin County, this is roughly where the cash goes. Your numbers will differ — these are the categories nobody lists for you.
Down payment
The number everyone knows
3–5% conventional, 3.5% FHA, 0% VA
Closing costs
Title, appraisal, lender fees, prepaids
Roughly 2–3% of the price
Prepaids & escrow
Held by your servicer, not lost
Usually 2–4 months of taxes and insurance
Earnest money
Credited back to you at closing
1–2% at contract
Seller concessions and lender credits can cover a meaningful part of the closing costs, particularly on new construction where builders are motivated. That's a negotiation I help with before you sign, not after.
The path
Four steps to keys
Work out your real budget
Not the maximum a lender will approve — the number that still lets you live. We start from your monthly comfort, then work backwards to a price.
Compare against your rentGet properly pre-approved
Income and assets verified, not a soft estimate. In Frisco and Prosper a verified pre-approval is what gets your offer read at all.
Start your pre-approvalShop with a number, not a hope
You'll know your price, your monthly payment, and your cash to close before you tour anything. No surprises at the table.
Model your cash to closeClose, then file your homestead
Three weeks is a realistic timeline on a clean file. Afterwards, file your homestead exemption — the county will not remind you.
See your amortisationAsk me the question you think is silly.
It isn't. Everyone buying their first home has one, and the people who ask end up with better loans than the people who guess.