How We Bought Our First Home: Content Marketer and Government Contractor in South Carolina

Welcome to Lifehacker’s “How I Bought My First Home” series, where I ask real people how they actually closed the deal on their first home. This week I chatted with Mark* (a content marketer) about how he and his wife (a government contractor) navigated the home buying process for the first time and how you could follow in their footsteps.

First, let’s meet our home buyer.

Here’s what you need to know about Mark and his wife:

• Age: (at that time) 38 years.

• Location: Charleston, South Carolina

• Marital status: Married

• Household Income: SEO/content marketer and government contractor, $220K.

Now let’s look at the costs of purchasing a home.

Mark shares the cost of his first home:

• House price: $545,000.

• Down payment: $70,000

• Closing costs: $19,000.

• Moving: about $4,000 (with the help of my in-laws).

• Mortgage payments: $3,400 per month.

• Insurance/Taxes: $500/month.

• Loan length: 30 year, fixed rate 5.75%. We were lucky to gain a foothold when rates fell early last year.

And now for my Q&A with Mark about the ins and outs of purchasing his first home in the current market.

How did you approach budgeting and deciding how much home you could afford?

We looked at what monthly payment we could afford without significantly changing our lifestyle and went from there. This probably isn’t the best way to do it, if only because online calculators are bad at figuring out things like taxes and insurance. But it seemed more realistic than convincing ourselves that we might suddenly become complete spendthrifts, spending what we could afford.

What should first-time homebuyers know about mortgages?

Who you choose as your mortgage professional is arguably more important than who you choose as your Realtor. The mortgage loan process is a lot more complicated (and significantly less fun) than buying a home, and it’s important to have someone who knows what they’re doing and can explain it to you in an understandable way. Good people will pick up the phone at all hours of the night to answer questions (even though you really shouldn’t) and tell you straight about your finances.

How much of your income goes toward your mortgage?

About 19% of our gross income. If I had to guess, I’d say about 30-35% of our network.

What unforeseen expenses arose?

Taxes and insurance shouldn’t be considered a “surprise,” but they can quickly add to your total monthly payment. While it was a stroke of luck that our realtor and mortgage specialist were phenomenal people, others should know that you have every right to leave if you don’t like the way they treat you.

What would you do differently?

There have been several times in the madness of 2021-2022 where we would have had many more homes in an equally good or better location if we had just offered a little more. Obviously there is an advantage to having a budget and sticking to it, but the market doesn’t care what you think a house “should” cost. If you find one you want and you can actually afford it, pay for it.

What advice can you give to other first-time buyers?

It’s difficult because this market is completely different from the one we dealt with a couple of years ago. However, here are some tips that will work for most people:

• Don’t overlook your home because of cosmetic items. You rarely look at the outside of your home anyway, and you’ll be surprised how quickly those “ugly cabinets” start to blend in with the rest of the house. And always remember that you can change almost everything in the house except its location.

• If you can, inspect the house a second time when it rains. Flooding is a problem where I live, but fortunately not at our home. It would be nice to know that everything in one part of the garage gets wet when it rains a certain type.

• To find out if a place is right for you outside of commuting, take a walk or drive around and find the places you like best. If you work in a bar, is there one nearby? Parks, shops, gyms? Buying a house is a little like getting married: it won’t fundamentally change your personality, even if you think it will. Your hobbies and interests won’t suddenly change, and if location makes it difficult or impossible for you to do these things, you’ll end up resenting your home.

• Buy a home for your immediate, short-term lifestyle, not some distant version of yourself. If you enjoy nightlife and hiking, don’t pass up something that gets you closer to it because you have vague plans for your future family.

• Don’t waive any normal contingencies. Skipping something like an inspection is a terrible thing to do for your first home, considering how much money you’re spending.

How long did the home buying process take you, from start to finish?

Technically, the period was about two years. We had the misfortune of starting our search in 2021 when the market was wild due to low interest rates and investors looking to capitalize on rising prices. But once we settled in the house, the process went surprisingly quickly, 40-45 days maximum.

*Name has been changed to protect the subject’s anonymity. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

One last note for readers: when it comes to buying a home , one of the biggest challenges is determining exactly how much home you can afford. And when you do your research and come across, say, a 24-year-old engineer from Maryland or a youth pastor from Ohio , you’re disappointed to see that the solution lies in the size of your loans or lifestyle that you simply can’t handle. I understand. So, if you would like to share your experience of buying your first home, please leave a comment below. You may be able to help paint a bigger picture of what navigating the housing market looks like these days, especially without generational wealth.

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