According the National Association of Realtors, nearly a third of real estate home buyers this year will be entering the housing market for the first time. For those who have bought a home in the past, you can certainly attest to all of the roads that need to be navigated before moving into that first home!

That’s why we dedicated the entire week of May 13th to posting content geared at helping first time buyers. Our efforts at helping first time home buyers didn’t end with posting content to the Blue Matter blog, we took the conversation to Twitter and shared insights, opinions and questions via the #FirstHome hashtag.

Whether you’ve missed out on any of the content from First Time Home Buyer Week or simply want to revisit anything, here’s a laundry list of the 20 pieces of content we posted.

Monday, May 13th

We Believe in First Time Home Buyers

According the National Association of Realtors, nearly a third of real estate home buyers this year will be entering the housing market for the first time. As a first time buyer, you’ll soon find out that there’s so many roads that need to be navigated before moving into that first home.

Real Estate 101: What Does It Mean to Be Pre-Approved for a Mortgage?

You’ve heard the term before, but do you really know what it means? Don’t feel embarrassed,  I didn’t really understand what it meant or the importance of being pre-approved for a mortgage until I started the process of searching for my first home.

Confessions of a First-Time Homebuyer – The Leap

As with most change, it happens gradually over time as opposed to overnight. So I’m not quite sure when it happened, but I recently realized that I’m ready. I want to own my own home.

Here are the top 3 reasons why I feel like now is the time for me to buy a home:

Real Estate 101: What is a Mortgage? 

In this video, Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty explains the basic points of what a mortgage is.

Tuesday, May 14th

Real Estate 101: The Importance of Interest Rates 

Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty share why interest rates are so important in this latest video.

Confessions of a First-Time Homebuyer – Shopping Surprises

It has been a little over a month since my girlfriend and I took the leap and decided that NOW was the time for us to buy. With five plus years experience working for the Coldwell Banker brand and hours of HGTV television shows under our belts; we thought we’d be grizzled veterans who wouldn’t be surprised by anything. We were wrong.

8 Tips For Finding Your First Home

The following post comes from Coldwell Banker Vanguard Realty, Inc. agent, Kim Knapp. Kim is an experienced agent in Northern Florida and has a great team who has worked with countless first-time home buyers.

Here are her 8 tips to help make finding that first home go as smoothly as possible:

Real Estate 101: Hiring a Real Estate Professional

So you want to hire a real estate professional? Are you just going to hire someone  your friend likes or should you dig a little deeper.

Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty talks about how you should approach trying to find the right person to work with on what is most likely the single greatest purchase of your life.

Wednesday, May 15th

Confessions of a First-Time Homebuyer: Home Inspection

…My girlfriend and I celebrated over dinner and remarked on how incredibly easy everything had been so far. It was true; the whole process had been pretty much conflict free and a walk in the park up until that point. Then we had the home inspection.

Real Estate 101: What Are Home Inspections?

In this video, Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty gives you the lowdown on what a home inspection exactly is and why you want to make sure you have a good partner to help

9 Questions to Ask Your Home Inspector

Before you make your final buying or selling decision, you should have the home inspected by a professional. An inspection can alert you to potential problems with a property and allow you to make an informed decision. Ask these questions to prospective home inspectors:

Real Estate 101: Understanding Title and Escrow

In this video Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty gives you a simple explanation of what these two terms mean and why they are so important.

Thursday, May 16th

Tips for First Time Home Buyers from Coldwell Banker’s Global Network

With a global network of over 80,000 sales associates you can bet our network has an amazing wealth of knowledge regarding First Time Home Buyers. Here are just a few tips from members of our “Gen Blue” network.

This Ain’t Your Mama’s House! Modern Day Tips for A First Time Home Buyer

Jessica Edwards, a Sales Associate with Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Realty, provides real estate advice and tips for first time home buyers.

Adventures in First Time Home Buying (what to look for and what to avoid)

There’s nothing more exciting than researching homes on the internet, sifting through hundreds (maybe thousands) of photos of homes listed for sale until you narrow down the possibilities and compile your list of those you’d like to see in person. In most cases, a picture is truly worth a thousand words.

Property Taxes and Its Impact on How Much Home You Can Buy

Before my girlfriend and I took the “leap” and jumped right into searching for our first home to buy, I was impervious to the joys of property taxes and its huge impact on the amount of home you can buy. From my initial conversation with my mortgage advisor Stephen Kulisek, I learned that upward shifts in the purchase price of a home have minimal impacts on what my monthly payment would be versus seemingly small shifts up in property taxes.

Friday, May 17th

Real Estate 101: Making an Offer on a Home

Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty explains just what happens after that offers is made.

Real Estate 101: Explaining the Closing Process 

Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty gives you the lowdown on what to expect when it comes time to close on that first home.

Common Closing Costs for First Time Buyers

You’ll likely be responsible for a variety of fees and expenses that you and the seller will have to pay at the time of closing. Your lender must provide a good-faith estimate of all settlement costs. The title company or other entity conducting the closing will tell you the required amount for:

Real Estate 101: What is a Walk Through?

In the video above Diann Patton of Coldwell Banker Grass Roots Realty talks about why you want to make sure you are focused when it comes time to do your walk through on your new home.

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Have an amazing Memorial Day Weekend!