Homebuying
New construction or resale? Compare the life, not just the house
Neither new construction nor resale is always better. Compare layout, timing, recurring costs, condition and financing before choosing a California home.
BEFORE YOU MAKE AN OFFER
Buyer education
Mortgage Guides
Pocket listings and off-market homes: are you seeing every option?
Understand pocket listings, off-market homes and MetroList’s On Market Date, with a buyer script and a practical repair-budget example.
Featured family · October 2026
Yasandra’s first home: preparation, patience and a place to make her own
Careful saving, a patient search and a payment that fit helped Yasandra find her first home in Roseville.
More to explore
First-Time Buyers
Shopping for a home when mortgage rates move: what should you revisit?
Keep your payment budget, loan comparison and closing timeline clear when mortgage pricing changes.
Featured family · September 2026
Their first home at 62. A beginning worth waiting for.
For Steven and Miranda, a three-bedroom home in Lincoln is the beginning of something they have wanted for years.
First-Time Buyers
Buying your first home starts with a conversation
Buying your first home in California? Nick Cunningham explains affordability, down payments, loan options, assistance, and every step in plain English.
First-Time Buyers
Your down payment is not the whole number
Learn what first-time homebuyers may need for a down payment, closing costs, prepaid expenses, and reserves, plus ways funds may be sourced.
First-Time Buyers
Down payment help can be useful. The terms still matter.
Learn how California down payment assistance can work, what eligibility and repayment rules to check, and how Nick helps compare the full loan structure.
First-Time Buyers
The right loan is the one that fits the whole plan
Compare conventional, FHA, VA, USDA, and assistance-linked home loan paths in plain English. See the trade-offs that matter before you choose.
First-Time Buyers
What happens when you buy your first home?
See the first-time homebuying process from budget and preapproval through offers, underwriting, final review, signing, and closing.
First-Time Buyers
How much house can you comfortably afford?
Learn how income, debts, credit, taxes, insurance, HOA dues, and your own comfort zone shape an affordable first-home payment in California.
First-Time Buyers
Ask the question you think you should already know
Clear answers to first-time homebuyer questions about credit, down payments, preapproval, assistance, monthly payments, offers, and closing.
Agent Resources
Help the buyer get ready without asking the agent to qualify them.
A practical buyer-financing handoff for California real estate agents: goals, payment comfort, cash-to-close, review stages, documents, and property questions.
Agent Resources
The preapproval letter is one part of the offer conversation.
Pre-offer mortgage support for California real estate agents: property fit, price, credits, appraisal, timing, lender calls, and financing assumptions.
Checklists & Worksheets
Agent buyer-readiness and offer-support toolkit
Use better financing questions before a buyer reaches the offer stage.
Checklists & Worksheets
First-home cash-to-close checklist
Plan beyond the down payment before you start shopping.
GUIDE & RESOURCE
Your first home.Your own way.
A practical first-home workbook for planning your payment, comparing homes and getting ready to close.