Single Family
How to Buy a Home

Homebuyer education programs educate first-time homebuyers on the complexities of the home buying process and help prepare them for the responsibilities of homeownership.

Determining whether you can afford to buy a home as well as how much you can afford to spend without overextending your budget is an important first step.

Once you've defined what you can afford to spend, take the time to define your wants and needs in a house, neighborhood and community.

This step is still being developed by NIFA.

Making an offer on a house may be the single most intimidating step for the first-time homebuyer. This section discusses the offer process.

With an accepted offer in hand, it is time to start shopping for a loan. Even if you're pre-qualified with a lender, an educated home buyer will compare the terms of the different loan options that may be available.

To protect yourself before you buy, you need to know everything you can about the condition of your prospective home. A home inspection is an in-depth examination of a home, and will identify potential problems and necessary repairs.

This step includes the loan closing, where the title is transferred from the seller to the buyer, and where the financial transaction is completed.

The final step helps you understand what happens next. Just because you have closed your loan, does not mean you can forget about it.

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