Real Estate • May 22, 2026

Planning Ahead: A 12-Month Guide to Buying Your First Home

by Windermere MI

Thinking about buying a home can be daunting, especially if it’s your first time. What should be an exciting milestone can feel overwhelming without a clearly defined roadmap, and diving in headfirst without a solid plan can lead to unnecessary stress, financial surprises, and missed opportunities. However, by establishing a timeline and breaking the process down into manageable steps, you can move forward with confidence and clarity.

Here is your month-by-month guide to preparing for a successful home purchase in the following year.

12 – 10 MONTHS OUT

Know Your “Why”

Understand your motivation for buying. Are you relocating, growing your household, or ready to invest in your future? Clearly defining your “why” will help shape your search criteria and influence your budget, location, and timeline.

Set Clear Goals

Start to think about what you want in your new home. Create a list of your wants versus must-haves, including location, budget, size, and style of home. These goals will act as a compass throughout your search. Be sure to include your ideal timeline and what you hope to get out of the overall experience.

Find an Agent Who Prioritizes Your Goals and Timeline

A trusted real estate agent is more than just a facilitator; they’re a guide, negotiator, and advocate. Look for someone who understands your timeline and long-term vision and is familiar with the local market. Ask them to provide a first-time buyer’s guide or checklist to help you get started. Building this relationship early allows your agent to understand your needs and preferences in advance, setting the stage for a smoother process when you’re ready to make your move.

9 – 7 MONTHS OUT

Assess Your Finances

Take a close look at your income, debt, and spending habits. Use this time to create a monthly budget that includes future mortgage payments, utilities, insurance, taxes, and home maintenance. Many experts recommend spending no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on housing costs.

Boost Your Credit

Your credit score has a significant impact on your buying power, including your mortgage rate and loan approval. Take the next few months to pay down high-interest debt, stay current on all payments, and avoid opening new credit accounts. Check your credit report for errors and work on improving your score if needed.

Start Saving

You’ll want to have enough set aside not only for a down payment, which is typically 3% to 20% of the purchase price, but also for closing costs, moving expenses, and initial home repairs or furnishings. During this time, try to avoid nonessential major purchases and think about setting up a dedicated home savings account to stay consistent.

6 – 4 MONTHS OUT

Talk to a Financial Advisor

A financial advisor can help you align your financial goals with your homebuying plans. They can offer advice on what you can realistically afford and help identify areas to strengthen your financial readiness. You can also use tools like an online mortgage calculator to get a clearer idea of what your future monthly payments might look like.

Research Homebuyer’s Courses & Guides

Take advantage of first-time homebuyer resources, guides, and online courses. The more you know earlier on, the more confident you’ll feel.

3 – 2 MONTHS OUT

Familiarize Yourself with the Market

Start browsing homes and monitoring prices in the neighborhoods you’re interested in. Learn whether your local market is currently favoring buyers or sellers and what that could mean for your strategy.

Meet with a Lender and Get Pre-Approved

Meeting with a lender and getting pre-approved can help give you a clear picture of how much you can borrow and what price range to shop within. It also shows sellers that you’re a serious buyer when the time comes to make an offer. Your realtor can recommend trusted lenders to work with and assist you through this process.

Start Your Home Search

Now that you have your list of wants and needs and know your price range, you’re ready to start searching for your dream home. Use online property research tools to filter by location, features, and price to see what’s available in the locations you like. Narrow down your top homes and start scheduling showings and comparing listings.

1 MONTH OUT

Make an Offer

Once you find “the one,” your agent will help you craft a competitive offer, negotiate terms, and guide you through contingencies.

Get a Home Inspection
If your offer is accepted, a licensed inspector will identify any issues with the property before you finalize your purchase. Depending on what comes up, this can give you leverage to negotiate repairs or price adjustments.

THE TIME HAS COME

Closing On Your New Home
You’ve made it! During closing, you’ll sign paperwork, pay final costs, and receive the keys to your new home. Your agent and lender will walk you through the final steps to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Buying a home may seem like a big leap, but with a solid 12-month plan and the right support, it can be an extremely rewarding experience. Take it one step at a time and know that I’m here to help whenever you’re ready.

This article originally appeared on the Windermere Blog

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Real Estate • September 9, 2025

Renting vs Buying: Which is Better for You?

by Windermere MI

Knowing whether it’s the right time to rent or buy depends on your buying power, what you’re looking for in a home, your local market conditions, your plans for you and your household, and the responsibilities you’re prepared to take on at your residence.

Renting gives you greater flexibility to relocate, fewer home maintenance responsibilities, and can often be more the more affordable option, depending on where you live. The extra costs associated with owning a home—interest payments, taxes, repairs—may be too much for some renters to handle.

Becoming a homeowner also has its advantages. From a financial standpoint, owning is usually better than renting in the long term—it allows you to build wealth as your property gains equity; your monthly payments are stable and actually become more affordable over time relative to your income; and some of the costs may be deductible at tax time. From a lifestyle standpoint, owning also affords you greater freedom to customize your living space.

Ultimately, the right decision depends on your situation. If you don’t plan to be living in the same place for at least five years, renting might be more logical, as it allows you more flexibility when it comes time to move again. If you’re looking to settle down for the better part of a decade or longer and can afford to buy a home, becoming a homeowner may be the better option. Here are a few additional considerations to guide your renting-versus-buying decision making process.

What are the local real estate market conditions?

Investigate the local sales and rental markets to get an idea of both typical home prices and the average monthly payment for a rental. When comparing housing costs, be sure to base your evaluation on what’s happening in your city and neighborhood, not the nationwide averages. I track these stats regularly, so feel free to contact me for an accurate update on prices in your neighborhood.

For a quarterly breakdown of local market conditions in the Seattle area, explore my Market Review page. Each report breaks down the latest figures in home sales, home prices, and days on market for regions throughout Seattle and the Eastside. They also include helpful insights and data analysis.

What can you afford?

Making the jump from renter to homeowner is often a question of affordability. Your mortgage rate will depend on your financial strength, your credit score, and other factors, so make sure to talk to a loan officer before you start looking for a home. Getting pre-approved for a mortgage will identify what you’re able to afford and helps strengthen your offer when the time comes.

To get an idea of what you can afford, try these Financial Calculators. You can estimate your monthly payment for any listing price/mortgage terms to get a well-informed picture of whether it’s the right time to buy.

Will you need to make repairs to your new home?

Buying a fixer-upper may seem like a great way to get a deal on a house, but if the money you spend on the repairs is too great, your profit could be diminished when it comes time to sell. The same is true for remodeling and improvement projects. There are various renovation financing loans available to you that can help with the costs of home repairs, though extra consultations, inspections, and appraisals are often required in the process of securing these loans. Ultimately, if you can only afford a home that demands major improvements, and you don’t have the skills to do much of the work yourself, you may be better off renting.

Can you rent part of the house you’re buying?

If you buy a house with rental-capable space (extra bedroom, mother-in-law unit, etc.), you could use the rental income to pay off your mortgage faster and contribute more to your savings. But, of course, you need to be willing to share your home with a tenant and take on the responsibilities of being a landlord or working with a professional property manager to help you with those duties. Renting out a space in your home will also require you to purchase landlord insurance on top of your existing homeowners insurance policy.

Making Your Decision to Rent or Buy

At the end of the day, the decision is up to you. Based on the conditions laid out above, it simply may not be the right time for you to buy. Fortunately, when it comes to being a homeowner, it’s not now or never. I’m happy to be your resource in gauging whether it’s the right time to buy and guiding you through the process toward homeownership. To get started, connect with me today.

Adapted from an article that originally appeared on the Windermere blog April 11, 2022.

Real Estate • August 20, 2024

Understanding Contingent Offers: A Seller’s Guide

by Windermere MI

With the market shifting toward balance between buyers & sellers, “contingent” is a word sellers will be seeing more of. It’s important to understand the difference between a “contingent offer” and one with “contingencies.” Contingent offers allow the buyer time to sell their current home first before they complete the purchase. On the other hand, an offer with contingencies allows the buyer to cancel the contract with a full earnest money refund if the specified conditions aren’t met—often a satisfactory home inspection or the ability to obtain financing.

This may feel a bit like buyers want to have their cake and eat it too, but every homeowner can understand the desire to protect their investment before fully diving in. In a seller’s market, there are fewer homes available, which means buyers will do whatever they can to make their offer stand out. Because sellers have the leverage in these market conditions, you’ll often see buyers waiving their contingencies. Talk to your agent for more information about the local market conditions in which you’re selling.

Should I accept a contingent offer on my house?

Each home sale is different, and each seller has a unique story. What you’re looking for in an offer may be different from what someone else in your neighborhood is looking for when selling their home. It all depends on your circumstances, your timeline, your next steps, and your local market conditions. The extra stipulations in a contingent offer require the attention of an experienced real estate agent who can interpret what they mean for you as you head into negotiations.

How to Negotiate as a Seller

How often do contingent offers fall through?

Contingent offers can fall through more often than non-contingent ones, but there’s no general rule of thumb. Whether a sellers and buyer are able to agree on the terms of a deal is a case-by-case situation. Different contingencies may carry different weight among certain sellers, and local market conditions usually play a significant role. For up-to-date information about your local market, visit our Market Reports page or Trends on our blog.

Pros and Cons of Contingent Offers for Sellers

Pros of Contingent Offers (allowing the buyer to sell their current home first):

Accepting a contingent offer means you don’t have to take your home off the market quite yet, since the conditions of the deal haven’t been met. If the buyer backs out of the deal, you can sell without having to re-list.
In certain cases, some buyers may be willing to pay extra to have their contingent offer met even if the home has been on the market for an extended period.

Pros of Offers with Contingencies (such as inspection, title, financing, etc.):

You’ve got an offer! In a balanced market, one offer with contingencies is still better than no offers.
It may protect you legally if you give the buyer the opportunity to do all of their due diligence while under contract. It’s harder for a buyer to come back and say something wasn’t disclosed when they had ample time and the contractual right to due diligence.

Cons:

Home sales with any types of contingencies are usually slower than those without. It takes time to satisfy a buyer’s contingencies and additional time to communicate that they have been met.
There’s a higher risk that the deal could fall through since the the buyer isn’t locked into the contract until of their contingencies have been satisfied.

It’s important to have an agent you can trust for guidance when facing contingent offers. Reach out to me any time—I’m never too busy to give advice or answer questions:

This article originally appeared on the Windermere Blog, written by: Sandy Dodge.