Our Ultimate Guide to Owning Your First Home

Our Ultimate Guide to Owning Your First Home

A first time buyer moving into their Logan home.

May 25, 2022

Purchasing your own home for the first time is a memorable, exciting milestone in your life that you’ll cherish forever—but there’s no doubt that it can sometimes feel overwhelming or intimidating, and it can be difficult to know where to start. At Logan Homes, we’ve worked with countless homeowners throughout the great states of North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia—and with over 3 decades of experience at our fingertips, we’ve put together the ultimate guide to ensure that your first-time home buying experience is a success. 

A first time buyer moving into their Logan home.

Decide on what you’re looking for

Before you purchase your first new-construction home, it’s important to have an idea for what you’re looking for. Every step of the process is significant for your dream home—especially finding your ideal floor plan and the perfect community for you and your family. A floor plan is essentially the roadmap for how your new home will look and function, and the community in which you reside can provide you with a great sense of belonging and a strong social connection. There are a few things to consider before picking your dream layout and community, and that decision can be made easy with a versatile, innovative builder like Logan Homes. 

From energy efficiency to functionality and everything in between, it’s a good idea to know what features are important to you when looking at your floor plan options. Do you need a kitchen island, and would a two-story layout be beneficial for your family? What about storage or the size of each bedroom, and is it important for you to have a study or flex room? All of these questions and many more are things you’ll want to address with yourself before choosing your floor plan, and you need to know your top priorities for features in your dream layout—so it’s a good idea to make a list, and from there you can easily sift through your choices. 

When searching for the right community, you’ll want to consider a number of factors that pertain to your personal preferences and lifestyle. Create a profile of your ideal neighborhood by deciding on the key components—such as location, proximity to important places, school districts, amenities and the environment. If you choose a valued builder like Logan Homes, you’re sure to find a community that perfectly fits your wants and needs—such as our upcoming community, The Reserve at Beaumont Oaks in Wilmington, NC, offering a variety of one and two-story single family homes, a community pool and easy access to amenities for a welcoming, quaint neighborhood that is perfect for families of all shapes and sizes. Once you’ve found your forever home in an amazing community, you can move on to the purchasing process. 

Secure your finances

There’s no question that buying a home is a huge investment, and because of this, it’s essential to take the time to grow your savings. By understanding your financial situation, you’ll have a clearer picture of what you can and can’t afford. With the down payment, closing costs and move-in expenses on the horizon—it’s never too early to start saving. To guide you in the right direction, there are some great online calculators you can use to get a close estimate of what you could afford—but speaking with a mortgage lending professional is always a great way to give you a better understanding of your financial situation.

After you’ve saved up a comfortable amount of money, a crucial step for purchasing your first new-construction home is securing your mortgage loan. Whether you work with our preferred lender or have your own lender you plan on working with, there are several items you will need to have ready for your first meeting to get pre-approved for a loan—including proof of identification, proof of income, proof of employment, proof of assets and your credit score. Once you are pre-approved, your financial specialist will be able to provide a few different loan options for you and will work with you to determine which one would best fit your needs—putting you one step closer to achieving your dream home. 

Choose a trusted builder

Purchasing your first home is an exciting time in your life for you and your family—especially when you purchase a new-construction home from a trusted builder like Logan Homes. When you work with our experienced, helpful team at Logan Homes, you get a streamlined and simplified buying process that sets us apart from any competition. From the time that you attend your first meeting with our team to when your gorgeous home is move-in ready—and with our extensive warranty designed for your peace of mind—our entire process provides our homeowners with the utmost comfort and reassurance from start to finish, and you’ll never have to worry when you choose Logan Homes. 

The process of buying a home for the first time shouldn’t be stressful—and our team will be there with you every step of the way to ensure that all of your questions are being answered right away. If you’re ready to start the exciting journey to your forever home in The Reserve at Beaumont Oaks or any of our other incredible communities throughout Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina—contact our Online Sales Concierge at 910-507-2115 or contact us online anytime!