Helping the Next Generation Buy a Home: A First-Time Buyer's Roadmap

First-time buyer specialist Taylor Lee shares practical advice for navigating today's market, from getting pre-approved and setting realistic expectations to avoiding common mistakes and finding the right first home.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

And you're listening to the Idaho Life Show on a Saturday afternoon. Garrett Thill here with Shelby Matson. And joining us this afternoon in studio now for this segment is Taylor Lee. She's one of our first-time buyer specialists on the Idaho Life team. Taylor, thanks so much for being here with us.

SPEAKER_02 0:16

Super happy to be here. Thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_00 0:18

I'm so happy you're here as well. Taylor has a knack for working with buyers who are walking into this process for the very first time. She sees the questions, the fears, the surprises, and the wins every single week, right?

SPEAKER_01 0:31

She does, yeah. You know, Taylor, we've been talking, you know, this this past hour here about the data, about the median first-time buyer, they're 40, the gap between the renters and the owners is the widest it's it's ever been. Parents stepping in there to help, but you are the one actually sitting across the table from these buyers. You know, you're in the trenches with them. So I want to start broad, Taylor. What's the biggest misconception that first-time buyers have before they start this process with you?

SPEAKER_02 1:01

The biggest misconception that I see is buyers just don't think that it's possible. They see news on TikTok, Instagram, that interest rates just are at the lowest in the past two years, but that was for an hour that we hit 5.99 and then we were shot right back. For a split second. So unless you're ready to rock and roll in like an hour, you miss the train. Um, but knowing that they don't teach us this in school unless you took a financial planning class.

SPEAKER_01 1:31

Not many people do.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

No, I did, and they still didn't teach us enough about it. It was like how to get a credit card, how to buy a car, but never how to buy a house. So sitting down with first-time buyers is my jam because I'm able to walk them through each and every step and make it way more approachable than what they're seeing online.

SPEAKER_01 1:52

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 1:52

I do too. So let me build on that, Taylor. What is something that surprises almost every first-time buyer once they actually start looking?

SPEAKER_02 2:01

When we start looking, they have the idea that it's going to be marble countertops, it's going to be 3,000 square feet, they're going to have an acre of land.

SPEAKER_01 2:18

All the HGTV stuff, basically.

SPEAKER_02 2:21

And I don't ever like to burst people's bubble. That's why I have a lender on the team so that they can. I'm just kidding. But utilizing the lender and then putting it into my system so I can start sending them houses that actually fit that criteria of what are your wants and what are your must-haves. Of course, we want a an acre lot, but maybe we can go for a quarter acre lot. Um, you don't want to HOA? Well, we really limited our options here in the valley. So just really working with how I can try to accommodate as much as they would like. Um, but they they do get humbled the first few houses that we see.

SPEAKER_01 3:05

So it sounds like it's a good idea, is what you're saying is don't go see a bunch of houses that you have no idea what your budget's for yet. That's right. What happens if they go see their first home? Let's say they uh later they qualify for $350,000, but you go show them a $600,000 house first. Does that go well?

SPEAKER_02 3:22

They're crushed.

SPEAKER_01 3:23

They're crushed.

SPEAKER_02 3:23

It's it's so sad. Like to see the excitement leave their eyes when I show them like, okay, it's $350,000 and there's actually six offers on the home right now, and we have to go in above asking, and they're like, our max is this, and it does we have to do all the work to make it our own. So compared to something that's completely done.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

So to to not have as much of a shock factor, I guess to not be as surprising. One of the things it sounds like you like to do is you like to sit down with a lender with them first, find out what we can afford, really. Then you go show houses that fit their criteria. That way you're probably not bursting as many bubbles.

SPEAKER_02 4:01

I never want to set people up for failure. So during that initial buyer's consultation, because I meet a lot of people in person, I loathe picking up my phone and making dials. Um, so open houses, referrals from past clients have been where I've gotten most of my business from. Um, but with all that being said, sitting down with the lender and being able to walk them through not only the process, but getting their numbers dialed in, debt to income ratio, where's your credit score at? And I really let them take the reins for that. And then we do the fun part, which is look at houses.

SPEAKER_00 4:40

I think that's super important too, Taylor. That's what makes you a specialist in this area, being with working with first-time home buyers, is truly identifying what they can afford up front. And it's not because you're trying to not waste time, which some people might interpret. It's really about protecting them and their emotions, right? So they don't go and fall in love with a home that they absolutely cannot afford. And then every other home after that that's within their budget is a wont-wah. Would you say? Womp womp. We don't want that. Absolutely not. Absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 5:13

Yeah, I I love hearing the the on-the-ground version of this. And can you can you share, I think just to make this more humanized, uh, maybe a recent story of a first-time buyer that you've helped and kind of what the journey actually looked like, maybe start from finish?

SPEAKER_02 5:27

Sure. Um, I met these buyers from an open house, and they came in very optimistic of wow, we would love to have a four-bedroom, two-bathroom. They were multi-generational. It was husband and wife and brother. So that's kind of how it goes nowadays. People are pitching in to help. Um, met them that way, started showing them some houses just so that I can understand what they like. And then I got the lender involved because they were first-time buyers and they're like, we don't want to just sit down and talk to a lender right away. I'm like, okay, that's fine, but I'm gonna show you one to three houses that helps me help you with setting up a search so that you're not getting spammed with everything here in the valley. Um, sat down with the lender. They were able to crunch their numbers. And for their down payment, they only came in with $1,000 down. What?

SPEAKER_01 6:28

How much?

SPEAKER_02 6:29

$1,000 down because they were gonna continue renting, but that was gonna be first last pet deposit, which I can't even I can't even imagine how much that is nowadays. Definitely not $1,000, right? And so what they did, um, we met in March of last year, but I love to tell this story because they used their tax refund to be able to put that down on their first home. And with the brothers being on the loan as well, the numbers just made way more sense for them. We were able to find them a house, a cute starter home in Nampa that had a basement, four beds, two baths, $305,000. Amazing. So knowing that it is possible, but you have to do the right steps. Because at first they thought we're gonna buy a $425,000 house because on Zillow it says it's gonna be $1,900 a month. That's right. But in the very, very, very fine print, it says if you put 20 to 30% down, this is what your payment will look like. And that doesn't include more um your mortgage insurance if you don't have that. It doesn't include your homeowner's insurance, HOA fees, irrigation, all of it. So it's a huge success story. That's a great story.

SPEAKER_00 7:47

That's so great, Tay. All right, Taylor, I want to ask you something a little bit different. Because there are a lot of people listening right now, folks in their early 30s, right, mid-30s, even later, who really feel like they're behind the game. Like the market got away from them. Like they should have figured it out five years ago, what they should have been doing. For someone listening who truly feels like they are behind because they are not a homeowner right now, what would you say to them?

SPEAKER_02 8:15

It's never too late. It's like no one can take education from you. It's never too late to go back to school, it's never too late to pour into yourself, it's never too late to work on yourself, it's never too late to buy a home. If you can get in when you can, you'll be way better off than, well, I should have bought, I should have bought five years ago, I should have bought in 2008 when I was in kindergarten, I should have bought, I should have bought, I should have bought. So knowing what you know now, that it is so much easier to get into a home in Idaho because what where the information that you're getting is from a national standpoint, where it's so hard to get into a house, you're looking at California prices, which we don't have here. The starter home, Shelby's shaking her head. Okay. I specialize in first-time buyers in Canyon County. You can get a lot more bang for your buck out there than Meridian and Boise for the same house. That's a really good point. For the same house, plus a little bit more land typically, because lot sizes in Amper are a little bit bigger.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

Okay, that's really that's really great information. So, last question for you, Taylor, before we let you go for the day. So we've talked on the show before, kind of about how the family consultation looks, how it looks like for the parents and what it looks like with the kids involved. But on the buyer's side, what does a really good first-time buyer consultation look like? You know, you're sitting down with them, are you educating them? What should a first-time buyer expect when they sit down with you for the first time? What does that look like?

SPEAKER_02 9:50

Other than, yes, tell me how many bedrooms and bathrooms that you want. Of course, I need those details. But you really what I want to hear from you is what's the type of lifestyle that you want to live? Do you want to live near your parents? Because a lot of kids do not want to live near their parents. Um, do you I you have kiddos. Do you want to be in Ada County or Canyon County? Do you want land? What do you I get I try to get down to the core aspects because square footage and all of that stuff, it really we can find that anywhere. But what is like the the root cause of why you want to get into a home? Because you can rent forever. You don't have to fix your dishwasher if it breaks, if you don't want to, if you want to be live, live, laugh, love, and never own a piece of land or dirt. Like you please keep doing that if you want to live your life that way. For me, I want to plant roots somewhere and be able to raise my kids in a safe area and be able to build community. And buying a home really helps lead you that way.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

So part of this consultation, would you say it's it's educational as well? Let's say someone's in their 20s or even or 30s. Would you say if they're not even sure that we can do this, would it be a good idea to sit down with you and talk about that?

SPEAKER_02 11:17

Absolutely. That's always the first step. I try my very best to have a lender there so that we can talk numbers. And I know that seems a little intimidating, especially when you're in that what-if stage. But honestly, your first step should be talking to a lender before you talk to an agent. Not knowing how much you can afford will lead you to the heartache. Yeah. Yeah, we don't want that. I don't want to be the bad guy when it's the market speaking, not me. Um, and I want to be able to get you into that home that you're not squeezing yourself into, but at least getting your foot in the door.

SPEAKER_00 11:59

Taylor, I do have one final question for you, if you don't mind. I was curious to know once somebody identifies a property, right, especially a first-time home buyer, there are multiple steps that follow that. One of which is home inspections, right? What's the significance of actually performing a home inspection on a property?

SPEAKER_02 12:19

It is the most important step of purchasing a home because when you first walk in, it's the excitement, like, oh my gosh. You get that feeling in your stomach, right? I can't even explain it, but you'll walk through houses and you're like, I don't like it. But the minute you walk through the one, you want to claim your stake and you don't see the items that you really should be looking at in that very moment. So I highly, highly, highly recommend hiring a home inspector. It is the best money you will ever spend, and they range for a first-time home buyer house anywhere between 450 to say $600. And it just saved my clients over $4,000 worth of what ifs, water in the crawl space, mold in the attic, structural damage that needed to be taken care of. And guess what? When we walked through the house, those weren't the items that we were looking at. We were looking at, oh my gosh, my baby can grow up in this room. We have a playroom, we have a Lego room, we have an outdoor kitchen, we have RV parking, we have a shed. All of the excitement aspect was there. But okay, now we need to get to the nitty-gritty. And that inspector found quite a bit.

SPEAKER_00 13:37

Lots of health and safety concerns, right?

SPEAKER_02 13:40

Exactly. Especially if you're getting into it a home where a lot of cosmetic stuff, people have lived there on and off and on again, that there's going to be wear and tear to a home. But if it's health hazard, if there's mold, absolutely not. The seller will be getting that taken care of.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

Um I do I do have just another follow-up to that. So when you said you were able to save your clients $4,000, what does that mean?

SPEAKER_02 14:04

Once you get the inspection report back, that we we use it as a negotiation tactic. Um we review it together. You let me know which items that are the highest of concern. And I also will give you some advice as well if there's things that you're like, oh, no biggie on that. I'm like, actually, it's structural or it's your roof, it's your gutters. Just because you think you can doesn't mean that you should be fixing it yourself. Um and we use that as a point of negotiation for the sellers to either replace those items, lower the price, or give you a credit so that you can help buy down your interest rate or help with your closing costs.

SPEAKER_00 14:43

That's fantastic. That's great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you sharing that information. Absolutely. And way to go saving a client $4,000. Yeah. Man, maybe I should hire you next. That is exactly the conversation a lot of people listening need to be having right now, right? If someone wants to start a conversation with you, what is the best way that they can get a hold of you?

SPEAKER_02 15:05

You can find me on social media. My Instagram is Taylor Lee underscore real estate, or you can reach out and give me a call or a text. My number is 208-305-0728. Can't wait to chat with you.

SPEAKER_01 15:19

Thanks again, Taylor.

SPEAKER_00 15:20

Thanks again, Taylor. We're so glad that you were able to stop by. And one other avenue that they can reach you at is tailor. IdahoLife.com. Stay with us, Treasure Valley. When we come back, we are bringing this hour home, walking through the Idaho Life Family Consultation for parents who have been hearing this whole show and wondering how to actually start the conversation in their own family.