Welcome to How I Bought My First Home, a new Lifehacker series where I ask real people how they really completed the purchase of their first home. This week I chatted with Noah*, a 24-year-old engineer from Maryland.

Buying your first home is an exciting milestone, but it often comes with unexpected hurdles. In some markets, home prices are falling, in others they are rising. First-time buyers often face challenges like limited supply, rising prices, and competition from cash buyers. Here’s my interview with Noah about how this 24-year-old navigated the first home-buying process and how you might be able to follow in his footsteps.

Let’s first get to know our property buyer

Here’s what you should know about Noah:

Now let’s take a look at the costs of buying a house

Noah shares the cost breakdown for his first home:

• Cost of the house: $429,500

• Down payment: $200,000

• Closing costs: $16,200

• Reserves: None

• Moving: $40 for U-Haul

• Mortgage payments: $2,079 monthly

• Taxes + Insurance + HOA Fees: $515 monthly

Here is my Q&A with this engineer about the pros and cons of securing his first home in the current market.

How did you go about setting a budget and deciding how much house you could afford?

I was fortunate to have financial support from my parents, who helped me with a larger-than-average down payment of $200,000. With that down payment in mind, I set my budget during the house search at $400,000 to $450,000, which equates to a maximum loan of $250,000. This range was affordable for my current salary, including the additional costs of insurance, utilities, and taxes. To calculate this, I used online tools to roughly estimate what loan amount would allow me to make comfortable monthly payments.

What should first-time home buyers know about mortgages?

Don’t expect the first mortgage offer you receive to be the best. While it may seem daunting to check out multiple lenders, especially when your credit rating is at stake, it’s beneficial in the long run as you should shop around before making your final decision. I recommend comparing prices with at least two, but preferably three, lenders to fully consider your options.

How much of your income goes towards your mortgage?

About half of my monthly net income goes towards mortgage payments (49%).

What would you have done differently?

My biggest regret right now is that I forwent the pre-closing home inspection. When I got the offer to purchase my home, I forwent the home inspection in order to get a good deal quickly. While this helped me win the home, it did create some challenges later on. My home was built in 2018, so it’s fairly new. However, in the first few months, I discovered several things that needed to be repaired, including a severed outside internet line through the landscaping, a broken dryer, and an air conditioner that needed a new evaporator coil and refrigerant. In hindsight, some of these things could have been identified during the inspection and saved me both time and money in having them repaired.

What unexpected costs have arisen?

The only major unexpected cost was the repair of the air conditioning. As mentioned above, a few months after moving in, I noticed that my air conditioning was no longer blowing out cold air. A paid inspection found that the evaporator coil had several holes and all of the refrigerant had leaked out of the system. The total cost of the inspection, plus a new evaporator coil, refrigerant, and labor, was around $2,500.

What tips do you have for other first-time buyers?

The top three tips I would give to other first-time buyers are to take full advantage of your real estate agent’s services, avoid getting emotionally attached, and keep paper copies of important documents:

1. Take the time to find a real estate agent who has your best interests in mind. My real estate agent was a huge help, not only in helping me choose new properties to view, but also in helping me figure out what I was really looking for throughout the process.

2. Don’t get emotionally attached to a home right from the start. It’s very easy to get attached to a property during a viewing or open house. There can be a lot of time and competition between viewing the home and closing the sale. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t win the offer on your first or even second option, just keep looking! There will always be another home you can win and make your own.

3. Keep paper copies of all documents you receive at closing. While virtual copies are more versatile, it’s still helpful to have paper copies for reference, especially to refer to during the first few months in your new home. It also gives you peace of mind to have an extra set of documents in case you experience technical issues with your equipment.

How long did the entire home buying process take?

I first reached out to my real estate agent’s team on February 28, 2023. From there, I was put in touch with my agent, applied for and received a loan, toured several homes in my desired cities, and finally closed on the purchase contract for my home on October 13, 2023. Overall, the home buying process took between seven and eight months. I must admit that due to other distractions in life, I was not particularly active in my home search until August 2023, so this time frame may be longer than that of someone who is desperate to find and buy a home. Before August 2023, I occasionally looked at the listings my agent sent me virtually and expressed interest when appropriate. After August 2023, I more actively sought listings on my own and toured potential homes to get a feel for what aspects I was looking for and preferred in my dream home.

*Name changed to protect subject’s anonymity. This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.