It’s been almost two years since David and I got married and we’re now seriously looking into the next phase of “adulting.” The first part of that being homeownership, which is such a huge milestone for me because I’ve never actually lived in my own home.
Growing up, my family and I lived in apartments or townhouses, but no single-family homes. And I get chills thinking about how homeownership will now be part of the legacy I create for my future children.
So, making this decision to move forward with the buying process has been somewhat anxiety-inducing, but I’m so happy to have a partner who has a great handle on large investments like this one to go through this experience with.
At the top of the year, David and I sat down with our financial advisor to go over our plan and run the numbers. We were so excited to see that despite the craziness in the market, we were still in good shape to get out there and get the process started.
From there, we sat together and wrote out the neighborhoods we’d be interested in moving to. Community is really important to me, especially as we build a family. So, we chose areas in New Jersey that were close to where our friends live currently. After that, we started going for drives and walks in each neighborhood, checking out different restaurants and getting a sense of which felt right for us, until we eventually landed on one in particular that was central to all the things we were looking for!
Initially, we wanted to go for a newer or already renovated home, but after talking about what we specifically wanted in ours, David and I decided that renovating one ourselves would make the most sense.
We’re still looking for the right place, but in the meantime, it’s important that we find the right real estate agent and financing options to make this process as smooth as possible. And honestly, I don’t want to have too many moving parts, because this is a situation I’ve never been in before.
Thankfully, a partner like Rocket Mortgage® makes the home-buying process a lot less intimidating. Especially for us first-time home buyers.
Now, when you buy with Rocket Homes℠ and use Rocket Mortgage to finance, you can get up to $10,000 cash toward closing from Rocket Mortgage.1
The home-buying process is so specific to each of us, and what I find great about the resources that Rocket Homes has is that you can search for properties and find a real estate agent in your local area and then use Rocket Mortgage to find financing solutions that help you to save and achieve all of your home buying dreams.
I’m really excited for this journey ahead and as I continue to educate myself on the process, I know it’ll get better.
If you happen to be in the same boat as I am, I’d highly suggest downloading the Rocket Homes app for your real estate agent and home search, and the Rocket Mortgage app for preapprovals and financing. These two apps have so much great info and services to help you in your home ownership journey!
1 The following offers are available only to clients who are purchasing a home and financing with Rocket Mortgage: (1) Client purchasing with a Rocket Homes Partner Agent through Rocket Homes will receive a lender paid credit that is 1.25% of their loan amount. For example, a $200,000 home purchase price minus a 5% down payment of $10,000 results in a loan amount of $190,000. Client would receive a credit of 1.25% of the $190,000, for a credit of $2,375 toward closing costs. (2) Client is referred by a real estate agent to buy a new home will receive a lender paid credit that is 0.50% of their loan amount. Offer does not apply to new loans submitted through an Executive Loan Officer, mortgage broker, through Schwab, or on nonagency jumbo loans, non-QM loans, bank statement loans, second lien products or team member loans. Offer may not be redeemed for cash and is nontransferable. Offer cannot be retroactively applied to loans where the rate has been locked. Conditions and exclusions apply. This is not a commitment to lend and is contingent on qualification per full underwriting guidelines.
Rocket Mortgage, LLC; NMLS #3030; www.NMLSConsumerAccess.org. Equal Housing Lender. Licensed in 50 states. AL License No. MC 20979, Control No. 100152352. AR, TX: 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226-1906, (888) 474-0404; AZ: 1 N. Central Ave., Ste. 2000, Phoenix, AZ 85004, Mortgage Banker License #BK-0902939; CA: Licensed by the Department of Financial Protection and Innovation under the California Residential Mortgage Lending Act; CO: Regulated by the Division of Real Estate; GA: Residential Mortgage Licensee #11704; IL: Residential Mortgage Licensee #4127 – Dept. of Financial and Professional Regulation; KS: Licensed Mortgage Company MC.0025309; MA: Mortgage Lender License #ML 3030; ME: Supervised Lender License; MN: Not an offer for a rate lock agreement; MS: Licensed by the MS Dept. of Banking and Consumer Finance; NH: Licensed by the NH Banking Dept., #6743MB; NV: License #626; NJ: New Jersey – Rocket Mortgage, LLC, 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226, (888) 474-0404, Licensed by the N.J. Department of Banking and Insurance.; NY: Rocket Mortgage, LLC, 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226 Licensed Mortgage Banker-NYS Department of Financial Services; OH: MB 850076; OR: License #ML-1387; PA: Licensed by the Dept. of Banking – License #21430; RI: Licensed Lender; WA: Consumer Loan Company License CL-3030. Conditions may apply.
Rocket Mortgage, 1050 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 48226-1906
Rocket Homes® is a registered trademark licensed to Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC. The Rocket HomesSM Logo is a service mark licensed to Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC. Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC fully supports the principles of the Fair Housing Act. For Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC license numbers, visit RocketHomes.com/license-numbers. California DRE #01804478. Hawaii License # RB-23371. TREC: Information about brokerage services, Consumer protection notice. Rocket Mortgage, LLC and Rocket Homes Real Estate LLC, are separate operating subsidiaries of Rocket Companies, Inc. (NYSE: RKT). Each company is a separate legal entity operated and managed through its own management and governance structure as required by its state of incorporation and applicable legal and regulatory requirements.
