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Choosing and buying a home is a life-changing decision that will make a huge impact on your life. This decision demands careful thinking over home style, financing, and neighborhood options, among others.

Here are 10 tips and five common mistakes to avoid to help guide you in your first Houston home-buying experience.

"Paige Martin and the Houston Properties Team are all specialists in their roles. I was amazed at how fast my transactions were completed with the best deals possible. Thank you for removing the hassle out of my real estate experience!" – Courtney Nuckols

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Table of Contents

1. 10 Tips for First-Time Houston Home Buyers
2. 5 Common First-Time Houston Home Buyer Mistakes
3. The Best Houston Realtor to Sell Your Home

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10 Tips for First-Time Houston Home Buyers

We love working with first-time homebuyers in Houston Texas! At HoustonProperties, we offer one of Houston's best Free First Time Home Buyer's kits. Please email Paige Martin at [email protected] for your copy.

1. Be picky, but don’t be unrealistic. There is no perfect home. The right home for you is a trade-off between your needs and wants and how much you can afford to pay for the home.

2. Do your homework before you start looking. Decide specifically what features you want in a home and which are most important to you. Check out Houston neighborhoods, look at Houston property types, and check available Homes for Sale in Houston TX.

3. Get your finances in order. Review your credit report and be sure you have enough money to cover your down payment and your closing costs.

4. Don’t wait to get a loan. Talk to a lender and get pre-qualified for a mortgage before you start looking.

5. Don’t ask too many people for opinions. It will drive you crazy. Select one or two people to turn to if you feel you need a second opinion.

6. Decide when you could move. When is your lease up? Are you allowed to sublet? How tight is the rental market in your area?

7. Think long-term. Are you looking for a starter house with the idea of moving up in a few years, or do you hope to stay in this home longer? This decision may dictate what type of home you’ll buy as well as the type of mortgage terms that suit you best.

8. Don’t let yourself be house poor. If you max yourself out to buy the biggest home you can afford, you’ll have no money left for maintenance or decoration, or to save money for other financial goals.

9. Don’t be naive. Insist on a home inspection. If possible, get a warranty from the seller to cover defects within one year.

10. Get help. Hire a Houston REALTOR as a buyer’s representative. Unlike a listing agent, whose first duty is to the seller, a buyer’s representative is working only for you. Plus, buyer’s reps are free to you—they’re paid out of the seller’s commission payment.

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5 Common First-Time Houston Home Buyer Mistakes

To tour a Houston TX home today, call Paige at 713-425-4194 or email at [email protected] for more information.

1. First-time Houston home buyers that don’t ask enough questions of their lender and miss out on the best deal available to them.

2. First-time Houston home buyers that don’t act quickly enough to make a decision and someone else buys the house.

3. First-time Houston home buyers that don’t find the right Houston real estate agent who is willing to help them through the home-buying process.

4. First-time Houston home buyers that don’t do enough to make their offer look good to a seller.

5. First-time Houston home buyers that don’t think about resale before they buy. The average first-time buyer stays in a home for only three to four years.

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The Best Houston Realtor to Sell Your Home

The Houston Properties Team has a well-defined structure based on the individual strengths of each member. Each member is a specialist in their role – which is why our homes sell faster and for more money than average.

Paige Martin, Broker Associate with Keller Williams Realty, and the Houston Properties Team are ranked among the top residential Realtors in the world.

They have been featured on TV and in dozens of publications including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, Reuters, Fox News in the Morning, Money Magazine, Houston Business Journal, Houstonia, and Houston Chronicle.

Paige Martin was just ranked as the #5 agent in the world with Keller Williams, completing over $1 Billion in Houston residential real estate sales.

Her recent awards include:

– 2021 Best Real Estate Teams in America, RealTrends.com
– 2021: Top 100 Women Leaders in Real Estate of 2021
– 2021: America’s Top 100 Real Estate Agents
– 2021: Top Real Estate Team (Houston Properties Team), Houston Business Journal
– 2021: Best Houston Real Estate Team, Best of Reader’s Choice
– 2021: Top Real Estate Team (Houston Properties Team), Houston Business Journal
– 2021: #1 Real Estate Team, Keller Williams Memorial
– 2020: America’s Best Real Estate Teams, Best of America Trends
– 2020: Best Houston Real Estate Team, Best of Reader’s Choice
– 2020: Top Real Estate Team (Houston Properties Team), Houston Business Journal
– 2020: #6 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Worldwide
– 2020: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Texas (Top Keller Williams Realtor)
– 2020: #1 Real Estate Team, Keller Williams Memorial
– 2019: Top Residential Realtors in Houston, Houston Business Journal
– 2019: America’s Best Real Estate Agents, RealTrends.com
– 2019: #5 Individual Agent, KW Worldwide
– 2019: #1 Individual Agent, KW Texas
– 2018: #5 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Worldwide
– 2018: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Texas
– 2018: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Houston
– 2018: America’s Best Real Estate Agents, RealTrends.com
– 2018: Top 25 Residential Realtor in Houston, Houston Business Journal
– 2018: Texas’ Most Influential Realtors
– 2017: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Texas
– 2017: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Houston
– 2017: #10 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Worldwide
– 2017: America’s Best Real Estate Agents, RealTrends.com
– 2017: Top 25 Residential Realtor in Houston, Houston Business Journal
– 2017: Texas’ Most Influential Realtors
– 2016: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Texas
– 2016: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Houston
– 2016: #20 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Worldwide
– 2016: Texas’ Most Influential Realtors
– 2016: Top 25 Residential Realtor in Houston, HBJ
– 2016: Five Star Realtor, Featured in Texas Monthly
– 2016: America’s Best Real Estate Agents, RealTrends.com
– 2015: #9 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, United States
– 2015: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Texas
– 2015: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams, Houston
– 2015: America’s Best Real Estate Agents, RealTrends.com
– 2015: Top 25 Residential Realtor in Houston, HBJ
– 2015: Five Star Realtor, Texas Monthly Magazine
– 2014: America’s Best Real Estate Agents, RealTrends.com
– 2014: #1 Individual Agent, Keller Williams Memorial

…in addition to over 318 additional awards.

Paige also serves a variety of non-profits, and civic and community boards. She was appointed by the mayor of Houston to be on the downtown TIRZ board.

Benefits Of Working With The Houston Properties Team

Our team, composed of distinguished and competent Houston luxury realtors, has a well-defined structure based on the individual strengths of each member.

We find team approach as the most effective way to sell homes. We have dedicated people doing staging, marketing, social media, open houses, and showings. Each Houston Properties Team member is a specialist in their role—which is why our homes sell faster and for more money than average.

The benefits of working with a team include:

• the ability to be in two or three places at one time; a member can handle showings, while another answer calls
• collective time and experience of members
• targeted advice and marketing of agent expert in your area
• competitive advantage by simply having more resources, more ideas, and more perspectives
• a “checks and balances” system; selling and buying a home in Houston is an intensely complex process
• more people addressing field calls and questions from buyers and agents to facilitate a faster, successful sale
• efficient multi-tasking; one agent takes care of inspections and repair work, while another agent focuses on administrative details
• multiple marketing channels using members’ networks
• constant attention: guaranteed focus on your home and your transaction
• lower risk for mistakes. Multiple moving parts increase oversights. A team approach handles these “parts” separately
• flexibility in negotiation and marketing
• better management of document flow
• increased foot traffic through more timely and effective showing schedule coordination; and
• increased sphere of influence and exposure to more potential buyers.

To meet all the award-winning members of the Houston Properties Team, please go here.