The Home Buying Mission – A Phased Approach to Your First Home

Buying your first home is one of the most important missions you’ll ever undertake. Like any good operation, success comes from planning, preparation, and detailed execution. Unfortunately, many first-time buyers rush into the home-buying process without understanding the terrain, and it costs them—literally. Even worse, they might let their agents take control of the process, which can be a complete disaster and lead to mission failure. No matter what, you've got to take control of the process, and command your team!

This guide is your battle plan. We’re going to break down the home-buying process into four critical phases: Pre-Offer, Offer, Due Diligence, and Closing. Follow these steps, and you’ll not only avoid costly mistakes but also come out ahead with a great deal on your new home.

Phase One: Pre-Offer (Preparing the Battlefield)

The pre-offer phase is where the real work begins. You’re not just picking out a dream home; you’re gathering intelligence, setting conditions, and preparing your resources to strike at the perfect time. This phase can take anywhere from a week to six months—or more.

Step 1: Know the Market

• Study the real estate market in your target area.
  • This starts by "window-shopping" on Zillow, Redfin, Facebook Marketplace, and more
  • Look at houses for sale -- then change the filter to look at houses sold in the past 6 months
• Learn what properties typically sell for, how quickly they’re selling, and whether prices are trending up or down. Look for differences that result in changes in prices: attached garages, bonus rooms, outdoor living spaces, an extra bathroom. These are more important to the value than shiny appliances or good listing photos.
• Visit neighborhoods in person at different times of the day to assess traffic, noise, and safety.
  • If you're remote (and you probably are), use Google Maps Street View. If there are cars on blocks in front yards and uncut grass, you probably don't want to live there!
  • You should also Google crime rates, school ratings, and other stats. Local governments usually publish these online for free instead of paying $100s for a service like Neighborhood Scout.
  • Reach out to your inbound unit sponsor and ask them to connect you to someone in your future unit who is a homeowner in the community for inside scoop!

In 2025, there's no reason to wait to buy a house until you see it: buying remotely by using video walkthroughs is the new normal. In the military, you have a guaranteed network of people at your future unit no matter where you're PCSing who can help you out. Don't be afraid to ask! Just invite them over for dinner once you move in, and they'll be more than happy to go check out a couple properties for you.

Step 2: Set Your Budget

We've already taught you that budgeting doesn't start with expenses: in previewing our iCASH Budgeting Tool, we explained that the first step is "i: Identify Goals and Dreams." The same is true with homebuying: start by identifying what you want to pay and what features you want in the house. Set these as "Flat-Ass Rules" for yourself, or for you and your spouse, before you even open Zillow. If you just jump right into Zillow, you will fall in love with new houses with shiny appliances and perfect photos, and the next thing you know you will be maxing out your budget to get something you don't need.

Instead, set how much you are willing to spend on housing, then figure out what that equals in terms of the loan amount you want, and the maximum purchase price you want. For example, you could easily qualify for a $400,000 loan based on your income and BAH, but you only want to spend $2,000 a month, which translates to a $250,000 home. You also need a 3-bed, 2-bath house, and plan to double-up one room as a home office/guest room (for those 4 times each year when someone visits). The first time you open Zillow, set your search rules for $260,000 (a little buffer so you don't miss a house you can negotiate down to $250,000), 3 bedrooms (exact), and 1-3 baths. Then you will only look at houses that you want and can afford.

When establishing your housing budget, factor in these costs:

• Homeowners Insurance: $100-150/month (on average).
• Property Taxes: Varies widely; typically $100-400/month, but can exceed $700 in high-tax states like Texas, California, or large cities.
• If you are using a conventional loan and plan to pay less than 20% down, add $100-150 a month for Primary Mortgage Insurance (PMI).
• Use a Mortgage Calculator: Tools like calculator.net help determine the maximum home price you can afford (skip tools with BankRate or Veterans United that add in taxes and insurance, as those can be highly inaccurate; instead just figure Principal + Interest, then manually add in your extra costs). 

Here's an example: If your total housing budget is $2,500/month and you don't want to use your VA Loan just yet because you and your partner have excellent credit (over 700) and have pre-qualified for a conventional loan with 15% down, you'll first subtract $150 a month for PMI. Next, subtract $150 a month for homeowners insurance. You researched the local property taxes and found a $250,000 home will pay about $2,500 a year in property taxes, so divide by 12 and subtract another $200 per month for taxes. The total non-financing costs per month are $500, so to stay within your $2,500 budget, your loan Principal + Interest payment needs to stay under $2,000.

Now use this handy tool from the Mortgage Calculator to see how much loan you can get. As you're using a conventional loan (currently 6.6% interest), you'll find you can afford to borrow $310,000. As you're putting 15% down, this is the 85% of the price you'll finance. Adding the down payment, your budget for a house is $365,000. If you instead decide to use the VA Loan for a 0% Down Payment, you'll have a lower interest rate and can afford a loan of $330,000. Since you're making no down payment, this is your home budget.

PRO TIP: ADD $10,000 TO YOUR BUDGET IN YOUR ZILLOW SEARCH RESULTS. YOU CAN ALWAYS MAKE OFFERS TO BRING THE PRICE DOWN TO YOUR BUDGET, AND DON'T WANT TO MISS OUT ON A GREAT PROPERTY THAT IS "THIS CLOSE" TO YOUR BUDGET.

 Step 3: Build Your Team

At it's core, your team is You + Agent + Loan Officer. Recruit a knowledgeable real estate agent and a reliable loan officer who know how the VA Loan works (if you're using a VA Loan), understand military families, their needs, and their lifestyles, and who have lots of experience. Interview them. Don't be afraid: it's your money and your house and your investment, not theirs. No matter what they say, they don't lose anything if you get a bad deal or a bad house -- they still get paid! Check back here next week for a special blog post on exactly how to screen and select the best agent and lender for you!

Step 4: Spot Value Deals

If you're in a highly deployable specialty like the Combat Arms, aviation, submarines, Surface Warfare, and the like, you may not be home often. But if you are in a support capacity and your job doesn't require you to deploy, spend weeks on end in the field training, and almost always has you home by 1630, then you need to buy a "fixer-upper." Even if you are in a highly deployable specialty, if you've recently returned from overseas and know you'll be stateside for at least 24 months, buy a fixer-upper.

A fixer-upper is a house that looks a little ugly and needs some work. These houses are often listed on Facebook Marketplace, listed with few and grainy photos, and are priced so low most buyers won't even click on them as "there's clearly something wrong with it." What's wrong?

The truth is that you can usually buy a fixer-upper for 50% of the price of a nice or new home, and add another 25% of the full value in rehab costs. After 3-4 months, or maybe after a full 2-3 year PCS, you'll have a house that you got at a 25% discount. For example, you buy a $300,000 home for $150,000 because it's outdated and dirty; you get an FHA or VA loan with repair costs included in the loan, and spend $50,000 in time and materials to update everything. When you're done, you're "all-in" for $200,000 -- but you have a house you can now sell for $300,000!

Phase Two: Offer Phase (Executing the Plan)

When you’ve found the right home, it’s time to strike. This phase is all about making a compelling offer that the seller can’t refuse. What that means is two things: making them feel like they're "winning", and showing them a clear path to the finish line and the close. Most sellers worry about two things: the buyer not qualifying for the loan, and the sale not closing in time. In short, they want to get the amount of money they're asking for as fast as possible. As a buyer, you've got to show them their best chance at that is with you (and that means you need a good agent, because they make your argument to the seller, not you).

Step 1: Train Your Agent

Ensure your agent understands how to present you as the ideal buyer, especially if you are using a VA Loan. Most sellers assume buyers using the VA Loan are cash-poor and will back out last-minute if they can't cover extra costs to close, and that VA Loans take 50% or longer to close. Your agent needs to prove to you by sharing examples of past successful offers that they can write an offer that overcomes these.

One thing you need to do is get a pre-qualification letter to include with your offer. This will demonstrate that you have the credit score and eligibility to get the loan. You can also include a "sanitized" bank statement showing "proof of funds." And you should ensure your agent has a solid working relationship with a VA-certified appriser. Ask your agent to schedule the appraisal before making the offer, and then telling the seller when the appraisal will be done and how quickly you can complete due diligence.

PRO TIP: UNLESS IT'S STRONGLY RECOMMENDED, DON'T WASTE TIME SENDING THE SELLER A PERSONALIZED LETTER OR PHOTOS OF YOUR FAMILY. THEY DON'T CARE HOW MUCH YOU NEED THE HOUSE OR HOW PHOTOGENIC YOUR KIDS ARE -- THEY JUST WANT YOUR MONEY.

Step 2: Use the “Price-for-Terms” Tactic

Sellers pick a price that is their "dream price" they get for their house. If you can offer this straightaway and not annoy or insult them by trying to haggle on the price and talk them down from $300,000 to $297,500, you'll immediately jump to the front of the line. Offering full price will make them feel like they're winning.

The next part is to make sure you also feel like you're winning -- which probably means not paying full price. You can do this by asking the sellers to pay your loan origination fee, buy points to lower your interest rate, provide a seller credit for repairs and upgrades based on the listing, buying you a whole-home insurance policy for possible future repairs, etc. You can probably convince them to give you back $5,000 in value in contingencies, and these come back to you as cash in your pocket, way better than saving $15 a month on your mortgage payment.

Step 3: Include Timelines and Contingencies

During the COVID Housing Boom, millions of buyers gave up their rights to inspect and appraise a house in order to buy a home. It was that cutthroat. Unless you are buying a fixer upper that you know is garbage and needs to be rebuilt, don't do this: it could cost you $10,000s in repairs, money you could save by keeping and exercising your rights to inspect and appraise the property. This "due diligence" period is built into all real estate transactions and is known as the "Inspection Period", or sometimes can extent through to the "Close of Escrow." Always add and keep contingencies to protect your investment.

A way to write a competitive offer is to stack these early in the due diligence period. In other words, if your agent can call their inspector friend and get the inspection done 3 days after the offer, ask for a 10-day inspection period instead of trying to stretch it out to 2-3 weeks. This gives you enough time to get the report and also to send it to a contractor or other expert to evaluate the cost of any major repairs needed. (You can then revise your offer if you find major issues that you need to be compensated for in the sale.) Again, hire an agent who is connected to an appraiser and can get them to the property ASAP. In these cases you can close due diligence in 10-15 days, leaving your bank with a comfortable two weeks to finish underwriting your loan and obligating funds for it.

The main contingencies you'll need to include are:
 

1. Inspection Contingency: Allows you to back out if significant issues are uncovered.
2. Appraisal Contingency: Ensures you don’t overpay.
3. Financing Contingency: Gives you time to secure your loan.

Step 4: Be Flexible

Make sure your agent finds out why the seller is selling before submitting your offer. Maybe they need to sell, but they also are a military family who want to stay in the house until they PCS instead of bouncing around between hotels. Offer flexibility on the seller’s move-out timeline or other preferences to sweeten the deal, such as agreeing to their move-out date as the closing date.

You should also realize that when you buy a house you are going to pay some "prepaids" as part of your closing costs, which include interest, taxes, and other costs for 2-3 months. Because the bank is aware that closing is expensive and because they've already got a stack of cash from you for the loan up front, they won't send you a mortgage bill for several weeks. We have typically had 6-8 weeks before we've gotten our first bill, and it's never due until the 1st of the next month. That means you may not owe any money for 6-10 weeks on your new mortgage.

PRO TIP: IF YOU ARE PCS'ING IN JULY OR AUGUST, CONSIDER MAKING OFFERS IN MARCH OR APRIL WITH A CLOSING DATE OF JUNE 1ST. THIS GETS YOU A HEAD-START ON ALL THE OTHER MILITARY FAMILIES MOVING TO TOWN, AND GIVES THE SELLERS THE PEACE OF MIND THAT THEY WILL SELL AND GET THEIR CASH BEFORE THEY PCS. YOU WON'T BE PAYING A MORTGAGE BILL UNTIL AT LEAST AUGUST, SO YOU WON'T HAVE ANY DOUBLE PAYMENT MONTHS, AND WILL HAVE YOUR NEW BAH ENTITLEMENT IN TIME FOR THAT FIRST BILL.

Phase Three: Due Diligence (Confirming the Target)

Once your offer is accepted, the mission shifts to verifying that the property is worth the price and free of hidden surprises. This phase typically lasts 1–3 weeks.

Step 1: Conduct a Home Inspection

Hire a licensed inspector to assess the property’s structure, systems (HVAC, plumbing, electrical), and potential issues. Review the report carefully and prioritize repairs or credits. Just remember that home inspections are "for awareness" so you know about things that "might" be wrong: these are not technical engineering reports. Inspectors may call out electrical that looks terrible, but isn't a problem; they may also overlook a small crack as cosmetic that is actually structural. If in doubt, get a second opinion: another $300 for a second inspection is way cheaper than buying a $30,000 foundation leak!

Step 2: Get an Appraisal

Your lender will require an appraisal to confirm the home’s value matches the loan amount. This is important for you, too, so you don't overpay. And if you're using a VA Loan, the appraisal must be done by a VA-certified Appraiser who is trained to look out for Minimum Property Requirements (MPRs), in other words that the house is safe for government employees to live in. You can lose out completely if your agent doesn't know this and schedules a non-VA appraiser, so keep a tight leash on this step!

Step 3: Perform a Title Search

The title company verifies the seller’s legal ownership and checks for liens or claims against the property. This is one report that you should read word-for-word to make sure you don't buy any house that has a "legal dumpster fire" waiting for you.

Step 4: Negotiate Repairs or Credits

Based on inspection findings, ask the seller to fix issues or offer closing credits instead. Typically the best combination is a whole-home warranty and a seller credit. The seller can buy you a whole-home warranty for about $600 that will cover any major appliance or structural repairs, and is way cheaper for them than to spend the $1,500 for a new water heater up front.

The seller credit, aka cash back to you, can be an appropriate amount based on the repair -- but doesn't obligate you to make it. Maybe the seller knows that the back deck is rotten and falling apart, and just hoped the buyer wouldn't notice. You notice, and you know this is a $7,500 renovation. Ask for the seller to repair it, and they'll reject your offer: they want to sell now; ask for a $5,000 repair credit at closing, and they can wash their hands of the problem, close quickly, and feel like they got off easy. Meanwhile, you can use that $5,000 for whatever you want (and maybe can just demo the deck and replace it with an affordable DIY brick patio that all-in costs you $3,000 from The Home Depot -- including the mosquito screen and a new grill!

Phase Four: Closing (Mission Accomplished)

The closing phase is the final step in the process where you officially take ownership of your home. This is called closing because you "close the deal": the seller signs over the deed to the title officer who records it with the county so you take ownership; the bank wires the money to the settlement account with the escrow attorney, who then subtracts all fees and pays all the bills and commissions, pays the seller's previous mortgage off, and cuts the seller a check for whatever profit they made on the sale.

As the buyer, you can plan on paying about 3-4% of the total cost of the purchase in closing costs. For example, if you buy a $300,000 house, budget (in advance!) for $9,000-12,000 in closing costs. If you are using the VA Loan, you also need to budget for the VA Funding Fee as part of your closing costs. For first-time VA Loan users paying 0% down, that's 2.15% of the loan, or another $6,450 in closing costs.

One thing to note here is that if you get a seller credit, you will not get a stack of Benjamins if you don't want it. You may elect to receive the seller credit as a transfer from the settlement account, but this doesn't really make a lot of sense. You pay $18,450 in closing costs and then get $5,000 back? Why not have the escrow attorney apply that seller credit directly to your closing costs, reducing your "cost to close"? In this case, it would mean you only need to pay $13,450 to close, and keep the $5,000 in your pocket.

Once the transaction records and the loan funds -- all on closing day -- you'll be handed the keys. Congratulations, you’re officially the owner.

Conclusion: Debriefing the Mission

Buying a home is no small mission, but with the right strategy and preparation, you can make confident, informed decisions that save you thousands. A coach can make all the difference—helping you avoid costly mistakes and maximize every dollar. Just from this article you likely learned a few tricks that can save you several days and several thousand dollars on your next home purchase, and this is just from your Standard Operating Procedure, or SOP. Imagine having a personally customized battle plan for your next home, and how much that can help you save?

Once you're ready to deploy on your home-buying mission, visit www.militarywealthcoach.com to book a free coaching session and take the first step toward success.