This season, I am kicking off a Home and DIY series here at ShesChaRISSmatic.com and will soon be coming up on my first year as a home owner! Since I have had the chance to settle into my new home, I have had time to plan for some future home projects and I’m excited to bring you along that journey with me!

Before I start dabbling into the various decor  projects around the house, I’d like to first talk about the home buying process, as many of my subscribers have requested this topic. My experience with becoming a home owner was a monumental one. My husband and I briefly talked about buying a house during our first year of marriage, even though it seemed far-fetched.  We’d grown tired renting apartments and moving almost every year.  We desired to have our very own property…and as a new pet owner at the time, I really wanted a backyard for my little baby (Jojo) to prance around in. lol

One weekend we decided to entertain ourselves and do an online search for properties that were in our desired price range. One thing led to another and before I knew it we were out viewing properties! I was more attracted to the newer communities and started to get a feel for my ideal floor plan. Then, on one beautiful Saturday afternoon, I stepped into a new home that felt like it was my dream house! Everything about the floor-plan was perfect. The island in the kitchen and ample counter space, the number of rooms and entertainment areas, the openness of the floor plan, the master bedroom, bathroom  and closet…  I was smitten. Once I feel in love with this particular floor plan and the builder, there was no turning back. I was also ecstatic about the notion of being able  to build and choose all of the colors and materials for my potential home. After I fell in love… things got real (As they tend to do when you fall in love). We watched and documented the phases of the building of our potential home…

Aspiring to home ownership felt like we were on roller-coaster ride. We jumped in, felt the thrill, had some scares, felt some gut wrenching dips, got tossed around, flipped upside down… and the process probably felt a lot longer than it actually was. By the end, it felt like the wind was knocked out of us… but look what we had accomplished –  together!  We were filled with so much joy, satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment because on closing day, one of our dreams had been realized! We were determined to have our house and saved tirelessly until we met our goal. We are immensely grateful!

Now that we have our house, the work is just beginning. I encourage everyone to do their research before attempting to buy a house. Take your time and make sure you commit to something that you love. To help me provide helpful tips and explain more about the home buying process, I have brought friend and real estate expert, Andre Kohn of Kohn Real Estate Company. Check out my interview with Andre and see what he has to say!

Q1. What are the top 3 things to think about before even considering buying a home?

Andre: The top 3 things to thinking about are:

1. How much home can you afford? Getting pre-qualified should be the first thing you do before your home search, this ensures you will not fall in love with a property you can’t afford.
2. What are you looking for (value or social)? I always encourage my clients to consider this before deciding where they want to live. While you will get more value for you dollar in terms of land and home space the further out of the city, you should also expect to adjust your social life for journeying back into the city for entertainment.
3. How long to do you expect to live in the home? I always encourage my clients to think long term. What is the re-sale value of this property? Would this be a good property to hold and rent to start a real estate portfolio? These are things that are to be considered now and should determine what you plan on doing with the house.

Q2. Describe the steps in the home-buying process.

Andre:  I could write an entire article on this topic I am attaching an image from my mentor that explains it all lol

Q3. What inspired you to start your own real-estate company?

Andre: I come from a family of real estate investors. I have always had a passion for helping people. Purchasing real estate is a high anxiety, high risk, and high emotion process. It is possibly the biggest financial decision most people will make in their life. There is no greater professional feeling that helping someone achieve a goal as large the home ownership milestone.

Q4: If someone wanted to learn more and are interested in home ownership, how can they get in touch with you?

I can be reached on my cell at 832-696-5066

Email: andre@kohncompany.com

Instagram: @kohncorealestate

Website: kohncompany.com

Thanks for reading! Xo -Riss

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