52. The Getting Started Series: Have a Planning Meeting Before You Start House Hunting

Where do you actually start when you want to buy a house? Before you talk to a realtor or a lender, there's one conversation you need to have first, and skipping it is why so many buyers panic or overspend the moment the right house hits the market. This is the first episode in a new series walking through exactly where to start, and today it's your planning meeting: your finances, your location, and your must-haves, so you can move fast and with confidence when the time comes. Ready to take the first step of finding your first home? Connect with a FAME agent in your area (it's free!) WHAT YOU'LL LEARN TODAY: Why you have to make your big decisions before you start looking, not while you're standing in the house you love The two money questions to answer first: how much you can spend upfront, and how much you're comfortable spending monthly How to set a "flex number" above your budget for the exact right home, before emotions are involved How to narrow down your top neighborhoods and search radius before you start touring How to build a must-haves, nice-to-haves, and deal breakers list, and why doing it separately from your partner first matters Why taking your time means doing the prep work early, not looking at 60 houses before deciding RESOURCES MENTIONED: Find a First-Time Home Buyer Agent Home Buying 101 | Free Class How Much House Can I Afford | Workbook PAST EPISODES TO LISTEN TO: Episode 33: How to Set a Realistic Budget for Your First Home (Without Going House Poor) CONNECT WITH ME: Follow me on Instagram Visit my website   CHAPTERS: 00:00 — Where do you actually start when you want to buy a house? 02:35 — Step zero: the home buying planning meeting nobody tells you to have 03:59 — Why you have to decide everything in advance (the market moves fast) 07:44 — How to actually set up your planning meeting 08:18 — The money conversation: upfront cash and your monthly budget 11:43 — Deciding on your top locations 12:49 — Building your must-haves, nice-to-haves, and deal breakers list 16:34 — What's next: finding a realtor and testing your criteria online