Money & Career

Buying Your First Home

Go from zero to a signed closing: budget, credit, loan choice, agent agreements, offers, and the final walk to the wire.

This course is for members

$9 unlocks every course in the library, this one included, plus a credit to build a topic of your own and at least 10 new courses every month.

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What you will learn about Buying Your First Home

The 7-day sprint
  1. What You Can Actually Afford. Affordability is about how much income is left after the housing payment and your other monthly debts, not about the biggest price a lender will approve.
  2. Credit, Documents, And Pre-Approval. Lenders decide whether you can repay before they lend, so your job is to make your credit and paper trail clean months before you shop.
  3. Down Payment, PMI, And MIP. Your loan-to-value ratio sets your down payment, your mortgage insurance, and whether that insurance ever goes away.
  4. Shopping Loans And Reading The Loan Estimate. Rate quotes differ between lenders on the same day, and the Loan Estimate is the standardized form that lets you compare them honestly.
  5. Your Agent And The Written Buyer Agreement. Since August 17, 2024, an agent who uses an MLS must have a written agreement with you before touring a home, and the pay in that agreement is negotiable.
  6. Offer, Inspection, Appraisal, Title. An offer is a package of price plus contingencies, and the contingencies are what let you walk away without losing your deposit.
  7. Closing Without Losing Your Money. Read the Closing Disclosure against your Loan Estimate at least three business days before closing, and never trust wiring instructions that arrive by email.
The 80/20: the 7 concepts that matter most
  • Affordability is leftover cash, not the approval letter
  • Loan-to-value controls the whole cost structure
  • Shop lenders, and compare Loan Estimates dated the same day
  • The three-day Closing Disclosure window is your last audit
  • Your agent relationship is a negotiated written contract now
  • Down payment help is local, and no single federal definition of first-time buyer exists
  • Know the deal structures and rights that protect you
The core idea, explained like you are 5

You buy a house with mostly borrowed money, and the shrinking share of what the house was worth when you bought it that you still owe, your loan-to-value, quietly controls your down payment, your mortgage insurance, your rate, and your freedom later.

Then the quiz and the ladder

10 questions that correct you when you are wrong, and beginner, intermediate, advanced levels, each with a practical exercise.

Created Sep 13, 2026. No mistakes have been reported by learners.

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