$232,000asking
- 2 bd
- 1.5 ba
- 1,040 sq ft
1420 Marlin Ferry Road · Unit 12C
Garner, Raleigh · Two-storey condo
A $232,000 two-bedroom, with the honest caveat about older condo financing
Nobody has explained any of this to you yet
Your first home, without the parts that make people cry
We start with the number you want to pay every month and work backwards. Not with what a bank will lend you — those are very different numbers, and the gap between them is where first-time buyers get hurt.
This page is for you if any of these are true
- You are renting and the rent went up again
- You have some savings but no idea whether it is enough
- Someone told you that you need 20% down
- You have a pre-qualification letter and do not know what it is worth
- You are doing this on one income
- You want something you can fix rather than something finished
Start here
There are two numbers, and only one of them is yours
A lender will give you a maximum. It is a real number, produced honestly, based on your income and your debts. It is also the answer to a question you did not ask.
The question you asked was: what do I want to pay every month for thirty years, and still be able to go on holiday? That number is usually 15% to 25% below the maximum, and the difference between the two is a decade of feeling fine versus a decade of feeling tight.
So we do it in this order. Your monthly number first. Then we work backwards through taxes, insurance, any HOA fee and mortgage insurance to a purchase price. Then, and only then, do we look at houses.
Use the estimator below with a real listing price and watch what the tax and insurance lines do. That gap is the whole lesson.
What this would cost a month
Change any number. Nothing here is a quote — it is arithmetic.
$2,793
estimated total monthly ·$350,100 borrowed
- Principal and interest
- $2,201
- Property tax
- $327
- Homeowner’s insurance
- $104
- HOA / condo fee
- $0
- Mortgage insurance (PMI)
- $160
Under 20% down, so private mortgage insurance is included at an estimated 0.55% of the loan a year. On a conventional loan it comes off automatically once you reach 78% loan-to-value, and you can usually request removal at 80%. On most FHA loans it stays for the life of the loan.
Over the full term you would pay about $442,393 in interest, assuming you never pay extra and never refinance.
Estimates only. Actual rates depend on credit, loan type and the day. Wake County property tax is reassessed on a four-year cycle, so a recent revaluation can move the tax line. Talk to a lender for a real quote — we can introduce you to three.
The acronyms, defused
Five ways to finance it
You will hear all of these. Here is what actually separates them, in one table, with the catch stated plainly for each.
| Loan | Down payment | Mortgage insurance | Credit | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conventional | 3% – 20% | PMI below 20% down; cancellable | Typically 620+ | The default. PMI comes off automatically at 78% loan-to-value and can usually be requested at 80%. |
| FHA | 3.5% | Upfront + annual MIP | Lower thresholds than conventional | More forgiving on credit and debt ratios. On most FHA loans the mortgage insurance stays for the life of the loan, so plan to refinance out of it. |
| VA | 0% | No monthly MI; a funding fee applies | Lender-set | For eligible service members, veterans and some surviving spouses. Usually the cheapest money available if you qualify. |
| USDA | 0% | Guarantee fee, upfront + annual | Typically 640+ | Income limits apply and the property must be in an eligible rural area — parts of eastern and southern Wake County still qualify. |
| FHA 203(k) / HomeStyle | 3.5% / 3% | As FHA / conventional | As FHA / conventional | Renovation loans. They finance the purchase and the work in one mortgage, which is how a house priced for its original kitchen becomes a realistic first home instead of a project you cannot fund. |
General information, not advice about your situation. Programme terms, limits and eligibility change. A licensed lender is the only person who can tell you what you qualify for — we will introduce you to three and we take nothing for it.
Start to finish
What happens, in order
Seven stages. Each one has the encouraging version and the fact people usually get wrong.
- 1
1–3 days
Talk to a lender before you talk to us
It feels backwards to call a bank before you have seen a single house. Do it anyway. Twenty minutes on the phone turns a vague hope into a number, and the number is what makes everything after this calm instead of frantic.
Worth knowing Pre-qualification is a conversation. Pre-approval is a lender pulling your credit and verifying income and assets — it is the one sellers take seriously, and it is what you will attach to an offer.
- 2
One evening
Work out what you are comfortable spending
A lender will tell you the most you can borrow. That is not the same question as what you want to pay every month for thirty years. We will sit down and run the second number, which is the one that matters.
Worth knowing The payment is principal, interest, property tax, homeowner’s insurance, any HOA fee, and PMI if you put down under 20%. In Wake County the tax line alone is roughly 1% of the price a year.
- 3
2–8 weeks
Go and look at homes
This is the part everyone imagines. Expect the first three to recalibrate everything you thought you wanted — that is the job they are doing, and it is not wasted time.
Worth knowing Most of our buyers see between eight and fifteen homes in person. If you have seen thirty, something upstream is off, and it is usually the price band or the area, not you.
- 4
Same day
Write the offer
The nervous part. We will talk through price, timing and what to ask for, and we will tell you plainly when we think an offer is a stretch — including when the stretch is worth it.
Worth knowing In North Carolina you offer a Due Diligence Fee (paid to the seller, generally non-refundable) and an Earnest Money Deposit (held in escrow, refundable in most circumstances). They are different instruments and people conflate them constantly.
- 5
14–30 days
Due diligence — inspect everything
Your inspection window is the period where you can walk away for any reason. Use it hard. Get the general inspection, and get the specialist out for anything the general inspector flags.
Worth knowing If the appraisal comes in below the contract price, the gap is yours to cover in cash, renegotiate, or walk. Decide before you offer which of the three you would do.
- 6
3–4 weeks
Underwriting — and change nothing
The loan is being checked properly now. Your only job is to be boring: same job, same accounts, same debts. It is a strange few weeks of doing nothing on purpose.
Worth knowing Do not open a credit card, finance furniture, or move large sums between accounts. Lenders re-pull credit before closing, and a new tradeline can undo an approval this late.
- 7
One morning
Closing day
You will sign more paper than you expect and it will take about an hour. Then an attorney records the deed, and the house is yours. We will be there, and we will bring something for the first night.
Worth knowing North Carolina closings are handled by an attorney, not a title company. Funds must be wired — and wire fraud is real, so verify the instructions by phone with a number you looked up yourself.
Real, and on our board right now
Three homes under $425,000
- Active
- Active
$279,000asking
- 1 bd
- 1 ba
- 790 sq ft
5210 Sevenwells Road · Unit 210
North Hills, Raleigh · Mid-rise flat
One bedroom, 790 square feet, and the lowest price on the board
- Active
$289,000asking
- 3 bd
- 1.5 ba
- 1,240 sq ft
705 Barleymow Road
Fuquay-Varina · Ranch
The least expensive house we have listed, and an honest description of why
Who you would work with
Nadia Okonjo-Reyes
Broker · first-time buyers · lives in Five Points, Raleigh
Nadia bought her own first house inside the beltline and has been explaining due diligence fees to nervous people ever since. She works mostly inside the beltline and knows the 203(k) renovation loan process better than most lenders do, which comes in useful more often than you would expect.
Asked constantly
The six questions
Do I really need 20% down?
No, and the belief that you do keeps more people renting than any other single idea. Conventional loans go to 3%, FHA to 3.5%, VA and USDA to zero for those who qualify. What 20% buys you is the absence of mortgage insurance — that is the whole difference. Whether waiting three more years to save it is worth three more years of rent is arithmetic, and we will do it with you.
What is the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval?
Pre-qualification is a conversation: you tell a lender your numbers and they tell you roughly what you could borrow. Pre-approval means they pulled your credit and verified your income and assets. Only the second one carries weight in an offer, and in a competitive situation a listing agent will notice immediately which one you attached.
What is a due diligence fee and is it refundable?
In North Carolina you typically offer two separate sums. The Due Diligence Fee is paid directly to the seller for the right to inspect and is generally non-refundable if you walk away. The Earnest Money Deposit is held in escrow and is normally refundable if you terminate within the due diligence period. People conflate them constantly and the difference is real money.
How much do I need at closing on top of the down payment?
Budget roughly 2% to 4% of the purchase price for closing costs in North Carolina: lender fees, the appraisal, attorney fees, title insurance, recording, and prepaid taxes and insurance into escrow. Seller concessions can cover some of it and that is negotiable — we ask when the situation supports it.
Is there help with the down payment?
Often, yes. North Carolina and Wake County both run assistance programmes with income limits and, in some cases, first-time-buyer requirements. Eligibility depends on your household income, the purchase price and sometimes the property location. We check before you write an offer, not after, because some programmes need to be in place from the start.
What does it cost me to have my own agent?
Since 2024 the buyer-side fee must be agreed in writing with you before we tour homes, so the number is visible from the start. Sometimes a seller offers to cover it and sometimes they do not, in which case it becomes a line in your closing costs that we show you before you offer. What it does not do is quietly appear at the end.
Two shapes a first search takes
How we would run it
First home · one or two incomes · no equity to move
A first purchase, and the gap between two numbers
The loan maximum and the payment you want are different numbers
We start at the lender, not at a listing. What comes back is two numbers: the largest loan you could be approved for, and the monthly payment you would still be comfortable with in February when the heating bill lands. Those are rarely the same number, and the gap between them is where most first-time buyers get hurt. We search against the second one. Every home on this site has a payment estimator on its page that shows principal, interest, tax, insurance and any HOA together, because the mortgage payment is not the cost of the house.
Wants a project · has a design in mind · needs the budget to survive it
Buying something that needs work, on purpose
A renovation loan folds the work into the mortgage
Most searches quietly steer toward move-in-ready because it is easier to sell. If you want the opposite, say so and we will start sending you the listings other people skip. The financing is the part that decides whether it works: an FHA 203(k) or a conventional renovation loan folds the work into the mortgage rather than onto a credit card, but it comes with a draw schedule, a contractor bid and an inspection at each stage. We will sit in those meetings with you.