First-Time Buyers
25 articles on First-Time Buyers from Mali Gariani: market data, neighborhood detail, and what it actually means for your move.
House Hacking in North Texas: The Cheapest Way Into a Rental
Owner-occupied financing on a small multifamily, or renting rooms in a single-family. What lenders count as income, and where the numbers still work here.
The Texas Option Period: Your Right to Walk Away (2026)
TREC changed the contract on July 1, 2026. The termination option is paragraph 5B, the fee goes to the title company, and one blank left empty voids the right.
FHA vs Conventional vs VA in North Texas: The Real Trade-offs (2026)
The mortgage insurance rules decide this, not the down payment. FHA MIP at 3.5% down never comes off. Conventional PMI is cancellable by federal law.
Rent vs Buy in Plano in 2026: The Honest Math
At 6.55% and a median Plano house of $507,600, renting is about $1,350 a month cheaper. Here’s the break-even, and the one assumption the whole answer turns on.
How Much House Can You Afford in Frisco on $150K?
About $477,000 - against a Frisco median of $656,300. Here’s the arithmetic, why the two DTI limits disagree by $250,000, and what to do about the gap.
Lewisville, TX: Where a Normal DFW Income Can Buy (2026)
Every other city on this blog needs an income above the metro median. Lewisville doesn’t - a $399,761 median against a $93,715 income, the closest fit out here.
First-Time Home Buyer Guide for Plano, TX (2026)
What first-time buyers need to know about buying a home in Plano, TX - from pre-approval to closing day, with local pricing, programs, and insider tips.
Wire Fraud in a Texas Closing: Protect Your Down Payment
The most common way a buyer loses six figures in this state has nothing to do with the house. What the scam looks like now, and the one habit that stops it.
Closing Day in Texas: What Actually Happens at the Title Company
Signing is not closing and closing is not funding. What each one means, what to bring, and why you may not get keys the day you sign.
How to Write a Winning Offer in North Texas Without Overpaying
Price is one of nine levers. The other eight are where offers are actually won here, and most of them cost the buyer nothing at all.
The USDA Loan Nobody in DFW Talks About (And Where It Still Works)
Zero down, no conventional mortgage insurance, and eligible ground closer to the metro than most people assume. The catch is the income cap and the map.
FHA Loans in North Texas: The 2026 Limits and the Real Trade-Off
The DFW limit is $563,500 for a single-family home in 2026. What that buys, what the mortgage insurance costs over the life of the loan, and when conventional wins.
The VA Loan in North Texas: What It Does That Nothing Else Does
No down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and a funding fee many buyers do not owe at all. Plus the Texas veteran programs that stack on top of it.
PMI in Plain English: What It Costs and How to Get Rid of It
Mortgage insurance is not wasted money and it is not permanent, except on one loan type where it is. How to price it, how to end it, and when to avoid it entirely.
Pre-Approval vs Pre-Qualification: Which One Actually Wins an Offer
One is a conversation and one is an underwriting decision. In a competitive North Texas offer only one of them counts, and getting the stronger version is free.
What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a House in Texas?
The minimum for each loan type, the score that actually changes your payment, and the four moves that lift a thin file fastest before an application.
Down Payment Assistance in Texas: What Is Real and What Has Strings
TDHCA, TSAHC, city programs and the mortgage credit certificate. What each one gives you, what it costs in rate, and the repayment condition buried in some of them.
What Actually Moves Your Mortgage Rate (And What Does Not)
The Fed does not set your rate. Here is what does, which parts you control, and why two lenders quote the same borrower differently on the same morning.
The Home Inspection in North Texas: What It Covers and What It Cannot
What a TREC-licensed inspector is required to report, what they are legally barred from telling you, and the specialist reports worth ordering in this region.
Earnest Money in Texas: Who Holds It and When You Actually Lose It
The deposit is not a fee and it is usually not at risk. What actually puts it at risk, who releases it, and the fifteen-day silence rule that decides a dispute.
How to Buy a House in Texas: The Whole Process, Step by Step
Every stage from the first lender call to the funding wire, in the order it happens in Texas, with the deadlines that are easy to blow and expensive to miss.
Best DFW Suburbs Under $400K (2026): Where You Can Still Buy a House
Seven North Texas cities where a normal income still buys a normal house, what you trade for the price, and the numbers that decide which one fits you.
What Does a Buyer’s Agent Cost in Texas? (2026)
Since August 2024 a buyer signs an agreement naming a number before touring. Who pays it, how it gets negotiated here, and what if the seller offers nothing.
Renting vs Buying in DFW: The Real Math (2026)
Break-even is not five years and it is not a rule of thumb. What actually decides it here: the tax cap, the rent trend, and how long you will stay.
Closing Costs in Texas for Buyers: What You’ll Actually Pay (2026)
Line by line, what a North Texas buyer pays at closing, which fees are negotiable, which the state fixes for you, and the escrow deposit almost nobody budgets for.