{"id":15,"date":"2026-09-21T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-21T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.room-vu.com\/kimmarinloans-com\/2026\/09\/21\/start-with-a-plan-not-a-listing\/"},"modified":"2026-09-21T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-21T15:00:00","slug":"start-with-a-plan-not-a-listing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/2026\/09\/21\/start-with-a-plan-not-a-listing\/","title":{"rendered":"Start With a Plan, Not a Listing"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"video-zmyer\">\n<div class=\"video-frame-zmyer\">\n        <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.roomvu.com\/agent\/embed\/kim-marin\/7-smart-steps-to-buying-your-first-home-this-year-remotion-videos-3658\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><br \/>\n        <\/iframe>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"video-description-zmyer\">\n<p>Before you start scrolling through home listings, let\u2019s talk about the foundation that truly supports a successful home buying journey\u2014a solid plan. Over my 20 years guiding families toward homeownership, I\u2019ve seen that clarity around your income, debts, recurring bills, and what feels like a truly comfortable monthly payment can be the difference between a confident purchase and feeling stretched too thin.<\/p>\n<p>Take a close look at your credit early on, correct any errors, and pay down high balances where possible. Even small adjustments can open doors to better loan options, which translates into savings for your family down the line.<\/p>\n<p>And remember, your savings plan should reach beyond just the down payment. Think about closing costs, moving expenses, and those first repairs that always seem to pop up\u2014preparing for these helps keep your first months as a homeowner on track.<\/p>\n<p>Getting pre-approved before you tour homes helps sharpen your search, lets sellers know you\u2019re serious, and gives your offer extra weight if you find yourself in competition. Finally, work with a buyer\u2019s agent who truly understands your local market and can navigate you through each step, from the first walk-through to closing day.<\/p>\n<p>With the right plan, the path to homeownership is not just manageable\u2014it\u2019s empowering.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before you start scrolling through home listings, let\u2019s talk about the foundation that truly supports a successful home buying journey\u2014a solid plan. Over my 20 years guiding families toward homeownership, I\u2019ve seen that clarity around your income, debts, recurring bills, and what feels like a truly comfortable monthly payment can be the difference between a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":494,"featured_media":16,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/494"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kimmarinloans.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}