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The First-Time Buyer's Guide to Sacramento
Everything you need to buy your first home with confidence.
Who This Guide Is For
This guide is for a first-time home buyer in Sacramento, or anywhere in Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties, who wants to understand the whole path before taking the first step. Maybe you are renting and wondering whether buying makes sense yet. Maybe you have been browsing listings for months and are not sure how to get from browsing to keys.
Buying your first home means learning a new vocabulary, a new set of costs, and a California process with its own rules. Most of the stress comes from not knowing what happens next. This guide lays it out in order, with the real numbers, so you can make each decision with your eyes open.
It comes from Surroundings. Maggie B. Hopkins is both a real estate broker and a mortgage broker, so the advice here covers the house and the loan together.
The Sacramento Buying Process, Step by Step
- Look at your finances. Check your credit, savings and monthly budget. Decide the payment you are comfortable with, not the most you could borrow.
- Get pre-approved. A mortgage broker or lender reviews your income, assets, debts and credit and tells you what you qualify for, in writing.
- Choose your agent and sign a buyer agreement. In California, you sign a written agreement with your agent before touring homes together. It sets out the agent's services and pay, which are negotiable.
- Search and tour. Focus on homes that fit your payment and your must-haves.
- Make an offer. Your agent writes it on the California purchase agreement with a price, a deposit, contingencies and a closing date.
- Open escrow. Your deposit goes to a neutral escrow company, usually within three business days of acceptance.
- Inspect and review disclosures. Hire inspectors and read the seller's disclosures. Negotiate repairs or credits if needed.
- Finish the loan. The appraisal and underwriting happen here. You remove each contingency in writing.
- Close. Do a final walk-through, sign your documents, and get your keys once the deed records.
For how we handle each step with you, read our home buying process.
How Much Home You Can Actually Afford
Your lender will tell you the most you can borrow. That is not your budget. Your budget is the monthly payment you can live with while still saving, traveling and handling a surprise repair.
A monthly house payment has five parts: principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and mortgage insurance if your down payment is under 20 percent. Add HOA dues if the home has them.
Property taxes are bigger than many first-time buyers expect. In Sacramento County, plan on about 1.25 percent of the purchase price each year. On a $549,000 home, the August 2026 median for an existing single-family home in the county according to the California Association of REALTORS®, that is about $6,860 a year, or about $572 a month. Newer neighborhoods may add Mello-Roos special taxes on top. Our property tax calculator runs the numbers for any price.
Down payment. You may need less than you think. FHA loans allow as little as 3.5 percent down for qualified buyers, and some conventional programs allow 3 percent. On a $549,000 home, 3.5 percent is about $19,200. VA loans can require no down payment for eligible veterans and service members. Plan for closing costs on top of the down payment.
Down payment help. California runs down payment assistance programs through CalHFA, including Dream For All. They open in funding rounds and can have far more applicants than funds. One buyer we helped waited more than a year for her Dream For All funding. When it came through, she bought her home with only her closing costs to cover and no private mortgage insurance. We check which programs are open when you are ready.
Approval always depends on underwriting. A pre-approval tells you where you stand before you fall for a house.
Costs to Plan For After Closing
The supplemental tax bill. After you buy, Sacramento County sends a one-time supplemental bill for the difference between the seller's old assessed value and your purchase price. It usually arrives six months or more after closing. It comes to you, not your lender, and your impound account will not pay it automatically. Until it arrives, your tax bills can look like the seller's. That is not a discount. It is a delay, so set the money aside from the month you close.
The homeowners' exemption. The county mails you a form after you buy. Send it back and it takes $7,000 off your assessed value, about $70 to $85 a year in Sacramento County. Return it within 30 days of your Notice of Supplemental Assessment and it applies to the supplemental bill too.
Insurance and upkeep. In the foothills of Placer and El Dorado counties, get an insurance quote on the specific address early in escrow, because wildfire risk affects coverage there. Everywhere, set aside money each month for repairs. A water heater or a heating and air system does not wait for a convenient time.
Mistakes First-Time Buyers Make, and How to Avoid Them
Touring before you are pre-approved. You lose the house you love while the paperwork catches up. Get your financing reviewed first.
Shopping by loan amount instead of payment. Run the full monthly number, taxes and insurance included, on every home before you get attached.
Skipping inspections to win. In a competitive market it is tempting to cut the inspection. One couple we represented beat seven other offers, then their inspection found a major sewer repair the seller did not know about. We negotiated $20,000 off the price. Without the inspection, that problem would have been theirs alone.
Changing your finances during escrow. A new car loan, a new credit card, or a job change can derail an approved loan. Talk to your lender before any of them.
Missing a contingency date. California contingencies are removed in writing, on deadlines set in your contract. Keep every date on a calendar, or work with someone who does.
Trusting an emailed wiring change. Wire fraud targets home buyers. Before you send any money, call your escrow officer at a number you already know.
How Surroundings Helps, and Your Next Step
Surroundings is a one-stop shop for your first home: real estate and mortgage brokering in one place, with one call, one team and one plan. Maggie B. Hopkins shows you the real payment on each home, writes your offer, builds your pre-approval and shops your loan across a network of approved lenders through closing. Get a quote from us and compare it with others. Don't limit yourself. If you already have a lender you like, that is fine too. She is a Certified VA Loan Specialist, and she has helped buyers through down payment assistance programs from waitlist to keys. Rachel Dee Minyard, our REALTOR® and Creative Director, works with first-time buyers too, from the first tour to the offer.
Your next step is a short conversation about where you are today: your timing, your savings, and the payment you want. Tell us what you are looking for or call (916) 549-3131. If you are still early, read about buying your first home with us.
Maggie B. Hopkins, CA DRE Broker #01750680, NMLS #349517. Surroundings NMLS #2528307. This guide is general information and is not legal, tax, or lending advice. Nothing here is a commitment to lend or a rate quote.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do I need to buy my first home in Sacramento?
Some loans allow 3 to 3.5 percent down for qualified buyers, and VA loans can require none for eligible veterans and service members. Plan for closing costs and some savings left over. A pre-approval shows your actual numbers.
What credit score do I need to buy a home?
Each loan program sets its own minimum, and lenders look at the whole file, not only the score. If your credit needs work, a mortgage broker or lender can often show you what to fix first and how long it may take.
Who holds my deposit when I make an offer?
A neutral escrow company holds it, not the seller. Under the standard California purchase agreement, you deliver it within three business days after your offer is accepted, unless the contract says otherwise.
Do I need an attorney to buy a house in California?
No attorney is required at closing. California purchases close through escrow, and in Northern California a title company usually handles it. You can always hire an attorney for legal questions about your purchase.
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