Buyer's guide
The Central Florida Home Buyer's Guide
Short version: Step 1, call your Edvisor. Step 2, I've got you. Just kidding (mostly). Buying a home is a lot like a road trip. You need a destination, a budget and a good map, and it helps to know where the tricky turns are before you hit them. This is the map I walk my own clients through, one step at a time. Read it start to finish, or jump to wherever you are right now.
By Edward Lian, Keller Williams Elite Partners III Realty
Day one
Book a discovery call
Every great home search starts with a conversation, not a showing. We'll spend 20 or 30 minutes on the phone or video talking about you: why you're moving, where you want to be, your timeline, your must-haves and your deal-breakers. I'll explain how buying works here and how I work, and you'll leave with a plan. No pressure, no obligation, just a good talk.
Checklist
- Think about why you are moving and your ideal move-in date
- List your must-haves and deal-breakers
- Jot down the areas you are curious about
- Bring every question, even the ones that feel basic
Before your first tour
Sign your buyer docs
Since 2024, buyers sign a written agreement with their agent before touring homes together. It sounds formal, and it is a little, but it's also a good thing: you know exactly what I do for you, what it costs and how to end it, before anyone opens a door. We'll also go over the Florida brokerage relationship disclosure, which explains how I'm representing you.
Checklist
- Read the buyer brokerage agreement: term, compensation, how to end it
- Review the brokerage relationship disclosure (transaction broker or single agent)
- Ask anything that is unclear before you sign
- Planning to visit model homes? I come along the first time
Before you fall in love with a house
Get pre-approved
If you're financing, a pre-approval is your ticket in the door. Sellers take your offer seriously, and you shop knowing your numbers. Paying cash? Have your proof of funds ready. Either way, the price on the listing is only part of the story. In Central Florida, insurance, HOA dues and sometimes a CDD can change your monthly payment more than knocking a few thousand dollars off the price ever would.
Checklist
- Financing: get pre-approved with a lender (happy to share a few I trust)
- Cash: get a recent proof-of-funds letter
- Pick a monthly payment you are comfortable with, all in
- Count cash for down payment, closing costs and a cushion
- Ask about insurance, HOA dues and CDD assessments early
Weeks 1–6, give or take
Tour homes (resale or new construction)
This is the fun part, and also the part where it's easy to fall for a kitchen and forget about the roof. I like to tour with two lists in hand: what you love, and what would make you walk away. New construction gets its own playbook, because the builder plays by different rules.
Checklist
- Keep a love list and a walk-away list
- Note roof age, AC age and flood zone on every home you like
- New construction: register your agent on the first visit
- Look at the neighborhood at night and on a weekend
The day you find the one
Make an offer
A strong offer isn't always the biggest number. It's the right price, the right terms and the right protections for you, written so the seller can say yes. We'll read the comps together, pick the contract that fits, and decide how hard to push.
Checklist
- Read recent comparable sales, not just the list price
- Pick AS IS or standard contract and an inspection period
- Decide your deposit and when it is due
- Decide what you will and won't waive
Dig deeper
- How much should I offer on a house in Florida? Reading comps like an agent does
- Earnest Money in Florida: How Much to Put Down and When You Could Lose It
- Escalation clauses in Florida: when they help and when they backfire
- Cash vs. financed offers in Florida: why sellers care, and how to compete with a loan
- Should I waive the appraisal or inspection in Florida? What you'd be giving up
- Seller concessions in Florida: how much can you ask for?
Inspection period (often 15 days if left blank)
Inspections and insurance
Once your offer is accepted, the clock starts. In your inspection period you learn everything you can about the house: the general inspection, the roof, a 4-point and wind mitigation for insurance. Then you decide: ask for repairs, ask for a credit, or walk away while you still can.
Checklist
- Schedule inspections in the first few days
- Get real insurance quotes, not estimates
- Sort the report: big deal, worth asking, normal house stuff
- Respond before the inspection period ends, in writing
Loan approval period (often 30 days if left blank)
Appraisal and loan approval
While you're packing boxes, your lender is busy too: appraisal, underwriting, final approval. Most of the time this part is quiet. When it isn't, it's usually a low appraisal, and you have more options than you'd think.
Checklist
- Send your lender anything they ask for, fast
- Don't open new credit or make big purchases
- Know your options if the appraisal comes in low
- Watch the loan approval deadline in your contract
Closing week
Final walk-through and closing
The finish line! We walk through the home one more time to make sure it's in the condition you agreed to, you sign a stack of papers, and then comes my favorite part: handing you the keys.
Checklist
- Wire funds only after calling the title company at a number you trust
- Do the final walk-through the day before or day of closing
- Bring ID and your cashier's check or wire confirmation
- Set up utilities and change the locks
General education, not legal or tax advice. Contract deadlines depend on what your contract says; the timeframes above are common defaults on Florida Realtors/Florida Bar contracts when the blanks are left empty.