Guide to Washington DC for first-time home buyers

Can decide on buying a home in Washington DC? Washington is the capital of the US. It’s where the Oval Office is located, and it’s the political center of the country. Besides politics, there are many other things to experience there. Washington has great food, culture, history, great museums, and much more. In recent years it has been developing its IT sector and has great neighborhoods for start-ups.  To help you learn about your potential new home, take a look at our guide to Washington DC for first-time home buyers.

 A quick introduction for first home buyers

Before getting to our guide to Washington DC, let’s go over the basics that every new home buyer should know.

an image of a paper that says steps on in it
Our guide to Washington for first-time home buyers begins with quick tips when buying real estate.

When you decide to buy a house, the first thing you should do is establish your budget. That means looking at how much you are making a year. The amount of money you are making will affect how expensive a house you can buy.

The second thing to do after you set your budget, is to look at the average price of a house in Washington. Not only homes but condos, depending on what type of home you are looking to buy. Look at the most desirable Washington DC neighborhoods. Never buy a house that you can’t afford.

Don’t forget the technicalities

The next thing to do is to check if you can get a mortgage. Check for local lenders that will give you a mortgage. It’s crucial to get pre-approved for a mortgage. If you are pre-approved, it will make you look more serious to the sellers.

To help you find a place that will match your needs, you should get a real estate agent. Getting an agent is the fort thing to take into account. A realtor who will prevent you from overpaying is a realtor who knows the real estate market like the back of their hand. They will also bargain for a better price with the seller.

The final thing you should know is to hire a well-versed real estate attorney. An attorney has different responsibilities than a real estate agent. Firstly, they will help you with all the documentation and explain what you are signing, so you don’t get tricked. Secondly, a real estate lawyer will be crucial when it comes to closing the deal with the seller. Now that you know the basics. Let’s go to the guide part of the article.

an Ariel view of houses
A place in a good neighborhood will cost more.

The first thing on our guide to Washington DC for first-time home buyers is to look at some neighborhoods for potential buyers:

  • Any guide to Washington DC for first-time home buyers should include Georgetown. Georgetown University is located there. Because of the university, you can expect a pretty young crowd. Georgetown is a hub for start-ups. There are many historical sites in the neighborhood. And you can take a relaxing stroll along the Potomac River.
  • Adams Morgan is another great neighborhood to check out in Washington DC. It has everything, residential areas, and entertainment areas. So you can spend your Sunday afternoon browsing the box shops or sitting in one of the many cafés. And if you are more of a party person, you can go to one of the many bars and clubs. It has a mixed demographic you can see many cultures and cuisines.

If you chose Washington because of its great neighborhoods, engage expert teams to help you move there. Local Washington movers can pack you and when you arrive in your new home, unpack you. They know Washington DC well and will make your move stress-free. In addition, if you didn’t measure out your place correctly and have leftover things, they will provide you with storage options.

Tour the White House

Before you decide to call up and get a moving quote, it’s nice that you do the iconic things in DC, such as visit the president’s home. The White House was built in 1800. You will be able to learn how it was build and about everybody that lived in it. Getting the tickets is a little bit of a hassle, but it is worth it. To get the tickets, you will have to apply through your member of Congress.

Visit the monuments of the National Mall

There are about 100 monuments in the National Mall. It can’t take 4 to 5 days to visit them all. But to appreciate the beauty of each one of the monuments, it could take years. Some of the popular monuments are:

  • Thomas Jefferson Memorial
  • Korean War Veterans Memorial
  • Vietnam Veterans Memorial
  • Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial
  • Washington Monument
  • Lincoln Memorial
An image of the Lincoln Memorial
Lincoln Memorial is the most famous monument in Washington

To experience all the monuments to the fullest, you will need to move to Washington. Helix Transfer & Storage can help you with that. They are experienced local Washington movers. Movers that know the town. They will pack up your old home and unpack you in your new Washington DC home without any problems.

Visit the museums in Washington DC

The last on our guide to Washington DC for first-time home buyers is to visit the museums. Museums are a part of Washington as much as the people. There are many museums in Washington we will mention those that we find interesting:

  • Smithsonian Museum of Natural History is under the Smithsonian Institute and has a lot of exciting exhibits. Hall of Human Origins is a fascinating exhibit that opened in 2010. Its focus is the origin of human spices. The most popular showing is Dinosaurs/Hall of Paleo-biology, where they have skeletons of Tyrannosauruses Rex and Triceratops.
  • The Holocaust Museum shows the horrors of one of the darkest parts, if not the darkest part of human history. You can learn about how Nazis got to power in Germany and committed the terrible acts of the holocaust.

Final thoughts

As you could see in our guide to Washington DC for first-time home buyers, this city has a lot to offer to people with various backgrounds and interests, especially if you love history and culture. It really is a great choice to consider. Good luck!

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