First-Time Home Buyer Guide for New Braunfels, TX

A complete first-time buyer playbook covering readiness, savings, monthly payment, offers, inspections, and closing.

Collin Jorden, Mortgage Loan Advisor

Jorden Mortgage Solutions - Powered by EDGE Home Finance

Phone: (830) 481-1249

Email: [email protected]

NMLS# 2103826

Company NMLS# 891464

Licensed in: TX

Equal Housing Opportunity. Not a commitment to lend.

First-Time Home Buyer Loans in New Braunfels, TX

A complete first-time buyer playbook covering readiness, savings, monthly payment, offers, inspections, and closing.

First-Time Home Buyer Guide for New Braunfels, TX

Am I Ready to Buy a House?

How Much Money Do You Need to Buy a House?

How Long Does It Take to Buy a House?

Best Loans for First-Time Buyers in Texas

First-Time Home Buyer FAQs

Who counts as a first-time homebuyer?

How much do I actually need saved to buy a home?

What do I need to get preapproved?

Should I wait for rates to drop?

Do student loans disqualify me from buying a house?

Is buying always better than renting?

What is earnest money?

Talk to a New Braunfels First-Time Buyer Specialist

Programs

The first-timer playbook

Everything nobody explains, explained. This page is the conversation Collin Jorden, a mortgage broker in New Braunfels (NMLS #2103826), has with every first-time buyer in Comal and Guadalupe counties — readiness, real costs, timelines, and how FHA, VA, conventional, and Texas assistance programs compare. Read it, then call with the good questions.

Tap every box that’s true today. Most people surprise themselves.

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“How much do I need?” is really three questions. Here they are with a worked example at $285,000.

Example figures are illustrative and for education — your numbers depend on price, program, county, and negotiation.

About six weeks, give or take. From first hello to keys, the typical arc — assuming the house-hunt cooperates.

The menu, side by side. Every buyer gets this comparison run on their actual numbers. Here’s the shape of it.

Simplified for orientation — details like loan limits (we stay within conforming and FHA limits), DTI ceilings, and rates get worked through together.

The 2am-Google questions — answered the way I’d answer a friend.

For most programs, anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past three years.

Worked example: on a $285,000 home, FHA’s 3.5% down is $9,975, and closing costs typically run 2–4% more. But gift funds can cover the whole down payment, seller credits can cover closing costs, and Texas assistance programs can reduce what you bring. Some buyers bring far less than they expect.

Typically two years of income history, recent pay stubs, W-2s or tax returns, and bank statements. We start with a 20-minute call, no documents needed.

Nobody can time rates. What I can do is math: if the payment works at today’s rates and you’ll stay 3+ years, waiting mostly risks price growth and another year of rent. If rates fall later, refinancing is a normal, planned move. I model both paths so it’s your call, with numbers.

Almost never by themselves. Lenders count your monthly payment, not the total balance — and income-driven repayment plans count at their actual amount on most programs.

No — and I’ll tell you when it isn’t. Under a ~3-year horizon, transaction costs usually beat equity gains. Moving for work soon, or renting is dramatically cheaper monthly? I’ll show you the honest spreadsheet either way.

A good-faith deposit — commonly around 1% of the price — held in escrow once your offer is accepted, then credited back to you at closing. With standard financing and inspection contingencies, you keep protections if the deal falls apart for covered reasons.

You just read the playbook. The next step is a conversation — twenty minutes, free, and specific to your numbers.

Plain-English mortgage guidance for New Braunfels homebuyers. I’d rather teach you the math than talk you into a payment.

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Mon–Sat · 8a–6p CT

New Braunfels, TX

Collin Jorden, NMLS #2103826, serves homebuyers in New Braunfels, Seguin, San Marcos, Canyon Lake, Schertz, Cibolo, Kyle, Bulverde, and San Antonio, plus all of Comal and Guadalupe counties and the rest of Texas.

· Licensed in Texas

Equal Housing Opportunity.

This is not a commitment to lend. Program details, rates, and payment figures are illustrative, change often, and depend on your full application.