Making a change in your real estate journey can seem daunting, but breaking it down into manageable steps can help you achieve your goals. Here’s how to set and accomplish your real estate goals effectively.

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1. Stop and Reflect
Before diving into any changes, it’s crucial to pause and assess your current situation. Identify one specific habit or mindset you need to change. Whether it's curbing impulsive spending or shifting from a fixed to a growth mindset, pinpointing this change is the first step toward progress.

2. Start with Financial Understanding
Understanding your finances is the foundation of setting realistic real estate goals. Begin by getting a clear picture of your financial situation. This includes:

• Creating a Budget: Use resources like the monthly budget planner from Home with Kelsey Isaacson to track your income and expenses.
• Tracking Debt: Utilize tools like the Debt Payment Tracker and Debt Snowball Tracker to manage and reduce your debt.
• Building a Rainy Day Fund: Set aside money for unexpected expenses to ensure you’re prepared.
• Savings Challenge: Engage in a $10,000 Personal Savings Challenge to boost your savings and prepare for future expenses.

3. Prepare a Detailed Plan
Once you have a handle on your finances, it’s time to prepare a concrete plan for homeownership. Consider the following expenses and savings goals:

• Closing Costs: These can range from $0 to $10,000 depending on your situation. This includes fees associated with finalizing the sale.
• Down Payment: Typically, this ranges from 0% to 20% of the purchase price. Aim to save as much as you can to reduce your mortgage payments.
• Earnest Money: Usually between 1% and 3% of the purchase price, this amount is included in your closing costs.
• Inspection Costs: Budget around $400 to $600 for a home inspection to ensure the property is in good condition.

4. Follow Your Plan
With your budget and savings plan in place, it’s crucial to stick to it. Regularly review your progress and adjust as needed. Consistency is key to staying on track and reaching your financial goals.

5. Achieve Homeownership
Remember, achieving homeownership is a process that happens one step at a time. Set realistic goals, and tackle them one day at a time. With patience and dedication, you can accomplish any goal you set for yourself.
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By breaking down the process into these actionable steps, you’ll find it easier to navigate the path to homeownership. Use the resources available to you, stay disciplined, and keep your end goal in sight. Contact Kelsey Isaacson to help you begin your real estate journey! 

The home buying process is complex. It is important to educate yourself as a homebuyer.  This blog is a simple step-by-step guide to a smoot transaction for mastering the home buying journey. 
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• Set your budget. Determine how much you can afford to spend on a home by reviewing your financial situation, including income, expenses, and any existing debts. Check out this home affordability calculator from NerdWallet. 
• Save for a down payment. In Washington State, your down payment can be as low as 3% or some Home Buying Programs offer a 0% Down. Contact the HWKI team about our educational classes and Tacoma Home Buyers Bus Tours.  
• Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Contact lenders to get pre-approved for a mortgage. This will provide you with a clear idea of how much you can borrow and will give you an advantage when making an offer. The lender will be thoroughly digging into your finances. Be prepared for this. It is important to find a lender that you have a good vibe and strong communication with. 
• Find a local real estate agent. Finding the right lender and the right real estate agent is key to assembling a team to help you master the home buying journey. Make sure you feel comfortable with your agent. Ask all the questions as many times as you need to ensure that you understand the decisions you are making. Buying a home is the biggest purchase you will make in your lifetime so you need to partner with a knowledgeable and experienced real estate agent who can help you create as smooth of a transaction as possible. A quality real estate agent will help you search for properties based on your criteria and negotiate on your behalf. You should be confident that your lender and real estate agent should are working in your best interest. 

Last year (2022) the SOCK Unicorns were able to raise 7,021 pairs of NEW socks. These items were raised with the help of local clients and real estate partners. All socks given to our team were donated to local charitable organizations throughout Pierce County. ​

The vision and goal behind this event, spearheaded by Kelsey Isaacson (Home with K Isaacson) and Alisha Chang (SPYA), was simply to come together as a community.

Special thanks to:

• United Way for being a KEY SPONSOR with donating $10k to bringing our community together.
• Twin Star Credit Union was our T-Shirt Sponsor which provided 8th graders with their own Class of 2027 T Shirt.
• Titan Inspection was our VIBE Sponsor.

Big shout outs to our Franklin Pierce and Washington High School communities as several coaches and players from various clubs and teams helped facilitate and entertain our guests.

• Washington High School Football
• Franklin Pierce High School Football
• Franklin Pierce Basketball
• Franklin Pierce Tennis
• Franklin Pierce Soccer
• Washington Cheer
• Franklin Pierce Cheer
• Washington Black Student Union
• Washington Gay-Straight Alliance
• Washington Pacific Islander Club
• Washington Latino Club
• Washington Drama Club
• And so many other showed up!

The Down Payment Assistance Class takes interested buyers through the ENTIRE home buying process. Whether you want to buy a home in a few months, or a few years, this class will help prepare you to make one of the biggest investments in your life.

​Kelsey Isaacson (Theory Real Estate) and Kelli Smith (Movement Mortgage) have helped numerous buyers take the right steps toward making their home ownership dreams a reality.  During this class they will share all you need to know to be an educated consumer by sharing relevant content and real world experiences from helping local buyers. 

A FREE lunch and bus tour of local Tacoma homes will follow the class. ​

We are putting the fun back into the home buying experience! Kelsey Isaacson, realtor (Theory Real Estate) and Kelli Smith, loan consultant (Movement Mortgage) have combined forces to provide a FREE tour of local homes.

Thinking of buying a home but you're not sure where to start?...

• Travel in style 
• Short and sweet - only 1 hour 
• See a couple of local homes
• Chat about what it takes to get things moving 

Sign up today​ for more information on our next Tacoma Bus To Move Tour! ​

This is a FREE community event with food, fun, and festivities to celebrate our eighth graders transitioning into their high school education. Groups from each of the schools will be participating in the festivities as well as entertainment from their various talents including cultural dances, a drum off, interactive sport activities, club performances, and an art exhibit.

Check out the event page on Facebook for more information - link via the QR code on the picture above. ​

Thinking of buying a home but you're not sure where to start?...

• Travel in style 
• Short and sweet - only 1 hour 
• See a couple of local homes
• Chat about what it takes to get things moving 

Sign up today​ for more information on our next Tacoma Bus To Move Tour! ​

This video includes footage from our last Tacoma Home Buyers Tour. We had so much fun and are looking forward to hosting another event coming up in April. If you would like to learn more about these events please RSVP through our EVENTS PAGE. 

WHAT: Tacoma Home Buyers Bus Tour
WHEN: Saturday, April 22, 2023 10am - 3pm 

This tour offers a home buyers course that is 100% FREE. 

Everyone is welcome to attend. Whether you want to buy a home in a few months or a few years, this is a unique real estate experience that you won't want to miss. Kelsey Isaacson (Theory Real Estate) and Kelli Smith (Movement Mortgage) will teach you the ENTIRE home buying process.

The Tacoma Home Buyers Bus Tour will include education and entertainment

• How to prepare for home ownership
• Everything you need to know about financing 
• A tour of several local homes
• Lunch from a local vendor

RSVP today for our April 22nd Tour or for an upcoming outing on our EVENTS PAGE

Kelsey Isaacson was interviewed by Theory Real Estate based in Tacoma, Washington.

In collaboration with the 8th grade classes of Keithley and Ford Middle Schools (Franklin Pierce School District) we are planning a community event to celebrate these students and families moving into High School. ​

CURRENT DETAILS:​ 
NAME: Pacific Ave Summer Palooza
TAG LINE: When two sides unite
Theme: Beach Theme 
Color Scheme: Red and Gold/Fire -Combo of both school colors. 
DATE: June 13, 2023 6PM - 8PM. 
LOCATION: Franklin Pierce and Washington High School Shared Stadium 

FUNDING:

• We are very thankful for the funds that we have received so far from United Way for this community project.
• We are in the process of working on securing additional funding from local community supporters 

NEXT STEPS:   

• The students at Keithley and Ford will be working on some art work that represents this event. 
• We are securing commitments from local food trucks/vendors/clubs for event 
• We are securing sponsorships for items such as T-shirts, Cotton Candy, Snow Cone, DJ, etc. 

Please reach out to Kelsey Isaacson is you are interested in helping with this event. See the PDFs on our EVENTS PAGE for more information. ​