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Home Buying Steps

About

A calm, free guide to buying your first home

Home Buying Steps walks first-time buyers through buying a home, one step at a time. You enter your own numbers, and it works out the answers: what you can afford, your debt-to-income ratio, what closing will cost in your state.

Who publishes it

Home Buying Steps is published by OMR Group LLC. The guides and journey steps are written and maintained by the Home Buying Steps team, and each page shows when it was published and last updated.

Where the numbers come from

Every figure that comes from outside the app (tax rates, fees, loan limits, program rules) is recorded with its source, the date of that data, and when it is due to be re-checked. Most are re-checked yearly, when the source publishes a new edition.

  • On the state guides, the source and data date are shown next to the figure they support.
  • Where a number is a typical range rather than a sourced figure (some closing-cost fees vary by lender and provider), the page says so.
  • The calculators use one shared set of formulas, so the same inputs give the same answer everywhere in the app.
  • It's free, and the guides and calculators work without an account.
  • There are no ads and no affiliate links.
  • We don't sell your personal information. If you don't sign in, the numbers you enter stay in your browser. See the privacy policy.

What it isn't

Home Buying Steps is an educational planning tool. It isn't a lender, a mortgage or real estate broker, a law firm, or a financial advisor, and its estimates aren't quotes. For decisions about your own purchase, talk to licensed professionals. The disclaimer has the details.

Spotted something wrong?

If a figure looks out of date or wrong for your state, tell us at hello@homebuyingsteps.com. Corrections are checked against the source and fixed.