Outsmart

Course

Home Buyer Course

A no-nonsense course for home buyers who want to walk into the process with their eyes open. Covers everything from building your wishlist to surviving the closing table, with one goal: keeping your money in your pocket and the power in your hands.

11 classes · 42 lessons · Free

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Course Syllabus

01Know What You Want and Don't Let Anyone Talk You Out of It

  • Your List, Your Rules. Write It Down Before They Get In Your Head.
  • The Dream Home Bait. How Agents Use Aspiration to Loosen Your Budget.
  • Your Wishlist Is a Weapon. And They're Trained to Use It.
  • Lock In Your Deal-Breakers Now. Before the Pressure Campaign Begins.

02Get Your Finances Straight Before Anyone Else Gets Involved

  • Your Credit Score Is Already Being Judged. Know Your Number First.
  • The Debt-to-Income Trap. How Lenders Use Your DTI to Control What You Buy.
  • What You Can Actually Afford Versus What They'll Tell You You Can Afford.
  • The Hidden Costs Nobody Volunteers. What Closing Actually Costs and How to See It Coming.

03Picking an Agent: The One Decision That Can Make or Break Everything

  • How Agents Get Paid and Why That Changes Everything.
  • The Interview Questions They Hope You Never Ask.
  • Red Flags Hiding in Plain Sight. What to Watch for Before You Sign Anything.
  • The Buyer's Agreement. What You're Actually Signing and How to Protect Yourself.

04Pre-Approval: Get It, Use It, and Don't Get Played by It

  • What Pre-Approval Actually Is and What It Is Not.
  • How Lenders Use the Pre-Approval Process to Lock You In Early.
  • Shopping Multiple Lenders Without Destroying Your Credit Score.
  • How Agents Weaponize Your Pre-Approval Against You.

05Do Your Own Research. Don't Just Take Their Word for It.

  • How to Read a Listing Without Getting Played by the Marketing.
  • Pulling Comparable Sales Yourself Before Your Agent Cherry-Picks Them for You.
  • Researching Neighborhoods the Way Agents Don't Want You To.
  • Property History: What It Reveals and Why Agents Go Quiet When You Ask About It.

06Making an Offer Without Getting Played on Price

  • How Offer Prices Get Manipulated Before You Ever Write a Number Down.
  • The Multiple Offer Situation. What's Real, What's Manufactured, and How to Tell the Difference.
  • Contingencies: The Clauses Agents Pressure You to Waive and Why You Shouldn't.
  • Writing the Offer on Your Terms, Not Theirs.

07Negotiate Like You Mean It. This Is Your Money.

  • Why Buyers Negotiate Badly and Why the Industry Needs Them To.
  • Reading a Counter Offer. What the Seller Is Saying and What They Are Hiding.
  • Repair Credits and Concessions. Money the Seller Owes You That They Are Hoping You Won't Ask For.
  • When to Hold, When to Walk, and How Your Agent Will Try to Talk You Out of Both.

08Home Inspections: The Step Your Agent Might Try to Rush

  • What a Real Inspection Looks Like and How to Know If Yours Was Done Right.
  • How to Pick Your Own Inspector Before Your Agent Picks One for You.
  • Reading the Report Yourself. What Agents Gloss Over and Why.
  • When the Inspection Reveals Something Serious. Your Options and the Pressure You Will Face.

09Closing Day: Where the Real Traps Are Hiding

  • The Closing Disclosure. They Changed the Numbers and They Are Counting on You Not to Notice.
  • Every Document at the Closing Table Is Written for the Lender. Not for You.
  • Last-Minute Surprises. How the Closing Table Becomes a Pressure Chamber.
  • The Final Walkthrough. The One Protection You Have That Your Agent Will Try to Rush.

10After the Keys: Protecting Yourself Once the Deal Is Done

  • The First 30 Days. What New Homeowners Miss That Costs Them Later.
  • Title Fraud and Deed Theft. How Criminals Steal Homes and How to Stop Them.
  • Contractor Scams. Why New Homeowners Are the Perfect Target and How to Avoid Becoming One.
  • Property Taxes, Homestead Exemptions, and the Money Sitting on the Table That Nobody Told You About.

11Find an Agent Worth Trusting: Here's How We Vetted Ours

  • Why Almost Every Agent You Meet Failed Our Vetting.
  • The Ones Who Made It Through. Here's What to Do Next.