Columbus first-time buyers
Before you rule yourself out.
I help people in Columbus buy their first house — including the ones still renting or just starting their careers who assume it’s years away. No pitch, no pressure to buy anything. You leave knowing what your next step is and who takes it with you.
Here's exactly what the twenty minutes are.
The Numbers Call · 20 minutes · on the phone · free. Everything gets planned backward from your lease end date.
0:00 · Why now
What's got you thinking about buying, and when your lease ends. Everything gets planned backward from that date.
3:00 · The money
What you pay in rent, roughly what you have set aside, a ballpark credit range. None of it is a judgment, and I'm not the one approving anything.
10:00 · What you've probably heard
You may not need 20% down, and the cash it takes goes beyond the down payment. We go through both plainly, and your loan officer confirms what applies to you.
15:00 · What happens next
I introduce you to a loan officer by name. They run your real numbers. Then we set a date to talk again, so it doesn't drift.
The one question when you book
What are you paying in rent right now? If you're not renting, what's your living situation? Renting, living with family, anything else — it's where the call starts.
Call me early.
Two years out isn't too early. That's when there's still time to change the answer. Pick a time that works and we'll take it from there.
What it actually takes to buy your first home in Columbus.
A free first-time buyer's guide for Greater Columbus. For people renting in Columbus who keep wondering whether buying is even on the table. Every market number in it comes from the Columbus & Central Ohio Regional MLS. PDF, no sign-up.
Eight chapters
- 1.Start with the cash, not the payment
- 2.What your budget actually buys
- 3.What changes as you move up the ladder
- 4.Sellers help with closing costs more often than you think
- 5.How to pick a loan officer, and what to ask
- 6.The eight steps, start to keys
- 7.What quietly kills first-time deals
- 8.Look it up yourself
Frequently Asked Questions
Get answers to common questions about the home buying process
Not necessarily. Many first-time buyers in Columbus put down far less than that, and Ohio has down payment assistance that some buyers qualify for. Your loan officer confirms what applies to you. We cover this plainly on The Numbers Call, so you know before you rule yourself out.
Twenty minutes on the phone, free, no pitch. We talk about what's got you thinking about buying and when your lease ends, then the money: what you pay in rent, roughly what you have set aside, a ballpark credit range. None of it is a judgment. Then I introduce you to a loan officer by name and we set a date to talk again, so it doesn't drift.
Closing costs, earnest money and the inspection are real cash on top of the down payment. Sellers help with closing costs more often than you'd think, and your loan officer gives you the actual figures for your situation. The free buyer guide walks through all of it.
Two years out isn't too early. That's when there's still time to change the answer. Everything gets planned backward from your lease end date, and the earlier we know it, the more options you have.
Want a straight answer instead of a guess?
Book The Numbers Call, or send a note here and I'll get back to you. Call or text 614-515-0978. I won't tell you now is always a good time to buy, and I won't talk you into a house you can't comfortably carry.
Who you'd be talking to
Call me early.
I'm Hayden Stoecklin, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Realty, New Albany/Gahanna office. I help people in Columbus buy their first house — including the ones still renting or early in their careers who assume it’s years away — anywhere in Greater Columbus, at any price point, alongside a loan officer I talk to constantly.
Two years out isn't too early. That's when there's still time to change the answer.
