Your First Home

About Your First Home

Welcome to Your First Home Podcast - I'm your host and homebuying expert Stacie Rihl and I've spent the last 8 years helping first-time homebuyers like you make their dreams of owning a home reality. Buckle up, because we're about to demystify the process and learn everything we should have been taught in school about the biggest and most exciting purchase you'll ever make. Your first home.

Publisher

Stacie Rihl | First-Time Homebuying Expert

Category

education · education

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

14 Oct 2025

Latest episode

21 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

41 of 57 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   21 Oct 2026

   56. How to Buy a House Alone in Your 20s, with Sarena Tseng

   Can you actually buy a house on your own in your 20s in this market? My guest Sarena Tseng did it at 26, buying in the Austin area in 2025 as a solo first-time homebuyer. She's sharing the real numbers with us: how much she had saved, why she put just 3% down and happily pays PMI, how house hacking with roommates makes her mortgage work, and the $12,000 kitchen refresh that turned an outdated house into one she loves. We also get into the costs nobody warned her about and what owning a home alone looks like once you have the keys. ➞ Ready to take the first step of finding your first home? Connect with a FAME agent in your area (it's free!) WHAT YOU'LL LEARN TODAY: How much a solo first-time homebuyer actually had saved before buying, and why you want liquid cash instead of pulling from investments Why she chose a 3% down conventional loan through a Fannie Mae first-time homebuyer program, and what her PMI really costs each month The closing costs and ongoing expenses that caught her off guard, including lender's title insurance, prepaid HOA dues, and homeowners insurance How house hacking with roommates made a mortgage affordable on a single income Why mortgage calculators on Zillow tend to underestimate your real monthly payment How she turned an older, "technically turnkey" home into her dream space with a $12,000 kitchen update Why the house she bought wasn't her favorite online, and how a must-have list kept her open-minded What life looks like after closing as a solo homeowner, from furnishing on a budget to window treatments RESOURCES MENTIONED: Find a First-Time Home Buyer Agent Home Buying 101 | Free Class How Much House Can I Afford | Workbook Follow Sarena on Instagram and TikTok MORE EPISODES ON BUYING A HOUSE SOLO: Episode 40: Buying a House Solo vs. With a Partner: What First-Time Homebuyers Need to Know Episode 3: Can you realistically buy a house solo? With Lily Wyss CONNECT WITH ME: Follow me on Instagram Visit my website CHAPTERS: 00:00 — Is it possible to buy a house solo? 01:29 — Sarena's story: buying solo near Austin at 26 02:44 — How she knew she was financially ready 04:22 — How much she had saved before buying ($50K) 05:39 — Surprise costs: closing costs, HOA, and homeowners insurance 08:53 — Why she put 3% down (and her honest take on PMI) 12:36 — Setting a realistic budget with house hacking 15:25 — Buying an older home and a $12K kitchen refresh 20:55 — What surprised her: listing photos, fast timelines, and phone calls 25:47 — Nerves, research, and whether she's glad she bought 29:32 — Advice for solo buyers: build your team and know your must-haves 32:08 — Life after closing: furniture, mail keys, and window treatments

2. 

   14 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   55. The Getting Started Series: How to Make an Offer on a House

   Host [Host Name] guides first-time homebuyers through the house hunting process and explains how to confidently make an offer on a home.

3. 

   7 Oct 2026TRANSCRIPT

   54. Where to Start to Buy a House: Step 3 - How to Get Pre-approved

   Host [Host Name] guides first-time homebuyers through securing pre-approval, clarifying the crucial difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval to ensure they find a trustworthy lender and are ready to buy.

Inside a recent episode

55. The Getting Started Series: How to Make an Offer on a House

Published 14 Oct 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] If you like this house, you will probably need to write your offer that day if you want to get it. Or if you're looking at a house that has been for sale on the market for three months and there's no one else interested, you probably have a day or two to decide if you want to write an offer or not. And this situation is why it's so important to have your prep meeting and understand your budget ahead of time, because you might be in a situation where you do need to make a decision about that house fairly quickly within a day, sometimes even a couple hours, and doing that prep work ahead of time will help you be able to make a quick decision with confidence. […]

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

21 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

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Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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