Before you find a house,
find out what’s possible.
I help every first-time home buyer across Metro Atlanta find out what they may qualify for, down payment assistance included. We do that long before they start looking at houses.
Jonesboro · Fayetteville · Stockbridge · McDonough · Hampton · Morrow · Clayton, Henry & Fayette Counties
Most first-time buyers don’t stall because they can’t afford a home
They stall because nobody ever showed them what was possible.
Almost every buyer I meet has already talked themselves out of it once. Usually it is because of something they heard, something a website said, or a number they assumed. Then we sit down and look at the actual programs, and the whole picture changes.
A large part of my business is helping buyers who may not realize homeownership is within their reach. That work starts with a conversation, not a listing.
Think you need thousands saved to buy your first home?
You may have more options than you think.
Through My First Castle, Alicia helps first-time buyers explore down payment assistance, grants, financing options and homebuyer programs. So you can understand what it would realistically take to become a homeowner.
Assistance programs
regularly explored
Steps from first call
to keys in hand
Core counties
served
Every consultation,
personally
You may need far less upfront than you think
Georgia has real assistance programs built for first-time buyers — and most people never hear about a single one of them.
Toward your down payment
Assistance programs and grants may reduce the cash you need to bring to the table.
Toward your closing costs
Lender credits and seller concessions can cover lender fees, title work and prepaids.
Sometimes toward both
A few programs apply to both, and can layer with a contribution from the seller.
The whole process,
before you talk to anyone.
A plain-English walkthrough of buying your first home in Georgia. It covers what you actually need saved, which assistance programs exist, and the ten steps from first question to keys.
- What you really need upfront — and why it is rarely twenty percent.
- The Georgia assistance programs most first-time buyers never hear about.
- Down payment and closing costs, separated and explained.
- The ten steps, in order, with rough timings.
Free · No obligation · Made for Georgia first-time homebuyers
Ten steps, and you always know which one you’re on
From the first conversation to the keys in your hand. Most first-time purchases run between two and four months. Every stage is explained before it happens, so nothing arrives as a surprise.
Full buyer representation, with the education wrapped around it
Six things that are always included — whether you buy this quarter or next year.
Buyer Representation
The entire homebuying process — consultation, pre-approval, home search, offers, negotiations, inspections, appraisal and closing.
First-Time Buyer Guidance
Step-by-step education so you understand the process, the terminology, the costs and the timeline before you begin shopping.
Assistance & Closing-Cost Guidance
Exploring available down-payment assistance, grants, lender programs and seller-paid closing costs — then connecting you with the right lender.
Home Search & Private Tours
Homes matched to your budget, your location, your lifestyle and your financing requirements, toured on your schedule.
Offer Strategy & Negotiation
Comparable sales, market conditions, seller motivation and days on market shape an offer that competes while still protecting you.
Inspection & Closing Support
Inspections, repair negotiations, appraisal issues, lender requirements and the closing attorney — actively managed.
Someone in your corner, start to finish
Hands-on, education-focused, and genuinely invested in whether this works out for you — not just someone opening doors.
Every step gets explained in plain language, as many times as you need it. No jargon, and no question treated as too basic.
Alicia connects buyers with mortgage professionals based on their situation and the programs they may qualify for. Never on a referral arrangement.
Offers, negotiations, inspections, appraisal issues, lender requirements and the closing attorney are all actively managed. So they are not left to you. And if the honest answer is “not yet,” you will hear it, together with a realistic plan for getting there.
Rooted in South Metro Atlanta
Alicia works with buyers throughout Metro Atlanta, with a primary focus on Clayton, Henry and Fayette counties. These are the communities where a first-time home buyer most often finds a home that actually works.
Clayton County
Jonesboro
Morrow
Riverdale
Henry County
Stockbridge
McDonough
Hampton
Fayette County
Fayetteville
South Metro Atlanta and the surrounding communities — and buyers and sellers throughout Georgia.
Two buyers who were sure the answer was no
Both stories started with the same sentence. Both ended at a closing table.
From “I don’t think I can buy” to homeowner
A first-time buyer came to Alicia certain that buying a home wasn’t financially possible for her. Instead of telling her to wait, they looked at her real situation. Then they explored the down payment assistance open to her.
Within about three months, she went from questioning whether homeownership was possible to purchasing her home.
Two sisters buy a home together
Alicia helped two sisters purchase a home together. She structured the transaction so that what they needed upfront was significantly reduced.
They bought their home with approximately $1,500 out of pocket toward the purchase. Seller concessions helped cover additional closing expenses.
No question is too basic
Less than most people assume. The twenty-percent figure describes one type of conventional loan; it is not a requirement for most first-time buyers. Depending on the loan and the programs available, some buyers may qualify for low-down-payment financing, down-payment assistance, grants or seller-paid closing costs that reduce what is needed upfront.
Your number depends on your income, your credit, the county and the price. The only way to find it is to look at your actual situation with a lender — which is what a buyer consultation is for.
No. Credit requirements vary by loan type and by assistance program, and several first-time buyer programs are built for buyers still working on their credit. Please don’t decide you can’t qualify based on a score you saw in a banking app — the score lenders use is often a different number entirely.
Speak with Alicia and a lender first. If today isn’t your day, you’ll leave with a specific plan instead of a guess.
They are two separate expenses. The down payment is the portion of the purchase price you pay yourself. Closing costs are the fees required to complete the transaction — lender fees, attorney fees, title work, the appraisal, and prepaid taxes and insurance.
Some programs help with one, some with both, and in some transactions a seller may agree to contribute toward closing costs. See the full breakdown.
Possibly. Many programs define a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a primary residence in the past three years, and some waive the requirement entirely in targeted areas or for qualifying veterans. Eligibility depends on the specific program, so it is worth asking rather than assuming.
Many do — along with maximum purchase-price limits and property-location requirements. Those limits vary by county and household size and change from time to time. Alicia and your lender will review the current guidelines that apply to your household and the areas you’re shopping in.
Because browsing listings is the easy part. Knowing your realistic price range, which programs you may qualify for and how to write an offer that gets accepted is where buyers get stuck. When you’re ready to browse, Alicia’s live listing search is at ATLHomeSearchNow.com.
Find out what’s possible
Book a free buyer consultation. Bring every question you’ve been embarrassed to ask, and leave knowing exactly where you stand.