Hello friends and thanks for joining me this week. My name is Laura Adams and I'm a finance

and small business expert and author who's been hosting the Money Girl Podcast since 2008.

My mission is to help you get the knowledge and motivation to prioritize your finances,

build wealth, and have more security and less stress. I create every show to make sure you come

away with practical advice and actionable strategies to use right away so you can take your financial

life to the next level. Be sure to subscribe to the show and participate by sending me your money

questions or comments I always love hearing from you. There are a few ways you can do that.

One is to leave a voice message 24-7 on our voicemail line that's at 302-364-0308. You can also

send me an email using the contact page at LauraDatoms.com or you might connect with me on Instagram

at LauraDatoms. And if you'd like to read a companion blog post for this or any show,

they're published every week in the Money Girl section at quick and dirty tips.com.

Today's episode is number 693 called what every first time home buyer should know.

I'm doing a series of shows this year geared toward first time financial moves.

But stay with me if you're already a homeowner because I'm going to cover lots of tips that will

help if you decide to sell your home and buy another one. And here's something else you may not know.

In a lot of cases, a first time home buyer can actually be someone who previously owned a home

but has not owned a home for several years. So maybe you've been renting a home, let's say.

Different government programs and tax benefits define this first time home owner status differently.

So you always want to let a potential lender know if you did own a home in the past,

but you've been renting or maybe living with somebody else for the past couple of years.

You may be surprised to find out that you actually qualify as a first-timer.

Now, before we get deeper into today's show on homeownership, I'm going to cover a

...