Portland Metro Buyer’s Academy

I’m Derek Poe, a licensed Realtor in Oregon and Washington, and I created the Portland Metro Buyer’s Academy to help buyers better understand the home-buying process.

Buying your first home is one of the biggest financial decisions you’ll ever make. It’s exciting—a place to call your own. But it can also feel overwhelming. Between financing, searching for the right home, inspections, negotiations, and closing paperwork, it’s easy to feel lost before you even get started.

In fact, many people put off buying a home simply because they don’t know where to begin.

If you’ve been researching online, you’ve probably noticed something frustrating. Most articles answer one question at a time. One explains credit scores. Another talks about down payments. A different one covers inspections or closing costs.

The information may be helpful, but it doesn’t always show you how all the pieces fit together.

That’s exactly why I created the Portland Metro Buyer’s Academy—to bring the entire process together in one place.

I’m not trying to convince you to buy a home today. My goal is to help you understand the process so you can make good decisions when you’re ready.

And that part is important—when you’re ready.

Whether you’re planning to buy in the next few months or you’re simply thinking about homeownership, the Academy is designed to walk you through the process from deciding whether you’re ready to buy all the way through receiving the keys to your new home.

You can start with the first guide and work through the Academy in order, or jump directly to the question you need answered today.

1.      Are You Ready to Buy a Home?

2.      How Much House Can You Really Afford?

3.      How Much Do You Need for a Down Payment?

4.      What Credit Score Do You Need to Buy a Home?

5.      Is Now a Good Time to Buy a Home?

6.      Will Mortgage Interest Rates Go Down?

7.      Closing Costs Explained: What Home Buyers Need to Know

8.      How Long Does It Really Take to Buy a House?

9.      Finding the Right Home

10. Making an Offer and Negotiating

11. Home Inspections and Negotiating Repairs

12. From Appraisal to Closing Day

Bonus: Welcome Home: Your First Year as a Homeowner

Each guide focuses on one part of the buying process and is designed to give you straightforward, practical information without making the process more complicated than it needs to be.

If you’re just getting started, begin with Are You Ready to Buy a Home? and work your way through the Academy.

If you’re already somewhere along the journey, find the question that matters to you right now and start there.

Either way, the goal is the same: to help you understand what comes next and make your decisions with better information and more confidence.

Every buyer’s situation is different. An online guide can explain the process, but it can’t account for every financial situation, goal, property, or question that may come up along the way.

If you don’t see the answer you’re looking for, feel free to reach out. I’m always happy to answer questions or help you understand how something applies to your situation.

And if it’s a question other buyers would benefit from, there’s a good chance it may become a future addition to the Portland Metro Buyer’s Academy.