Buying a house here is not the same as buying one in Fargo or Minneapolis, and most of the advice online is written for markets that look nothing like ours.

I put this together for the people I talk to most: first-time buyers, and people who bought once a long time ago and forgot how the whole thing goes. It’s the stuff I end up explaining in driveways and over text anyway.

What’s inside

• What your money actually gets you in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks right now
• The steps in order, from pre-approval to keys, and roughly how long each one takes
• What to look at in a North Dakota house that people from warmer places never think to check
• Questions worth asking before you write an offer
• What closing costs really run here