Worth Every Won: My Honest Review of the “First Home Buying Class” (월급쟁이부자들 내집마련 중급반)

💰 Money Steps | Personal Finance Journey · 🏠 First Home Buying Class Review

🌏 Language: 🇰🇷 KR | 🇺🇸 EN

💰 Review: “내집마련 중급반” by 월급쟁이부자들

Before buying our first home, the most overwhelming part wasn’t money — it was not knowing where to even start. I kept telling myself, “Someday we’ll buy a place,” but once we actually started the home-buying process, I realized how easy it is to get lost in a sea of information.

That’s why I enrolled in the ‘내집마련 중급반’ (roughly, “First Home Buying – Intermediate Course”) by 월급쟁이부자들(a real estate educator). This wasn’t just theory about real estate. It was a very practical class that taught me how to make home ownership possible based on my actual savings, our household income, and what we can realistically afford.

• 💸 Tuition: 406,720 KRW (after card discount)
• 📅 Course period: 2025.07.29 - 2025.09.11
• ⭐ Satisfaction: 5 / 5
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🏡 Week 1 — Budget and Area Targeting (Reality Check)

Week 1 started with one hard question: “What can you actually afford?” We learned how to calculate a realistic loan amount using what we’ve already saved, our household income level, and how much we can keep saving every month.

This was eye-opening. I realized there’s a big gap between “I think we could probably buy around this price” and “This is the price we can safely carry without destroying our monthly cashflow.”

We also covered how to target specific areas based on our budget. Instead of vague ideas like “Seoul is always too expensive” or “You have to go far out to find something cheap,” we used actual price data by neighborhood and apartment complex to pick realistic zones.

By the end of Week 1, I had a shortlist of specific apartment complexes to watch, and it started to feel real: “We’re actually doing this.”

🚉 Week 2 — Shortlisting Real Candidates (From Desk Research to Fieldwork)

Week 2 was about how to tell a “good” complex from a weak one. We broke down what really affects price and long-term value: commute access, schools, neighborhood environment, maintenance, etc.

The class also showed how to use platforms like Naver Real Estate, 호갱노노, and 아실 to gather information from home first — before you start visiting places in person. Thanks to that workflow guide, I was able to narrow things down to around five realistic candidate locations within our budget, even before stepping outside.

🧱 Week 3 — On-Site Checks and Negotiation Details

Week 3 was pure execution. This part alone was worth the tuition for me.

We learned how to:

• Compare multiple listings at the same price and spot the stronger one
• Call real estate offices and ask the right questions before wasting time
• Check the actual unit in person and know what’s a “must-fix” cost vs just “nice-to-upgrade” interior work

For example, we talked about things like water damage, mold, or structural issues (which mean unavoidable cost), versus cosmetic work like paint or entryway storage (which is optional budget, not urgent emergency money).

👥 Group Work — Accountability and Motivation

One of the strongest parts of the program was the group work. We were matched with people looking in similar areas and had weekly video calls to share what we’d found. That structure kept me moving. Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve moved this fast on my own.

💬 Final Thoughts — “Worth Every Won”

I hesitated before signing up because 400k KRW (~$300 USD) felt like a lot for an online class.

But now I think it was the smartest possible timing: right before making one of the biggest financial decisions of our lives.
The class gave me a process, not just information — and I actually used those tips to negotiate the final contract price down.

If you’re serious about a big goal,
learning directly from people who’ve already done it
is the fastest way to save both time and money.

 

🏠 Who I’d Recommend This Class To

• First-time homebuyers who don’t know where to begin
• People who care more about buying a home to live in than “real estate investing”
• Anyone who wants real numbers, real process, and real negotiation tips — not vague motivation

This article is the English version on Today 1 Step.

💰 Money Steps | Personal Finance Journey

This post is part of “Money Steps | Personal Finance Journey,” an ongoing series on Today 1 Step.
I document how we’re building stability step by step — saving, budgeting, buying our first home, and learning to make smarter money decisions as a family.

👉 See more posts: View all Money Steps