Buying a house can be a long and stressful process, especially nowadays with the housing market in the Truckee Meadows and across the western region.

To help potential buyers navigate the long process, the Reno Home Buyer Team and the Freedom Fighters Home Buyer Team hosted an expo to help inform the public of what they need, and what programs they can take advantage of to help alleviate costs.

"So they understand it 100 percent," President-Elect for the Reno-Sparks Association of Realtors, says. "They can ask all the questions they want and feel comfortable again and know of the different programs that are out there."

The expo held three different seminars; one for veterans, one for first-time home buyers, and one for Spanish speakers. 

Gus Mamuric works at Tesla and was recently honorably discharged from the Army. Mamuric is looking for a house in Reno, but says he had no idea where to start before Saturday.

"I need help," Mamuric says. "And I need someone to help me walk through this because I'm brand new to the real estate industry."

Mamuric says he didn't realize how many moving parts and outside people come in to help with the process, as well as the extra fees for those people to do things, like inspections. Mamuric also learned about some benefits he's earned by serving, like a VA loan.

"One of the great things about the VA loan is that it gives you zero down," Mamuric says. "And [the presenter] was actually talking about a grant that helps covering some of the costs, some of the closing fees, in the real estate process."

While first-time buyers like Mamuric have more to learn about the process, Reyes says there are plenty of things experienced home-owners can learn. She says they often receive questions from previous home owners about credit.

"What we found is that some people were maybe a bit cautious in previous years," Reyes says. "Because maybe they lost their home to foreclosures or short sales and didn't know how to start that process over again."

Every homeowner faces hurdles along the way, but Reyes says there are programs for every buyer out there to help save costs and make buying a home a little easier.

Mamuric says after attending Saturday's expo, he's ready to take the next step.

"Save up some money to put a good down payment," Mamuric says. "And then keep relationships with these people that want to help, because they definitely know what they're doing."

For more information of the Reno Home Buyer Team, click here: http://renohomebuyerteam.com/

For more information on the Freedom Fighters Home Buyer Team, click here: https://www.facebook.com/vafreedomfighters/