Real Estate
8 Steps To Buying a Home
Purchasing your first home is one of the biggest and best choices you will ever make. In fact, a home is one of the largest and most emotional investments many will face in their lifetime. If you don’t even know, you’re in luck. Here in this article, we talk about the 8 steps to buying a home.
1. Deciding To Buy
There’s honestly never a wrong time to buy real estate. The key is to find the right home for you to purchase based on your wants and needs. It is also important to take the time to carefully evaluate your finances. It is perfectly alright to know that you don’t have to know about everything.
2. Hiring a Great Buyer's Agent
When you’re looking for a real estate professional to help you, know that great agents always put their clients first. This is your dream, and your agent’s only goal should be to help you make your dream come true. As such, a great real estate agent will take the time educate you about the current real estate market and everything related. Whether you need help with securing proper financing or require a home inspection, they can always refer you to the proper third party so that you’re in good hands.
3. Securing Finance
To make the financing process as painless as possible, ask your agent to introduce you to the preferred financial institution. A good mortgage agent will work with you and your real estate agent to make sure your purchasing process is as smooth as possible. As such, a good mortgage agent will take the time to review your current financials and discuss about the options available to you during the home purchasing process. It is perfectly alright to consult more than one financial institution as you want to secure the best interest rates, loan pre-approval as you can. Every dollar counts.
4. Finding Your Home
Since you’re reading this article, you’re most likely very busy and don’t have the time to constantly browse for every property available in the real estate market. With the help of great real estate agents, they can help you more accurately identify, categorize and prioritize your list of features. Afterwards, they will personally vet through all potential homes that fit your criteria and identify key factors that can help you make an informed decision.
5. Making An Offer
Once you’ve found a home that you love, the next step is to submit a registered offer. It’s important to remember that a home is also an investment. It is important to look to your real estate agent to explain and guide you through the offer process. Typically, your real estate agent will give you an idea of comparable home values in the neighbourhood to help you decide on the purchase price. There are also important factors to consider when writing an offer, such as deciding the closing date that you want or including certain clauses and conditions to give you a better piece of mind.
6. Performing The Due Diligence
Once your registered offer has been accepted, you have a limited time fulfill all of the clauses and conditions associated with it. Whether you require a home inspection or an appraiser, your real estate agent should guide you through the process of fulfilling all the clauses and conditions. If you discover any unexpected surprises, it is important to let your real estate agent know so that they can assess the situation and discuss with you about the options to resolve it.
7. Closing Day
Buying a home can be an anxiety-inducing time, even on closing day. Remember to stay in control of your finances and don’t make any large purchases during this time. It’s important to keep your financials steady throughout the buying process. Keep in touch with your real estate agent, financial institution and lawyer as it’s important to stay in constant communication with them during this process. On closing day, a few important things will happen.
- Your payment will be transferred over to the previous home owner.
- Your name will be registered to a mortgage and now have a monthly responsibility to pay your financial institution.
- You will have to pay a Land Transfer Tax (LTT) to the Province and/or Municipality. You can find more information about it here.
- Your name will also be registered on the title to prove ownership of the property.
- Your lawyer will give you the keys to your new home.
Don’t be afraid to ask any questions. Your team is there to help you.
8. Protecting Your Investment
The home-buying process is complete and you’re officially a home-owner! Being a home owner also comes with great responsibilities; it is important to protect your investment for years to come. Performing routine maintenance on your home’s systems is always more affordable than having to fix big problems later. Remember, just because the sale is complete, your relationship with your real estate agent doesn’t need to end! They can still help you by providing information on the real estate market, finding contractors and repair services, and even tracking your home’s current value.
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