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BUYERS
- Home
- Buyers
A Quick Guide to the Home Buying Process
It’s a good idea to get pre-approved for a mortgage before you start looking for a home. But first, you need to understand exactly what being “pre-approved” means.
A pre-approved mortgage lets you know how much you can afford, what your interest rate will be and what your monthly mortgage payments will look like. Getting pre-approved can help you narrow your search down to a specific home type, size or neighbourhood.
Getting pre-approved is not a guarantee of final approval for a mortgage. Once you find the home you want to buy, the property still has to be evaluated to ensure the price and condition of the home are acceptable to your lender.
In a competitive market, sellers may ask for proof of pre-approval. This document can help strengthen your offer! Make sure to get a pre-approved letter before we start viewing homes.
It’s important that we reveal your wants, needs and wishes to find out exactly what you’re looking for in your next home.
- When do you want to be in your new home?
- Do you have pets? or smoke?
- How many parking spots do you need?
- What areas and neighborhoods are you looking at?
- What are some of your must have items?
- What are deal breaker items?
I will have a customized search set up for you based on the criteria we discussed. Private tours can be set up for you to view properties when it’s convenient for you.
Most buyers look at approximately 10 properties and are then ready to make an offer. At that time, if you have not found a home you are looking or — it’s HIGHLY recommended that we sit down and review your criteria to make sure that we are still looking for the right house!
Once you find one you love…it’s time to determine the market value of that property. I will compare that home to others that have sold and from there we will determine the value for the home!
Now is the exciting time! When you are ready to write an offer, I will walk you through the contract. It is important to write a fair offer or you can run the risk of the seller not responding or even losing the property to another buyer making an offer.
- Write the Offer
- Negotiate the Offer
- Satisfy Conditions
By removing your conditions/subjects on the property the Buyer is legally bound to purchase the property. Your deposit cheque will secure the property until completion date.
The immediate step after your offer is accepted is to schedule a home inspection. You will have a certain number of days to complete this inspection after the offer was accepted.
Your home inspection letter will verify that all items considered defective or problems relating to the safety of the home corrected prior to closing.
The title is right to own, possess, use and control of a property. When purchasing a home you are buying a seller’s title to the home. Before closing, a title search is done to ensure there are no liens, or problems that might prevent a clean title for you to close on the home.
An appraisal, is an estimate of the property value. The approval is not only to justify the lender’s investment, but to help keep the buyer from overpaying on a property. Your lender will typically hire an appraiser and charge you the fee at closing.
Final commitment lender’s letter approves your home loan! You will receive a letter and loan term to your mortgage agreement. Your final letter will include your annual percentage rates, monthly fees, and repayment information for the loan.
This involves meeting with your Notary or lawyer to review and sign all papers and finalize the deal. The Notary will typically set up an appointment about a week before the Completion Date.
Some closing costs:
- Property Transfer Tax if applicable
- GST if applicable
- Government registration fees
- Municipal Tax Certificate fee
- Home owner insurance binder fee
- Title insurance fee if applicable
- Strata forms fee if applicable
- Notary/lawyer fees
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