Asim’s Quick Guide To Buying A Home
Whether you’re buying your first home or simply looking to switch up your current living situation after years in your home – this buying guide is for you. We’ll walk you through the key milestones of the transaction and what you can do to make it the smoothest sale.
Define Your Goals & Do Your Research
Buying a home is a huge step. Which makes it even more important for you to educate and prepare yourself as much as possible in advance. This means clearly determining why you’re buying. Know what kind of home you’re looking for and what your budget is. For the majority of people buying a home and having a mortgage go hand-in-hand. This means that you should also examine your current financial situation and project how much you can afford.
Once you’ve answered these questions, even tentatively, you’ll be in a better position to research your housing and mortgaging options. This also allows you to create an action plan and timelines for moving forward.
Contact A Real Estate Agent
Given that there are so many factors to consider and no two homes or transactions are alike, buying a home can be a complex endeavour. However, with all the unique opportunities and potential pitfalls of the current market, it’s even more important for you to contact a real estate agent once you’ve definitely decided to buy.
Get Pre-Approved For A Mortgage
If you have a strong intention to buy a home, get prequalified for a loan before you start viewing any potential properties. The pre-approval process involves meeting with a lender and authorizing them to examine your current financial situation and credit history. Based on the overall outcome of this evaluation, the lender will outline the amount that you are pre-approved for and supporting documentation. You may want to consider looking online to see what different lenders offer, such as on iconnect.ca, or contact your local bank or credit union. Shopping around will help you secure the best rates.
View Homes In-person And Select The ONE
While viewing online is convenient and can help you narrow down your list of contenders, it’s also important to view homes in person. While all homes might seem similar online, homes can actually be very different in terms of layout, design, workmanship. It’s also recommended to invite your agent to view the homes with you. They might catch the things that you miss. Plus, your agent will act as an impartial sounding board. They will help you evaluate your next steps and come down to the choice that best fits your needs!
Negotiate And Close The Deal
Found the home you’d like to buy? Welcome to the most exciting and nerve-wracking part of the home buying process – the offer! Your local real estate association has worked with legal counsel to develop the contracts used for transactions in your area. These are the documents that will be used to formally submit an offer. Within these contracts, you can specify a sale price, include various terms of sale such as the closing and possession dates, your deposit amount, and other conditions that must be met for the sale to go through.
Once we’ve written the offer, we will present it to the seller and/or the seller’s representative. Generally, the seller can accept your offer, reject it, or counter it to initiate the negotiation process. If the terms of your initial offer aren’t accepted, successive counter-offers will be exchanged between you and the seller. This will continue until a mutually-satisfactory pending agreement is reached or the negotiations breakdown. The offers often include deadlines for review and next steps.
These are just some of the steps that we take to ensure you can buy your dream home and close with confidence. Want to learn more? Download the complete Buyer’s Guide today!