Financing your home

The first thing you’ll need to buy a home is is put money aside for a down payment. This will need to be at least 5% of the purchase price of the home you’re planning to buy, or 20% if the purchase price is over $1 Million. Second, you’ll need to meet with your bank or mortgage broker to determine what you can afford. Shopping around for the best rate is highly recommended.

Visualize Your Dream Home

This is the fun part. Once you’ve established a price range, it’s time to decide what type of home will best suit your lifestyle. It can be prudent to choose your neighbourhood based on proximity to work, schools and services that are important to you. With regards to the home itself, it is helpful to write down on paper the aspects of a home that you consider most important: parking, bedrooms, bathrooms, and layout, for example.

Meet With a Real Estate Agent

It’s important to partner with a Real Estate Agent you feel completely comfortable with. A REALTOR® will set you up with viewing appointments, and also help bring clarity to the complicated process of buying a home. An experienced and knowledgeable REALTOR® will represent your best interests, and make sure you don’t overpay for a home.

The Search

Seeing pertinent new listings as soon as they become available can make the difference between submitting a successful offer, or getting caught in a bidding war. Contact Leo to get set up with email searches, or download his app here, which is the only way to see pending listings.

Closing

Submitting an offer is a big moment! Leo will help you navigate the terms and details of your offer to help best protect you in your purchase. Sellers can either accept, counter, or reject your offer. Leo will help you negotiate the best purchase price for your home.

After reaching an accepted offer, you’ll need to conduct a home inspection and deal with any repairs (the cost of which you can also negotiate with the seller). Finalize your mortgage with a visit to your lender, and you’re ready to sign off on ownership. This typically takes place in a lawyer’s office.

At this point, congratulations are in order! Becoming a new homeowner is one of the most liberating things you’ll ever experience. There are many benefits to home ownership — pride of ownership, the ability to make home improvements, building equity, appreciation — the list goes on.