If you’re looking to buy your first home here’s everything you need to know!

(Step 1) First and foremost talk to the bank!  You need to know your budget, there’s no sense in looking at what you can’t afford.  It’s okay to dream but don’t get your hopes crushed by looking at whats out of reach!

(Step 2) Secondly make a list of your must haves, this can really help your realtor find you exactly what you want and need!

(Step 3) Third, get a REALTOR!  When you’re buying a house it’s FREE so why not use an expert!

Keep on reading i’m going to break down each of these steps!

Step 1 Financing

The market always changes but right now the Windsor / Essex-County real estate market is 100% a sellers market.  You need to come into a deal with as little conditions as possible if you want to win and close the deal.

  1. Talk to a mortgage specialist or broker and get Pre-Approved!  You need to know exactly what you can spend you don’t want to be scrambling asking family for loans to cover what you thought you could afford.
  2. Down Payment is a huge deal.  I’m sure you’ve heard of CMHC?  Well CMHC sets rules for home buying and down payment requirements.  Chances are in Windsor / Essex as a first time home buyer you’ll be buying under $500,000.00 the rules in place for a home of $500k or less is you need 5% down.  What this means is for a home asking price of $100k you need $5000 to put down and so on.  See the rules and calculate exactly what you need HERE.
  3. Closing costs and Land transfer.  Lawyer fees can add up make sure you retain a good trust worthy lawyer to take care of closing arrangements without any hidden fees.  The government of Canada has created programs that will actually cover some expenses and portions of land transfer tax for first time home buyers.  Learn all about it right HERE.  What you might not know is that even if you owned a home as long as your spouse has never been on title they are eligible for a portion of the incentives offered by the Canadian Government.

Now that financing is in order you can comfortably look at houses in your price range and when the time is right you can confidently submit your offer and know you can afford your dream home!

Step 2 The list

What you want and need in a home is super important.  You don’t want to waste time looking at a million houses just to be disappointed that it doesn’t have enough rooms or is missing that breakfast nook.

Start your list off with the following:

  1. 5 top desired neighbourhoods
  2. Top home styles you like.  (ex: ranch, 2 story, back-split) you get the gist.
  3. Number of rooms
  4. Number of bathroom
  5. You must have features.  (ex: garage, breakfast nook, scenic views) whatever your heart desires!

The biggest thing you need on top of this list is an open mind.  In a sellers market you need to be aggressive and keep in mind that you might not get everything on your list but you can certainly get most of it!

Step 3 Get a Realtor

We’ve all seen the bus benches and billboard adds, there’s a plethora of Realtors in the area.  What you need is someone who’s going to help you with every step, answer your questions, and get you the home of your dreams.  Believe it or not the billboard realtor probably isn’t your best option.  If you’re prepared to be 1 of 200 clients chances are you’re going to fall off the agents radar really quick especially as a first time buyer.  They’d much rather deal with their multi million dollar clients.  A good bet is to get someone newer to the market who has the knowledge but also the tenacity, desire and ability to make you client number 1.  You might think a new agent can’t get the job done.  But when your 1 of maybe 10 clients you’re always at the top of the list!  If you need a REALTOR who’s going to eat, sleep, and live your real estate needs click HERE.

 

The breakdown.

  1. Talk to your bank, mortgage specialist or mortgage broker and figure out how much you can spend
  2. Figure out how to get your down payment
  3. Make sure you have enough to cover closing fees, lawyer costs, land transfer etc.  Take full advantage of the Government of Canada programs.
  4. Make a list of what you want out of a house, with your must haves, location of choice etc.
  5. Get a Realtor.  It’s free especially as a buyer so why not!

It’s not that hard when you break it down.  If your still unsure Let’s Get In Touch, I’m happy to help you along in this journey!