So, you have saved for your down payment. Now what?

Buying a home is one of life’s exciting events. But at the same time, it can be stressful. There’s a lot at stake, big decisions, unfamiliar territory, and lots of paperwork involved.  Here are 7 tips on making it a little easier.

Step 1 – Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

Prior to starting your house hunting journey, one of the most important steps is to get pre-approved for a mortgage which allows you to know how much you can afford and if you will be comfortable with the size of the mortgage payment.  It also may be a valuable asset when making an offer to purchase or negotiate with the seller as it shows you are serious and have your finances in place. Locate a competent mortgage broker who is familiar with a range of options and products for you. Keep in mind that pre-approval doesn’t guarantee you will get a mortgage on the property of your choice.

Step 2 – Build your Wish List

It’s important to consider what your wants and needs are when choosing a property. Taking into consideration your budget, what are the ‘must haves’ that you can afford. What are the most important features or qualities of the home you want to purchase? Consider your wants vs needs and list in order of importance. Taking the time to narrow down this list in level of importance will help steer you in your decision making when you start looking at homes.

Step 3 – Hire a Real Estate Agent

With the above information in hand it’s time to find a real estate agent who can assist in the process of finding the right house. You might ask: Do I need a realtor to buy a home? Technically no, you don’t. However, the buyer’s agent will work in your best interest to help guide you through the process, help you avoid any potential pitfalls, write and negotiate a legally binding contract, and assist with facilitating completion and possession of your new property. Best part, it doesn’t cost you anything to use the buying agent as they are paid through the closing of the sealed deal from the seller. Why would you want to do it alone if you can get the help of a professional without having to pay.

Step 4 – Start your Search

One of the many benefits of hiring a real estate agent is that they can set you up with an automatic custom search to receive new listings that come to market with your parameters set up in the system via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). This will save you time from having to look yourself. If something should pop up that ticks some of your ‘must haves’, it’s time to go view the properties. Most buyers view multiple properties prior to narrowing it down to a short list. And often if possible, they like to view the property a second time. If your revisiting multiple properties it’s a good idea to note down what you like and don’t like about each property, and or take pictures as sometimes you walk away and forget specific details.

Step 5 – Yes! We Found Our Dream Home – Time to Make an Offer

The preparation of an offer requires discussion about some key elements, such as price, deposit amount, dates (completion and possession, subject removal) & subject clauses. Your real estate agent is an excellent resource in helping guide you through this process. Including doing a comparative market analysis on what recent sales of similar properties in the area have gone for to determine price. While also discussing the pros and cons of common subject clauses to include in the offer such as financing, inspection, insurance, reviewing documents such as title, strata and property disclosure statements.

Step 6 – After the Offer is Accepted – Conduct Due Diligence

If you have included subjects within your offer and it has been accepted, it is time to conduct your due diligence. Subjects are usually given a 7-10 day period to perform the due diligence. For instance, if you included Subject to Financing, this allows you time to check in with your lender to appraise the property and ensure the property is worth what the accepted offers says it is and to confirm that the buyer can afford the mortgage. Once you get confirmation in writing that the financing or mortgage is approved you can remove the subject.

Once the removal of all the subjects has taken place, and the contract becomes unconditional, you have technically purchased the home via a legally binding contact. At this time, you will need to submit your deposit cheque.

Separate from subject clauses, in January 2023, new rules were implemented for the ‘cooling off’ period,  whereby the buyer has 3 business days after the seller’s acceptance of the offer to decide if they still want to proceed with the purchase. Should the buyer change their mind for any reason and decide to rescind the contract of purchase and sale, the buyer must pay a recission fee of 0.25 of the purchase price to the seller.

Step 7 – Completing the Purchase – Prepare the Transfer Paperwork

Part of the process will include hiring a real estate lawyer or notary public that will make sure that the paperwork is correct, assist with transferring the title of the property into your name, along with the money transfer and final mortgage documents protecting your interests. This is referred to as Completion Day. It’s also very important to get property insurance, from this day forward, even though the Possession Date is most likely a day or more after the closing date. The reason for this is that should anything happen to the property in that transitional time, it is now technically your property and therefore your liable if something was to happen to the property.

Keep in mind there will be other closing costs on top of the lawyer fees, such as property transfer tax, property tax adjustments, appraisal costs and inspection costs, just to name a few.

And finally comes the big day to celebrate, the day the keys are handed over to you. Congratulations on your new home!

Considering selling your house? There is lots to do before listing your home!

We all want top dollar for our homes, right? It’s time to roll up our sleeves and get down to work before listing your home.

Read through this checklist for some things you can knock off in less than an hour, while others might take weeks and require hiring professional help.

1) Create Curb Appeal
It’s important that your home makes a good first impression. That certainly includes outside as much as it does inside. Buyer’s are likely to do a drive by the property before actually setting up an appointment to view and or visiting a scheduled open house. Listen to that good old advice our mom’s gave us, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Make sure the outside is well-kept, tidy and inviting. It’s important to power wash the driveway and walkways, touch-up or completely repaint the trim and front door, keep the lawn freshly cut, shrubs and trees trimmed, and the flower beds spruced up with fresh topsoil and brightly coloured flowers. The entryway is equally important. Change out the entrance mat and include seasonal plants or décor if space permits.

2) Declutter & Depersonalize
One of the easiest things to do that won’t cost you a penny is declutter and depersonalize your home. It’s important to get into the mindset that you are wanting to put something on the market that a buyer can imagine themselves living in. Think of it as turning your home into a show home. Simply put, it’s time to pack up your family photos, memorabilia, collections and personal keepsakes. As well as clear off all surfaces in places such as the kitchen and bathroom counters. Minimize the amount of furniture you have too and leave as much open space as possible. A home stager might be worth considering hiring to assist with arranging your furniture and décor to best showcase your homes floor plan to maximize the use of the space.

3) Finish Projects and Repairs That Need Attending To
Often homeowners have a couple of projects that never seem to get finished. Like that new mirror they plan on putting up in the bathroom. I speak from experience. It took me until the Pandemic to finish painting the trim in my house that had sat for years after we had completed our renovations. Now is the time to get those projects complete. Take it to the finish line.
Have a good look around the house and make sure anything and everything that needs to be fixed is fixed before listing your home. Look for things like leaky faucets, chipped baseboards, stained ceilings, broken items, burnt out light bulbs. Buyers will notice all of these deficiencies and will ask themselves if these items are outstanding what other maintenance hasn’t been done throughout the house.
Money well worth spending is getting a fresh coat of paint on the walls. Keep the colours as neutral as possible. Neutrals help make the home appear bigger, brighter and more welcoming, and convey a blank slate to potential buyers.

4) Clean, Clean, & Clean!
This might be the most important step you take to get your home sold. Perhaps it’s worth considering hiring a cleaning crew. A deep clean before the house goes on the market is well worth it’s money. I would also suggest getting the carpets professionally cleaned too, it might bring new life to them, preventing you from perhaps replacing them. Not only does it help with that first impression, it leaves you with just needing to do the maintenance between showings.
And yes, buyers do look in closets and cabinets – so I highly recommend you clean them out. There never seems to be enough storage, so instead of using this space to store all the personal stuff I suggest you rent off premise storage to house half of your belongings while your house is on the market. Or if need be place items in labeled rubber storage bins and place in the garage neatly ready for move out day.

5) Hire the right Real Estate Agent.
It’s important to interview a few real estate agents before hiring the one that works best for you. Start by asking friends and family for a recommendation. Or contact your local brokerage or search online to find an agent in your area. An agent’s job is to handle many aspects of selling your home including researching the market, marketing the property, coordinate viewings, and negotiating the price. Your agent will research comparable properties in your area to assist in setting a realistic price. They are there to provide peace of mind during the selling process. The ideal person will know the local market, and have your best interest in mind. Ultimately, you should have a good feeling about them. Trust your gut. Go with the person who you feel will serve you best during the course of your relationship with them.

This list will pay off and ensure you get top dollar. Depending on the extent of the work you need to complete make sure to give yourself enough time (2-6 weeks) to complete before having your real estate agent list your property.