The Nine Easy Steps to Purchasing Your New Home

Intro

Finding your next or even your first home is no menial task. It is a process that can take up a lot of time and create unnecessary stress in your already busy life! Fortunately there are ways to prepare yourself for the “big move” and for finding your first home. With proper planning and preparation you will be able to make the whole process easier and much more enjoyable. It is always better to encounter less surprises than necessary and set yourself up for success by following these helpful steps …

What Can You Afford?

Before you even begin looking for a new property you need to know your budget. Understanding this can be done in many ways. A great place to start is to record your monthly income and expenses. Knowing how much money you take in monthly and spend monthly is very helpful in determining the type and value of mortgage you can support. Visit a Mortgage Broker and/or your financial institution. Based on your financial position they are able to can tell you the maximum value of home you can purchase. This is often referred to as your “buying power.”

Meet With Your Real Estate Professional

Find the right agent for you! This step is crucial for ensuring a positive experience when  purchasing your next home. Interviewing a few different agents will allow you to find an agent that really fits you and your family’s needs. You will be working closely with this person over the next several months, so making sure they are compatible and will understand your specific situation is extremely important. Expect your agent to be prompt, professional and attentive to your needs  – and make sure to treat them with the same courtesy!

Once you have found an agent that you are comfortable with you can begin to discuss what you are looking for in a home. This includes preferred locations, proximity to amenities, specifics such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms, the style of house and so on.

Your Real Estate Agent’s job is to quantify these needs and begin finding you potential homes that meet them. Remember that needs and wants are very different things, needs are what you absolutely require in a home, wants are things that you could realistically live without but would enjoy having. A good rule of thumb is that you will normally find anywhere between six to eight of your needs in a potential property. Prioritizing your top needs and being realistic about your expectations will make the search for your new home much less stressful.

A good place to start is by using the chart provided below to make a list of your needs and wants. Only allow absolute requirements in the “needs” column. If it something you could realistically live without, then it belongs in the “wants” column. This will be a valuable resource to you and your agent and will help make your search that much easier!

Start your search!

If you have done your due-diligence you now know your budget and what your needs are, this will help your agent find potential properties that are right for you. This will also prevent you from wasting your time and your agents valuable time. Your agent will find potential properties and set up showings for you. He or she will also be a great asset when viewing potential properties as they have seen and been in hundreds of homes and know what things to look for when viewing a home for the first time. You should lean on them heavily during this process.

Submitting an offer

So your agent has helped find the perfect home for you, now what happens?

How do you go about making an offer? What Is the next step? Don’t worry!

This is when your agent really shines! Your agent will guide you through this entire process, helping you navigate through the many required documents and procedures. They will assist you in making a qualified offer based on their market knowledge and personal experience, they will also put their masterful negotiation skills to work for you. Your agent will advise you on what conditions need to be written into a contract and on proper time-frames needed to deal with your financial lender and lawyer. Your agent will be able to refer you to trusted and experienced industry professionals (mortgage brokers, home inspectors, lawyers, etc.) who will work with you to complete your home purchase.

Removal of conditions and financing

Once your offer has been accepted by the seller, you will have ample time to fulfill the conditions and secure financing.  As each condition is satisfied, your agent draws up an amendment to the contract and has the completed condition removed from the offer. After all conditions are removed the sale becomes final!

Lawyers

After conditions are removed and the sale is considered final, your agent and mortgage broker will forward all the necessary documents to your lawyer. The lawyers take care of any adjustments such as property taxes, title registration, mortgage registration, proof of insurance to name a few. Your lawyer and agent will do a lot of work behind the scenes to ensure that you are fully protected from start to finish! Expect closing costs to approximate 1.5% of the purchase price of the home.

(Don’t have a lawyer? No problem! Remember your agent is working for you, utilize their professional network!)

Prepare to move

Start getting ready to move into your new home! This is the final push, begin to pack and declutter. This is the perfect time to purge unwanted items and have a garage sale. It is advised that you always give yourself some financial wiggle room for moving expenses, this ranges from purchasing boxes, hiring movers, renting moving trucks, etc.

Possession day

Possession day is approaching! Make sure you have home insurance in place and have called to set up all your services and utilities. You will need to get into your lawyers office to get the documents signed and get your movers ready to go! Your Real Estate professional will meet you at the predetermined time to hand over the keys and officially congratulate you on successfully making it to possession day alive!

CELEBRATE!

You made it, you have successfully purchased your new home! Now you get to begin the strenuous task of unpacking and decorating! Although the sale is over, you can still lean on your agent. Any good Real Estate agent will continue to provide you exceptional service after close, always feel free to ask them questions and notify them if you have any concerns! A great agent does not leave you high and dry at the close of a sale.

Contact me for more info and to begin the search for your new home!

Matthew Taylor

Cell: 306-537-8238

Email: mtaylor@ccrealty.ca

Matthew Taylor

Hey there, I’m Matthew Taylor. I work with individuals and families looking to buy or sell real estate  in Regina and all surrounding areas who are looking for professional, responsive, and honest service to find the property that is best for them and sell their home in the quickest amount of time for the most amount of money. I want my clients to be the most informed, educated, and knowledgeable when purchasing or selling a home. I’ve been a Realtor® for a few years and I’ve served over 10 families to date. The best praise I’ve ever received from a client was:

“As first time home buyers we were nervous, we didn’t know anything about the real-estate market. Mathew Taylor was an amazing realtor to work with , he answered all our questions and made sure we were taken care of. He truly had our best interest in mind in helping us find the perfect home for our little family . We have nothing but good things to say about Matthew and just keep up the good work”.

Helping people to find the perfect home for them like that, makes me so proud and drives everything I do. If you’re looking for a Realtor who truly has your best interests at heart, Then we might be a good fit. I’ve earned two degrees, one in music performance and another in music education. When I’m not helping people find their perfect home, I can be found playing music, teaching music to kids, spending time with my family and friends, or volunteering at the YWCA. Want to learn more about how we can work together? Call or text me at 306-988-7554.