10 Steps to Buying a Home

1. Determine Your Budget
Before you start viewing properties, meet with a mortgage specialist at your bank or a reputable mortgage broker to determine your budget. The purpose of meeting with your mortgage broker is to obtain a pre-approval. A pre-approval letter is written confirmation from a lender that you are able to borrow up to a specific amount, provided that your financial situation does not change. Having a pre-approval is the closest you can get to being a cash buyer, giving you an advantage over other buyers in this competitive market. 
 

2. Determine Your Search Criteria

Now that you’ve determine your budget, take the time to write down the characteristics you are looking for in a property. Determine which characteristics are your “must-haves”—i.e. if the property doesn’t have it, it’s a definite NO—and which characteristics are “nice-to-haves”. Writing down your search criteria will help you communicate to your realtor what you are looking for and also help you stay focused when you’re viewing properties.

3. Meet with Your Realtor

Meet with your realtor to talk about your budget, search criteria, and any questions you may have about the buying process. I will perform a search on MLS, based on your search criteria and budget and you will be able to go through the search results and point out which properties appeal to you and which don’t. This is a great way for me to get to know you and your preferences so that I will be better equipped to recommend properties for you.

4. View Properties

If you see a property you like, try to view it as soon as possible! The real estate market is competitive for buyers and it is common for properties to be sold within a week. If the property is not hosting an open house, I will contact the listing agent and set-up a private viewing for us to see the property. 

5. Making an Offer

Now that you’ve found a property you like, I will provide you with a valuation of the property, using data of recently sold comparable properties. This valuation will show you the true market value of the property and should be taken into consideration to determine how much you should offer to the seller. You will also have to determine the conditions of your offer, if any, and how long you will need to fulfill your conditions. As part of the offer, you will also have to propose a closing date and a possession date. 
 

Each listing is different. Depending on how much attention the listing has generated from other prospective buyers, I will advise you on how to structure your offer to give you the best chance of receiving an acceptance or counter from the seller. 

6. Negotiating a Deal

After you have signed an offer, I will submit the offer to the listing agent. The listing agent will then consult with the seller and determine how they want to respond to your offer. There are three possible outcomes that can occur once you’ve submitted an offer: accept, counter, or reject.

Accept: The seller has agreed to all the terms and conditions of your offer and is committed to selling you their property. It is now your responsibility to fulfill the conditions of your offer.

Counter: The seller has decided to counter your offer with a different term or terms. The most common term up for negotiations would be the purchase price. If you agree with what the seller is proposing, you can accept or you can choose to counter back. This negotiation will happen until you and the seller can agree on all terms or until one of you decides to walk away. The listing agent and I will be communicating back and forth on your behalf and the seller’s.

Reject: The seller has decided not to entertain your offer. A common reason for this outcome may be because the seller received multiple offers and another buyer submitted a more appealing offer.

7. Fulfilling Your Conditions/Conducting Your Due Diligence

Now that you have an accepted offer in place, it is your responsibility to fulfill the conditions within the time frame you have stated on your offer. I will provide guidance and assist you throughout this process. At the end of the time frame, you will sign a “subject-removal” document that confirms you have satisfied all the conditions to your offer and the deal between you and the seller is firm.

8. Provide the Deposit

Now that you have a firm deal with the seller, you will need to pay the deposit. The deposit is typically payable within 24 hours of you signing the subject-removal form in the form of a bank draft.

The bank draft will be held in a trust account until the closing day. Remember, this deposit forms part of your down-payment (i.e. your deposit is 5% of the purchase price. If you want to put 20% down, on closing day you pay the remaining 15%).

9. Preparing for Closing Day & Possession Day

After you have paid the deposit, contact a lawyer or notary public to make an appointment to complete your transaction. Once you have determined who your legal representative will be, let me know who it is so I can have my office send them all the appropriate documentation to complete the transaction.
 

Closing day typically occurs 30 to 90 days from the day your deal becomes firm. This duration can be shorter or longer depending on what you and the seller have agreed to. Take this time to also start preparing for the move. Set-up your insurance, book a moving truck, contact your utilities companies, shop for furniture, notify important parties of your change in address, etc.

10. Closing Day & Possession Day

Closing day is the day that title of the property is officially transferred from the seller’s name to yours, in exchange for the funds. This is the day that the remainder of your down payment is due and when your mortgage comes into effect.
 

Possession day normally occurs the day after closing day. This is when you receive keys to the property and can officially move-

in to your new home!

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