Buyers Tips

Buying a home is the largest investment most people will make in their lifetime. The exercise is neither fast nor easy, but a little bit of knowledge will take most of the mystery out of the process.

Before embarking on your journey, take a moment to review the following tips. They will assist in making the process more efficient and take some of the stress out of home buying:

• Know how much you can afford. Why waste time looking at homes that are not in your price range?

• Determine your down payment. This will allow you to calculate how much you need to borrow and establish a price point.

• Get pre-approved for a mortgage.

• Know where you want to live. Determine areas that best suit your needs.

• Decide what type of home you want to buy. There are a number of housing types available to today’s real estate consumers. Single-family detached homes are most popular but there are also semi-detached homes, links, condominium apartments and town homes, as well as co-ops from which to choose. Each has different characteristics that are more or less suited to individual lifestyles.

• Determine what you need in a home. How many bedrooms or bathrooms do you need? Is there enough parking for your car(s)?

• Choose a realtor. Find an agent that you are comfortable with -- someone you can trust and who understands your needs.

• Hire a home inspector. Home inspections will identify any potential problems and help to save you time and money.

• Investigate alternatives available to you. Government incentives have been introduced to stimulate activity in housing markets across the country. Two of the programs that are currently available -- access to RRSPs for first-time homebuyers and the CMHC’s five per cent down payment plan -- help make homeownership more attainable for all Canadians.