Buyer Information

Whether it's the first time you buy a home or the 10th time, it is an exciting time for you and your family and it is important that it also be a pleasant time. You can read all the books you want and listen to all the advice your friends and family are going to be giving you (whether you want the advice or not) but the final decision is going to be yours and yours alone. That’s an exciting time but also sometimes a scary time. There are a lot of questions you are going to have and where do you find the answers ?

Buying a home is likely to be the biggest single financial transaction of your life. It can be a very exciting and emotional experience, but sound advice from your real estate professional will go a long way to making it a smooth and problem free process.

Typically, there are many steps involved in the process of buying a home, including:

  1. meeting with your realtor
  2. determining your needs
  3. financing options
  4. looking at properties
  5. making an offer - the contract of purchase and sale
  6. completion and moving
  7. additional costs

While not every real estate transaction will involve all of these steps, we have provided information on each so you will know what to expect.

Let's take a look at a brief outline of each of these steps.

  1. Meeting with your Realtor
    As with all major financial decisions, seeking sound professional advice is certainly prudent. Meeting with  Peggy Arnold, a  competent realtor is an important part of this process. Peggy Arnold is a  licensed real estate professional, adhering to a strict ethical code and committed to representing and promoting your best interests.
  2. Determining your needs
    What are you looking for? What do you need versus what you want? By determining your needs from the outset, this will provide a focus to make efficient use of both your time and your realtor’s time. Peggy Arnold  will help you put together a prioritized list of your requirements such as price, your location, accommodation and other needs or preferences you may have. Peggy Arnold  will then bring  her experience into play and counsel you with regard to your various options.
  3. Financing options
    Mortgage pre-qualification: what does this mean to you? Peggy Arnold and the mortgage broker or financial institution will discuss financing options and provide you with a mortgage amount and rate guaranteed for a certain period of time. Being pre-approved is advantageous for the following reasons:  
  4. Looking at Properties
    By now you should have your requirements and your financing in place. Now you're ready to start looking at properties! Of course, you may have already been looking at homes advertised in the newspaper or on the internet. However, your realtor has access to the database of all properties for sale on the Multiple Listing Service ® and can provide you with specific information you may not have access to. Furthermore, they may also have access to listings on the MLS ® that may not have been advertised yet.

    In many cases, once you've looked at some properties, it may be necessary to redefine your search criteria. Depending on availability and market value, your realtor will help you juggle your "wants" and "needs" and find you that perfect home!
  5. Making an offer: the Contract of Purchase and Sale
    So you’ve found the perfect home! This is when your realtor’s knowledge and training becomes invaluable - they will construct a legally enforceable contract containing terms that suit your needs and protect your interests. Part of this stage involves determining market value, ascertaining the condition of the property, stating how much you’re willing to pay, paying a deposit, suggesting a closing date, expiration of the offer, and a proposed set of conditions. Your realtor will: Typical conditions may include a subject to financing, subject to inspection, subject to survey, subject to the sale of another property, and so on. Realtors are trained to use the appropriate legal terminology to suit the type of property you’re interested in purchasing. The issues can be complex.

    The offering process often involves making or receiving counter-offers which your realtor negotiates on your behalf.

  6. Completion and Moving
    Now it's time to close the deal.
    When an Offer has been accepted and all subject clauses removed, a deposit of at least 5% is normally held in Trust in accordance with the Real Estate Act. This amount forms part of the purchase price upon Completion. Completion may be any date in the future as stipulated in the contract, and is typically 60-90 days between Acceptance and Completion. As Completion approaches, you will need legal representation – your realtor can help you with this. Your legal representative will arrange to transfer title of the property from the seller to you, the mortgage financing will be transferred to your legal representative’s trust account, then to the seller, and the financial closing details will be recorded on a statement of adjustments. You then take possession of the property, normally a day or two later, as set out in the Contract of Purchase and Sale.

  7. Additional Costs
    In addition to the purchase price, you will need to take into account additional or extra closing costs that may be involved in the purchase.

    For example:
It is obviously prudent to cover all of these issues with your realtor as early as possible.

The above steps will vary from transaction to transaction, but in all cases, early consultation with a realtor will streamline the process and ensure a more pleasant home buying experience.
 

CALL PEGGY ARNOLD TODAY  (204) 334-2800 or EMAIL peggyjeanarnold@aol.com


These comments are for information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice.