The Buying Process

Many of you out there are now entertaining the idea of taking the plunge and buying your first home, but are boggled by some pretty overwhelming questions.  I am here to tell you, that you are not alone, there are many out there like you and at mycondonetwork.com, we’d like to share not only our expertise but connect you with other Buyer’s who have gone through what you are now journeying towards. In order to get you there, there is a check list that you should go through to help you get started and make sure that the process is informative and enjoyable from start to end. 

First off and this should be done before you even get excited about window treatments and lighting fixtures:

1) Speak to your bank or financial advisor and find out what you can afford and what is most comfortable for you to carry every month.  Make sure that you factor in (besides your mortgage payment), property taxes, utilities (maintenance fees if you are considering a condo), and home insurance.   Another good reason to speak to your bank and get a preapproval, is that you can get them to cap an interest rate for you for up to 120 days, which is great as interests at present are at an all time low.  If interest rates trend upwards over the next few months, you’ll be protected without having to commit to that particular lender.

2) Find a neighbourhood that you can call home

3) What type of home are you looking to make your first, is it a condo, or a house.  This will also be easy to identify once you’ve gone through the preapproval process as price will often answer this ?. 

4) Finding a realtor that understands what you want and how to make your dream a reality.  Finding a realtor is a pretty easy thing, but finding one that you can gel with, now that may take some work.  So ask friends and family to give you a referral of someone that you have come in contact with, do some research on the web and check out websites and see if the information that you find on the realtor websites give you any insite into what area they specialize in, then ask for a meeting with them and prepare a list of ?’s for them, like;

- how many years they’ve been in the business

- are they a broker or salesperson

-what areas of the city do they specialize in any types of properties, ie: condo’s etc…

-can they provide you with a list of references, previous clients that they have serviced

This should put you well on your way to home ownership!!