What to Expect when buying a home:
Buying A Home/Property Lethbridge | Real Estate For Sale Lethbridge
We know you want to jump right into it and find the home of your dreams.... but there’s a couple homework items that need to be completed first.
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Why are you moving?
Its always good to understand the purpose of your move and how it will make your life better. Do you want to be closer to grandparents, to help with childcare? Do you want your kids to be able to walk to and from school? Close to your church? Closer to work for a shorter commute? Do you need a bigger yard for your dog? Is privacy a concern? There are a million reasons to move, but you need to know what is important to you.
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Have you talked with the bank or a mortgage broker yet?
This is a very important step for us both. You need to fully understand the expenses of owning a home and how much of your hard earned money you’re going to be paying every month towards your home. It is not just a mortgage that you need to take into consideration. Have you budgeted for:
- taxes
- insurance
- utilities
- your mortgage
- maintenance
And don’t forget additional expense to get your home initially set up, such as landscaping, furniture, building a garage, renovations, etc.
Items to provide and ask your mortgage broker include:
- Employment stubs
- Letter of employment
- Summary of debt
Additional considerations include:
- Will you have renters?
- Do you need a home improvement loan to build a garage or finish a basement?
- Do you qualify for any government subsidies or programs?
When you work with mortgage broker that we also know and trust, it helps provide confidence to the negotiating real estate agent when your offer is presented. As your representative we are here to get you not only the best price, but all the items you want included in the contract, possession time frame and the know how to move this transaction along so when it comes to getting approved, conditions removed, and the transfer of funds on possession day, there are no delays.
Now that you’re pre-approved with a financial institution that we both have confidence in, let’s start the search for the perfect home!
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How do you break down your search?
- Location
- communities
- schools
- friends
- churches
- shopping
- transit
- amenities
- accessible to main roads
Type of home:
- Bungalow
- Two-story
- Bi-level
- Four level split
- Lofted
- Duplex
- Suited
- Condo
- How do you or your family live in your home?
- Do you entertain lots?
- Do you need school spaces?
- Do you play the piano?
- Do you need a home office?
- Home gym?
- Multi-car garage?
- Placement on lot?
- Do you want your backyard to have sun in the evening or morning?
- How can you get protection from the wind?
- You may be pre-approved for more than you would like to spend. What is your budget range for this home?
- $_______ to $________
- Do you want to sign up for listing alerts?
Commission Agreement
When buying a home, the sellers will always pay our REALTOR® fees of 2%.
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Booking the showings
- We are required to give 24 hours notice to show a home. Please give us at least 26 hours notice from when you would like to view a home, so proper arrangements can be made. The more notice, the better.
- Be respectful of each home owners time
- Ideally do not take children on showings, so you can concentrate on this huge decision.
- Wear easy shoes to take on and off and ensure you are well fed and watered
- Be respectful of people homes; do not touch their items, go through the cabinets or use their washrooms
- Do not book the appointment if you think you may have to cancel. There are too many people involved in this process and it is a large inconvenience for that to happen
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Making an offer:
- We will need: driver licences of those who will be on the purchase contract, bank or mortgage broker information, lawyer information, bank draft or cheque for initial deposit when presenting the contract. Home buyers may also need to sign a dower (depending on marriage status)
- Included in the contract will be the offer price, additional items that you want to negotiate, condition removal date and possession date
Conditions include:
- Subject to the sale of your home
- finance conditions
- home inspection
- Current Real Property Report (RPR)
- compliance letter
- proof of proper permits pulled from city
- Response time for the seller to respond
Once these items have been finalized, then the negotiating back and forth begins! Once both parties have mutually agreed on the terms of the contract, it will be considered an “accepted offer”.
We will send everything to the bank/mortgage broker and lawyer, however you need to keep in mind the condition dates and be punctual with additional information needed by each.
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Book a home inspection
Congratulations, your financing is approved, the home inspection has gone well, you have received/given all the appropriate documentation to remove conditions. This home is unconditional and you are legally bound to take possession of the home.
Approximately 2 - 7 days before possession, the lawyers will set up an appointment for you to sign all the mortgage documents, making sure that everything is ready for possession day.
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ARE YOU READY FOR POSSESSION DAY?
- Do you have utilities set up at the new home?
- Do you have movers booked?
- Do you have a cleaning services booked?
- Do you have the new schools organized?
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MOVING DAY
We will do a walk-through of your new home, either the night before or the morning of possession to make sure that everything we have agreed upon in the contract is complete. We will then give a call to the lawyers to release the funds. Funds are usually released around noon, so we suggest that the movers are not scheduled for that date in case there are any issues with the funds transfer. We always try to book possessions for a Thursday, for this same reason. There are many different scenarios that could also affect the typical possession of a new home.