Today I am going to talk to you about a few things you need to do before shopping for a home. Buying a home is probably the single largest investment that you will ever make in your life so it is very important to understand the entire process. The following tips will help save time, money and headaches.
Number 5: Employment: It is very important to ensure that you have solid employment before buying a house. You should also try and keep your debt in check and to make sure that you aren’t overextending yourself. Maintain good credit so that you will be able to get a mortgage.
Number 4: Down payment: When buying a home, you will require down payment. You should save up at least 5% of the cost of a house as well as a little extra for closing costs such as lawyer fees, land transfer tax and a home inspection.
Number 3: Pre-approval – By getting pre-approved, you will know exactly how much you can afford so you don’t waste your time looking at houses that are above or below your price range. The other reason to get preapproved is so you can lock in an interest rate so that if the interest rates go up you will already have the best rate.
Number 2: Choose a good realtor to help you through the process. Buyers are able to choose a real estate agent the same way sellers can. The goal of a seller’s agent is to sell the house for the highest amount of money with the most favourable terms. Likewise, the goal of the buyer’s agent is to help the buyer purchase the house for the lowest price with the most favourable terms. Working with your own licensed realtor will ensure that you are not taken advantage of. A buyer’s agent will be able to tell you what the other homes sold for in an area as well as protect you with special offer conditions. They will also negotiate price and all the terms of any offers. Don’t risk buying a home without your own buyer’s agent.
And the Number 1 thing to do before shopping for a home is:
Determine your Wants and Needs: Work with your buyers agent to create a list of everything you want in a home. Some things to consider are: Area, Size, the total number of bedrooms & bathroom, the age of the house and the style of the home. Sometimes you need to look at a few houses before you find the one you like. Knowing what you want can help reduce the time it takes to search for a new home.
Shopping for a new home can be an exciting adventure. If you follow the tips above, you will be better prepared to start shopping for that perfect home.
If you are thinking about buying a house in the Waterloo Region and you would like to get started with this exciting adventure, please visit our website at www.clickthathouse.com or call us at 519-498-8118. Thanks for watching and see you next time!
We are a full-time real estate team in Waterloo Region, Woolwich & Wellesley Townships. We enjoy assisting buyers and sellers with the purchase or sale of real estate in the Kitchener-Waterloo, Cambridge, Elmira, Wellesley, Wilmot, Drayton and everywhere in between. If you would like us to help you with your home search, please check out our brand-newfree search website or if you are thinking of selling, get a free market evaluation.
As a Kitchener Waterloo Real Estate Agent, this question is one that we seem to answer often. Although not directly asked, “why should I hire a realtor” we know this is the underlying question. There are many answers to this question and I am going to provide a few. I am sure we have all seen the howrealtorshelp commercials; they are quite entertaining to say the least. Those commercials can only show so much. In one of the commercials they show an airplane flying over the house. Implying that a realtor would help you identify better areas then others. Or the other commercial has a two couples doing an offer and the negotiations seem to take forever.
Here are a few more good reasons to realize the value that a realtor can provide to their clients.
1. Finding the house: I am sure that you have all used realtor.ca. This is a great site providing you with all the listings that match your search criteria. However it is difficult to figure out which listings are new and unless you have a photographic memory or you maintain a database of new listings, then the task can become tedious. Realtors can provide you the newest listings daily. That way you will only have to look at what has just come on to the market and discount the old listings. Realtors can also notify you of price reductions in realtime.
2. Market knowledge: Realtors can also provide you with information such as days on market and the most recent sales in the area. Helping you to make educated decisions so that you don’t overpay for a property.
3. Expertise: Realtors sell houses everyday so they have much more experience then common individuals. Would you try to perform your own open heart surgery? Probably not. Realtors are professionals who have years of experience selling and assisting buyers with the purchase of housing.
4. Market evaluation: Realtors know pricing because they are around houses every single day. They are always doing market evaluation, previewing houses, showing houses and selling houses. After many years of doing the same thing every day, they become extremely skilled. Pricing is a very important part to selling a home. The incorrect price can result in the failure to sell a property. Drawing on the knowledge of a realtor can help you get top dollar for your house.
5. Negotiating: This is a big one! Realtors have experience with negotiating all aspects of an offer. Everything from price, chattels, conditions and closing dates to name a few. Although, all of us have a natural level of negotiation skill, when it It comes down to the nitty gritty, realtors bring an extra level of experience in this area that is necessary to achieve successful negotiations in the purchase and sale of a property. Don’t underestimate their value it could save you money now or in the long run.
6. Paperwork: This is also an important part to the purchase and sale of a house or other property. It is the realtors job to make sure you are protected. They will include many details in the offer meant to protect you. An example of this is home inspection. Mostly all houses that sell in the Kitchener-Waterloo area have a home inspection condition in the offer. There are many more of these types of conditions.
I hope you found the information here helpful. If you have any questions please don`t hesitate to contact us.
If you are in the market to purchase a new home the process can be very confusing. The beauty of the internet is that the information is usually a couple of mouse clicks away. The biggest problem is you can also get information overload. Here are a few simple ways to search for a new home.
1. realtor.ca is the #1 source for prospective buyers to search for a new house. When provided by a realtor, this is the absolute best source because you will receive information as soon as new listings hit the local real estate board
2. newspapers, real estate books and other print media. The information is often old and outdated.
3. Kijiji, Craigslist. You need to follow these types of systesm daily to watch for new listings.
4. Realtor websites. This information is also available on realtor.ca but often times the realtors website includes more detailed information. Sometimes the information becomes stale but still a good resource.
5. private for sale websites
Now obviously the first option is the one we promote because after all, we’re realtors. But if you look closely, you will see that the majority homes that are for sale are for sale with a real estate agent. So if you are in the market to buy a new home, I would start with realtor.ca and then once you are ready, contact a real estate agent to get premium access to the new listings as soon as they hit the real estate board.
What’s Happening? Quite a bit actually… Our market is up this month over the same month last year. This is good news. Things have been humming along very well lately. We are seeing some multiple offers on houses in our area and they seem to be selling quicker. This is extremely good news!
I think consumer confidence is increasing despite the news we have heard or read the past few months. First-time home buyers appear to be getting off the fence and into the market. Move-up buyers are also taking the plunge. This is good news for sellers and buyers alike. I think this added confidence will help the remaing fence-sitters to make their move. There are plenty of opportunities out there.
Sellers who are thinking that they might not make as much money as they did in a hotter market might want to reconsider. Timing could be the key in getting top dollar for your house. There could be a buyer out there right now looking for a house just like yours. The same can be said for a buyer who is waiting to find that great deal.
With the interest rates at an all time low, availability of governments incentives, I think now is a great time to buy and sell. I think that the increase we have seen this month over the same month last year is a good sign that things are looking up. I am optimistic that we will see more of the same.
Hope you found the information encouraging and helpful.
Just recently I have been looking at the benefits that first time home buyers currently have when it comes to buying a house. With the lower interest rates and all the tax credits that the government has made available in the latest budget, now is definitely the time to consider buying a house.
Here are five reasons to consider buying a house if your are a first-time home buyer
1. Very low interest rates. The Bank of Canada lowered the Prime rate just over a week ago. In turn, interest rates are very appealing. You should definitely consider locking in an interest rate if you are thinking about buying a home over the next few months
2. First time home buyers tax credit.
To assist first-time home buyers with the costs related to the purchase of a home, Budget 2009 proposes to introduce a First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit. A 15-per-cent credit will be applied to a $5,000 amount, and will provide up to $750 in tax relief to reduce the costs associated with first home purchases completed after January 27, 2009.
4. Home Buyers Plan, RRSP Withdrawal Limit increase
To provide first-time home buyers with additional access to their RRSP savings to purchase or build a home, Budget 2009 proposes to increase the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP) withdrawal limit to $25,000 from $20,000.
5. More selection of homes available. The spring market offer many more options.
If you have been sitting on the fence for a little while and are not sure whether now is the right time, then maybe the above five reason will help you to make your decision.
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Buyer Information, Buyers, Video Blogs — Tags: buyer advantage, buying a condo, buying a condo in kitchener-waterloo, buying a home, buying a home with a realtor, condominiums, home buying process, home search, house price, kitchener real estate, kitchener realtor, Kitchener-Waterloo, low interest rates, melanie mcneil, real estate market, team mcneil, tips for buying a house, video, video blog, vlog, warren mcneil —
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