With these four easy steps, you can be on your way to home ownership:
1. Pre-Qualify: Contact the mortgage specialist at your bank or a mortgage broker and make an appointment to meet with them. Be prepared and bring with you verification of your income from your employer or at least 2 years of tax returns. You may also need to verify that you have money set aside for a down payment or for closing costs (this can be done with a current bank statement, RRSP statement or a gift letter if the money is coming from another source.) Also be prepared to list your assets and liabilities. Keep in mind that lenders still consider the 5 C's when assessing you as a lending risk: Capital, Collateral, Character, Credit (rating) and Capacity (to pay back the loan).
2. Choose a REALTOR® to represent you: You may want to interview several and some of the questions you might ask are: How long have you been in Real Estate? Are you a member of the MLS®? Can you recommend other professionals to assist in the purchase process? Ask them about current market conditions and if they can supply the names of past clients they have worked with to serve as references. Choose someone who you feel will be accessible and compatible with you. Buying a home is a large investment and you will want to feel comfortable working with the REALTOR® who guides you through it!
3. Meet with your REALTOR® to discuss your needs and wants: Talk about amenities, style of home, budget, location, parking, number of bedrooms and bathrooms desired and anything else you think is important. Your REALTOR® can only find you what you want when you have a clear idea of what it is you want, so think about it beforehand. Talk about what times are best for you to look at homes and how you wish to be notified of new properties that meet your criteria.
4. Start your search!!
Having a REALTOR® on your side through the buying process is just a smart move. A REALTOR® will take into account your needs, wants and budget, search through available houses and present them to you, schedule showings and then guide you through the purchase contract and negotiations. REALTOR® fees are generally paid out by the seller, so it's usually no money out of your pocket to have the expertise and support of a REALTOR® working hard for you to find you the right house at the right price.
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Delivering a clear view of the Lethbridge Real Estate market. I work hard for buyers and sellers to make sure their "real estate portfolio" provides both good returns and a good experience.
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I enjoy readion gyour post from a different stand point than about buying a home. I like the area for the diversity of things (unusual ones) to do. There is a place near there that gathers or mines a gem quality formation of stone that intrigues me as it is about the only place in the world where it is found.
www.thegoldworks.net/ammolite.shtml
Very informative article. Buying a house is a serious decision. It is the largest purchase one has ever made in his life. This is a decision that should not be taken lightly and you gave some great points to consider.
Buying a house is a serious decision. It is the largest purchase one has ever made in his life. It is not an easy task to find an ideal place to live. Recently I have come across one interesting service http://climate.fizber.com/ With the help of climate watch homebuyers can check what the climate is like in another town or city before they move there.
John: Interesting site... too bad there's no data for Canada!