Getting Ready to Buy a House

Such preparation is especially important under the so-called sellers’ market, a market condition where the demand for housing dramatically exceeds the supply of houses for sale. In this situation, houses do not stay on the market for too long and disappear as fast as fresh croissants from the shelves of a French bakery.

Where do you want to start?

1. Make a list of all the things you want to have in your new home. For example, consider the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and parking spaces you will need. Next to each item on your list, note its importance and priority. Do you want a bungalow (a single-level house) or you don’t mind running up and down the stairs, so a two-story house will suit you? Do you need a basement in the house and, if so, do you want it to be finished? Think about your requirements for the lot the house stands on. How big it should to be for your children to play or your guests to be entertained? How close may the neighboring houses be? It is important to understand in which part of the city or town you want to live. How far can your home be from schools, shops, restaurants, parks, transport hubs, etc.? All these questions should be considered well in advance, ideally, with the input from all members of your household. You may be quite surprised to learn that your loved ones may have ideas and preferences quite different from your own, and it is best to start looking for consensus as early as possible.

2. The second and still quite important question is the choice of the neighborhood. For example, in Burlington, you may want to live in Lakeshore with the view of the great lake. Alternatively, you may love the countryside and a life away from the bustle of the city, so you will prefer the conservation areas in rural Burlington. The cost of houses will vary significantly depending on the location. If your budget for buying a house is limited, you may need to cast your search wider, beyond one or two spots you have identified initially. Your Realtor will be able to help you with these complex questions, and will give you sound advice.

3. This is why you must find a good real estate agent. Don't underestimate the help you can get from a professional licensed Realtor. The Realtor has the special education, experience, and the knowledge of the market: of its imbalances and peculiarities at the given moment in time. Your Realtor will help not only with finding the right home, but also throughout the process of negotiating and closing the deal, representing all your interests vis-à-vis the other party of the real-estate transaction. If you are selling your old home at the same time, the Realtor will help you coordinate all the steps of this complex real-estate transaction.

4. Consider the budget for buying your new house. Before you start looking for a new property, it's important to evaluate your monthly expenses, your income, savings, as well as the amount of the monthly mortgage payment you can rationally afford. You should also remember to take into account the additional costs that are associated with the purchase of a house, such as land-transfer tax, legal fees, moving costs, as well as any potential repairs you may need to do on your new property immediately after the move.

5. Get a mortgage pre-approval. First calculate the amount of the down payment you are able to set aside from your savings or from the sale of your current home. Then calculate the size of the monthly mortgage payment you can afford. With this information, you should contact your bank and ask for the written confirmation of the terms of the mortgage that your bank will provide to support your upcoming real-estate purchase. This will give you an idea of the price range for your property search, as well as the maximum purchase price you can offer for the property you will find. A mortgage pre-approval is especially important in today’s sellers’ market when the houses are sold quickly and do not stay on the market longer that a few weeks or even days! The mortgage pre-approval will allow you to make an offer not conditional financing. Generally, offers with fewer conditions tend to be seen as more attractive by the sellers, even with the same offered purchase price.

6. Don’t break your bank with your offer. Ask your Realtor for a realistic estimate of the final purchase price on the property of your interest. More often than not, your Realtor will give you a correct range, even if the sellers lowball the listing price in the hope of starting a bidding war. Consider this range very closely and then come up with the best price you can offer for the property. This should help you avoid two kinds of regret. First, the regret that you should have offered more for the property you have lost, and second, the regret that you overpaid for the property you won.