Home Buying Guide for First-Time Home Buyers
by Jess Jagpal, Salesperson, SRES,
E: jessjagpal@gmail.com
C: 416.312.9742

RE/MAX Dynasty Realty Inc. Brokerage

Helping Buyers in Toronto, Markham, Scarborough, Pickering and GTA.

Congratulations!

You are are about to take on an exciting journey of buying your first home and becoming a homeowner. We understand that it can be an exciting and an overwhelming process. So we've made this guide to help take the mystery out of the process . This way you will know exactly how the entire home buying process works.

It is essential that you get educated on the real estate process and industry. After all, it is one of the biggest financial investments of your life ; this will definitely be time well spent.

Buying your home starts with a strong foundation.

Ready to put the pieces together?

Step 1 - Become Informed

There are several resources you can turn to for information.

1. Internet

2. Family and Friends

3. Consulting with a Realtor.

So let's start one step at a time

The Internet

The internet is truly the information super highway. The only problem with the internet is that there is SO much information on there and it can seem over whelming. It is a great starting point.

Family and Friends

Ask your family and friends what they love about their house and also what they don't like about their house. This can be a great way to learn from others. Most people love talking about their homes. They will share more information with you than you ever thought possible. It might become confusing as everyone has their own needs and preferences.

Professional Realtor

Book a Meeting with your real estate agent – Now that you've read up all you can and heard what your family and friends have to say. It is time to meet with a Professional. It is important that you understand how the current real estate market will affect your particular situation.

Step 2 – Initial Meeting or Consultation

After selecting your agent, you will want to schedule a face to fact meeting. We've also spoken with people via face time\ Skype and telephone when they are not in the GTA .
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Video: Selecting a Right Buyer Agent by RE/MAX
http://youtu.be/TZ5FuHH0bwQ
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Video: How a Realtor Helps you by Jess Jagpal
http://youtu.be/q-GRZvE_tFw
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The meeting will give you the opportunity to see if you are completely comfortable with your agent. The real estate market is constantly changing and you need current information. Once you have assessed your situation, this is where you will share your goals, wants and needs. This will help us determine an appropriate action plan so you can confidently move forward. We love this part because it allows us to be part of your special time and our clients love it because they get to work with a team who is completely transparent.

You have few options when it comes to financing, you must have a good idea of how you will purchase your next home before you start going and looking at homes. There are three main sources of financing

Traditional Banks

If you already have a great relationship with your current bank, this can be a good option.

Watch this YouTube video of the questions you ought to ask your Mortgage Broker.

http://youtu.be/FahJc1BUgS8

Mortgage Brokers – They have the most options. They can use all of the major banks, plus many other lenders. They can be your best bet to finding the best option for your particular situation. We'll be happy to refer you to some as they take good care of our clients.

Creative Financing – The options are available and are good for investing, or if you cannot access a mortgage through the traditional ways.

Step 4 – Start the Search

At this time you know the type of home you're looking for and the price you can afford. We will set up a property search and will notify you (typically via email) when a new property enters the market that matches your criteria. We will schedule a time to go and look at homes.

Sometimes you will see homes which seemed good in pictures but don't live up to your expectations. This happens often so do not be discouraged.

In a Seller's market you need to be ready to put an offer on a home right away if it meets your needs.

It is not uncommon for our clients to find a house they like within the first few showings.

We do the home work, narrow down the best homes so we don't waste your time on homes you would never buy.

Step 5 – Write the Offer

Once you have liked a home and it meets your needs, the next step is to prepare and present an offer.

We start first with a researching the Property.

- This is where we investigate the selling history of the home. We also complete a comparative market analysis to figure out the fair market value that you ought to offer for the home.

Terms are the pre-written clauses that make up the contract. They are written by Lawyers, modified to be updated with changes in the Real Estate industry and are there to protect both the Seller and Buyer.

In addition to the standard terms we will add any others that pertain to your particular situation to protect you. Seller must accept to make them binding.

Conditions are clauses in the contract that must be fulfilled in order for the transaction to proceed forward.

Typical conditions are for a home inspection, and for the buyer to be approved for financing.

Although you are already pre-approved for a certain amount, you lender still needs to approve you for this particular house.

The buyer or seller is then given a few days to fulfill the conditions (typically 3-5 for a home and 7-10 days for a condo).

This is what it is meant by a property status that is listed as conditionally sold .

If something happens where either the buyer or seller are not satisfied with the results when trying to satisfy contractual conditions, then they may walk away from the contract at no cost and with no further obligation (deposit cheques are returned).

Conditions are most commonly for the buyer, but you may have a seller's condition as well.

In order to write an offer, you will need a cheque and available money for a deposit. This is initially a show of good faith in a transaction and is fully refundable if the conditions on the purchase are not removed.

Deposit must be delivered to the listing brokerage within 24 hours or 1 business day after either party "Accepts" the offer or counter-offer.

After the conditions are satisfied and removed in writing, the deposit becomes the seller's security that you will complete the purchase (non refundable).

This will also become part of your downpayment and accounted by the lawyers on the final statement of adjustment on closing.

There are three things that are negotiated in a real estate transaction: Price, Deposit and Terms.

Once we determine what terms and conditions you want, what's the comparative market value, we can then determine the appropriate offer price.

The offer price will be determined by all the variables affecting the property such as:

What terms do we need?
How many offers are there?
How long has the property been on the market?
Condition of the home? and more.

We will go over the negotiating strategy with you at this point. What unique way can we meet the seller's needs and still achieve our goals. This doesn't always strictly involve price.

The Offer Presentation and Acceptance Procedure – After the offer is written and signed, it is our job to present the offer to the seller. This will typically happen one of two ways.

First, if the seller is available, the offer will be presented in person and directly to the owner of the home. ( We like to do this whenever possible !) The listing agent will be there to represent their client. We find this is a good opportunity to meet the seller and present your case in person (much more intimate and effective).

Another method is by faxing or emailing the offer. Once a counter offer is received, or the offer is accepted, you will now need to sign the documents.

STEP 6 – Satisfy Conditions.

Once the offer is accepted, it is time to proceed with satisfying all conditions.

Most common are:

• Financing
• Inspection
• Status Certificate

This process usually involves arranging and performing a home inspection, getting all your personal information and the property information to your mortgage broker or bank, or simply doing research to gather whatever information is required.

As real estate professionals, we will guide you thru each step to ensure the process continues to run smoothly.

Step 6 – Satisfy Conditions

Mortgage Approval


WARNING WARNING WARNING

Even though the bank has Approved you for a mortgage. This approval is based on your financials TODAY... not at the time of CLOSING.

The banks do pull your credit before forwarding the money to the Lawyers.

So if you go on a shopping spree to furnish your new home and put $10K on credit. Any credit... even a car lease.

This can cause the BANKS to refine and reduce what they will lend you at CLOSING. If you can't come up with the difference you can lose everything!

It has happened to people hence the BIG WARNING.

FINALLY SOLD

After the necessary information is verified, a decision to proceed (or not) is made, and the appropriate written notice is provided to the seller and their agent.

Once the conditions are removed, the sale is considered "firm" and the property will be marked "Sold"

This is where big congratulations are in order.

You are almost there... just a few more steps and let's keep moving forward, step-by-step, remember?

Step 7 – Preparing for Possession

Typical possessions are 30 – 90 days, however they may be quicker or longer.

Get the following items completed as soon as possible, as this will alleviate a large amount of stress.

We'll guide you step-by-step.

If you do not have a trustworthy lawyer, we will refer you to a Professional we work with.

Once you have a chosen a lawyer, they will need all the required paperwork prior to you meeting with them. We will handle all this to ensure they get absolutely everything they need.

You will be meeting with the lawyer about a week or so before you take possession and will need to provide your insurance information, the balance of your down payment, payment of fees, payment of any adjustments or taxes, sign documents, and finalize anything else that is required before you own the home.

Watch the video on closing costs:
http://youtu.be/wC7yZpSw3to

If your down payment is not readily available, make the necessary arrangements to obtain it.

You may need to transfer money, cash in bonds/stocks, withdraw RRSPs or move money in another way. It is important to note that liquidating certain assets can take upwards of 30 days, be sure to consult your Bank or Mortgage Broker about this.

If you are using professional movers, book early.

Possession dates commonly fall on the 1st, 30th, or 15th of the month.

Movers fill up their schedule very fast, so call ahead and make the arrangements early.

Insurance – When you actually meet with the lawyer they will ask to see a copy of your insurance, as it is a requirement of the mortgage.

No insurance, no money.

This step usually involves a simple phone call. It is a good idea to call the same company as your car insurance as you can get good discounts for having multiple policies with them. You will need a copy of the listing available with all of the specifications of the home on it such as the age of the house, furnace, electrical system and roof, as well as general questions regarding square footage and the features.

Utilities – It is very important to change your utilities over to your new home address in advance. This includes your phone, cable, internet, power, water, and gas services. Also, don't forget to cancel the utilities at your previous residence.

Homebuyer Moving Checklist
http://goo.gl/fyp2yN

Mailing Address – This is the least favorite of all the steps, but it is a necessary evil. Gather all of your bills, statements, tax information, healthcare information, anything you make automatic payments on, any subscriptions, any clubs or organizations in which you belong, etc.

Sit down and make a big list of these things early, because otherwise you will forget some guaranteed. Then pick up the phone and begin giving out your new mailing address and the date you will be taking possession or moving in.

You might also want to have your mail forwarded, through the post office, for anything you may have missed. You can contact Canada Post by clicking on this link here: http://goo.gl/kAmzr9

Step 8- Follow Up Showing

You will have the opportunity to go and see you new home a couple of times before you actually move in. This will give you the opportunity to take any family or friends to go and see the home.

You can take this opportunity to take measurements so that you know what the furniture placement will be or what size of furniture to buy. You will normally go see the home for the last time before you move in a few days before your possession date.

The typical things to look for is damage from moving furniture around, and things that don't work when it was agreed upon that they would (appliances, furnace, etc). At this time, we can look around the home and make sure that everything is as it was agreed to be in the contract.

Step 9 – Possession Day

On the possession day you will get a call from your lawyer that the title has been transferred and you can come and pick up the keys.

We will be in constant contact with you to answer any last minute questions.

Congratulations!!!

Yippee!

You are finally home owners and now you just have to move and settle in.

Step 10- Follow Up

After you take possession, the transaction is complete and you have moved.

We will be in touch with you to answer any questions that may arise such as:

Who should I contact about this?
Or what should I do about that?

We will be in touch with you on a regular basis and as always remember we are only a phone call away.

Our goal is to be your real estate consultants for life and for you to refer you family and friends to use our services to buy and sell.

Get your FREE home buyer guide by visiting our website at:

http://www.torontomarkhamrealestate.com/free-home-buyer-guide

There is more under the Buying Tab.

If you know anyone Thinking of Selling... do them a favor and pass on our Haiku Presentation.

What Every Homeowner Deserves When Selling Their Home at:

http://goo.gl/Xz7hzA

or visit our website at:

www.TorontoMarkhamRealEstate.com

and check out the Selling Tab. It's a new website so I'm still working on it.

Find out how much your home is worth at:

http://www.torontomarkhamrealestate.com/get-a-free-home-evaluation

30 Day Sold Guarantee or we Sell for Free.
Priced to CMA.

Also contact us for our complete Marketing Guide.

The BAK Team helps buyers and sellers in the GTA and works primarily in Vaughan, Richmond Hill, Markham, North York, Scarborough, Pickering and Ajax.

The BAK Team ... We Got Your Back!

Open Houses are Jess's specialty. She was even featured in The Toronto Star.

For Sellers: Every listing gets weekend open houses if you decide that is what you want.

As always... Jess and I always look out for our clients. We go above and beyond the call of duty because we want to be your life-time Realtors and want you to refer us to family and friends.

Check out our client Video TESTIMONIALS on our YouTube channel and please pass on our name if you know anyone thinking of buying or selling in the GTA.

http://www.YouTube.com/JasJagpal

You can contact us in many ways but the easiest is always directly by phone or email. Looking forward to helping you buy, sell and invest.

Jas Jagpal, Broker, BSc.
Certified Negotiation Expert, Tech Savvy Realtor, Accredited Senior Agent.
Home & Condo Expert. C: 647 272 6629

Jess Jagpal, Sales Representative, SRES,
C: 416.312.9742
Client service expert, Weekly Open Houses

RE/MAX Dynasty Realty Inc. Brokerage
8 Shadlock St. Markham, ON L3S 3K9
O: 905 471 0002

http://www.TorontoMarkhamRealEstate.com

Blog: http://www.torontomarkhamrealestate.com/toronto-real-estate-blog

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/jasjagpal

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheBAKTeam

Markham Fan Page: https://www.facebook.com/Welovemarkham