When it comes to buying your first home in Canada, there is lots of information to manage. Not only do you need to consider where and when to buy, but also what type of home you are buying, which professionals you’ll work with, whether you will purchase a brand new home or an older one, and so many more considerations that listing them would take up pages and pages of text.
As a result of this complexity, many people choose to work with qualified professionals known as real estate agents. These professionals are certified by the jurisdiction in which they practice their profession, and they often simplify the process of buying a home considerably. Still, that is not the only way to make buying your first home a simpler process.
Indeed, there are several easy tips and tricks that you can use to make the home buying process a breeze. Below, we’ve collected some of our favourite ones for you to enjoy, and with the help of jdrealestatecalgary.ca.They include some of the typical advice, like understanding your market and getting pre-qualified, but there are also some unique nuggets of wisdom as well. Before we get started, just remember that the best way to secure your purchase and prevent unexpected complications is to use the helpful services of a real estate agent! Now, let’s get started!
Easy Tips to Remember When Buying Your First Home
Know Your Market
The first tip we bring to you is about knowing your market. This is an idea as old as real estate, but it continues to have value as it contains many necessary parts of the process. If you are planning on buying a home in a small town, for instance, you will need to know what amenities are available and how close they are to your selected plot of land or potential home. This holds true in large urban centres as well, since pricing, interest and availability can all fluctuate significantly based on the time of year and the current housing market.
To truly understand your market and make the most of the decision, consider reading up on the historical status of it before shopping for homes. You can also look at how quickly current homes are selling in the city or town that you are interested in, but one of the best ways is to work with a competent real estate agent.
Work with a Competent Real Estate Agent
And here we are, easily, the most important piece of advice you’re going to find in terms of real estate knowledge. Working with a qualified, experienced and dedicated real estate agent is the key to success wherever real estate is concerned. They already know their market and have the experience you need to negotiate successfully on a deal that will be of maximum value to you. Plus, many agents are also Realtors, which further increases your chances of finding your dream home. They also vow to increase their knowledge over time, leading to an unparalleled professional experience in terms of quality and experience.
Decide Your Deal Breakers Early
But, buying your first home isn’t all about who you work with. After all, you are the one who will ultimately have to live with your decision, so it helps to have clear expectations and goals from the outset. One of the best ways to do this is by deciding on your deal-breakers. These are the features that you cannot live without and may also include the ones you simply can’t stomach the idea of dealing with for years and years.
Some examples of common deal-breakers include kitchen sizes, finished basements and lot size. If you are planning to start a family or already have one, you may establish deal breakers around the number of bedrooms or proximity to schools. Whatever your deal breakers end up being, make sure you communicate them to your real estate professional so that they can help you find exactly what you’re looking for.
Understand the Tax Incentives
Canada offers some excellent tax incentives to first-time home buyers. To be honest, they do have a little bit of trickiness in terms of how they can be used and what is required of people using them, but they are well worth the trouble to properly sort out. One of the biggest and simplest tax incentives is through Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs), which do not force you to pay tax on the money when used for purchasing your first home. Again, the right real estate agent can help you navigate these tax incentives and take full advantage of them so you don’t needlessly lose out on saving money.
Get Pre-qualified to Save Time
When we talk about pre-qualifications, we are referring to a monetary process that is usually carried out by mortgage brokers. Mortgages are the debt products used to secure funding from a lender for the purchase of a home or property. Mortgage brokers, like insurance brokers, are free agents not tied to a specific lender. This allows them to present you with several different mortgage products that can be better tailored to your specific needs and financial situation.
A pre-qualification given by one of these professionals lets you understand the total amount of the loan you are likely to receive. As a result, when you go shopping for homes, later on, you won’t have to worry about whether or not you can afford it or spend time agonizing over the decision. Instead, you set out with an amount in mind and base your decisions and house hunting off of it.
Recognize the Pitfalls of Winter
Here’s the thing about Canada. It’s cold. Like, really cold. Many people can’t understand this until they experience it themselves, but it is a serious consideration for anyone who has. When house shopping in spring or summer, it’s easy to forget the frigid chill that awaits you, and you may be tempted to make some seemingly simple compromises to this effect.
“It’s not a big deal that the nearest store is 20 minutes away” or “the big corner lot with a giant sidewalk is perfect for my growing family” are both statements that are thinly veiled threats against your future self. When your car won’t start because you forgot to plug it in the previous day, or when you’re laid up in bed for a week from the back-breaking labour of shovelling out your walk and driveway, you’ll curse your formerly optimistic self. There are just no two ways about it, unfortunately. Therefore, you should carefully consider what sacrifices you are willing to make in terms of location and convenience, as they may have more dire consequences than you can imagine at this time.
Well, these are the tips and tricks that can best help you when buying your first home in Canada. Were you surprised by any of them, or did you learn something new? The real estate market is exciting, so don’t be afraid to learn more and more about this compelling industry and all the subtle nuances it contains. You’ll be sure to benefit from the additional information and may end up making an incredibly savvy decision in the long run.
