So you are now ready to go out with your agent to look at homes that meet your criteria of what you are looking for. Here are some tips what to look for in the home and the neighbourhood.

1-As you drive up to the home you will be looking at check out the surrounding’s such as the age of the homes around, the care people have taken with maintaining their homes, how close are the parks for kids to play in, how busy is the street and most important do you like the neighbourhood.

2-You are now in the driveway of the home you will be looking at with your agent, first impressions are most important, do you like what you see?? Does the home show pride of ownership? If not tell your agent and tell your agent what you don’t like about the home. Now if you do like what you see, take a walk around the home and check the condition of the exterior of the home I.E the foundation, exterior finish such as the brick work or siding condition, the roof, the yard is it maintained? Are the windows maintained? Make sure you check it all well this should take at least 10 to 15 minutes.

3-You are now entering the home; again first impressions are most important, does the home feel like home? And does it show inside also pride of ownership? Next does the layout of the home suite you?? Are the room sizes to your liking? Is the kitchen (the hearth of the home) suitable to the family’s need? Also are the bathrooms up to date?
Next if there is a basement is it finished or still bare? If finished, does it have what the family will need and enjoy?

4-Now we know by this time you are asking why are you not addressing the mechanics of the house, such as electrical , windows condition & age roof condition ect ect. Well here is the answer, unless you or your agent are qualified builder, electrician, plumber, roofer ect WE STRONGLY recommend that you hire a professional to do a home inspection for you to check all these items. The cost to have this done is small compared to the cost of your home. Also a good home inspector will point out to you all items that need attention or major problems that could cost you major $ to repair. Also make sure when you hire your home inspector that the person is license and has error and omission insurance same as your real estate agent has. This way should the home inspector miss a major problem you have protection through their insurance.

5-After having inspected your first home write down what you liked about the home and what you did not like. Do the same thing in each of the other homes your agent is showing you, and where you feel you get the most bang for your buck. A typical tour of inspecting home as a rule is from 4 to 5 in a morning and the same in a afternoon , if you don’t write the things down by the end of the day you might have forgotten something’s from the first few homes you saw.

6-Now at the end of the tour of homes sit down with your agent and discuss with them the homes you like and why and the same for the ones you did not like and why. And now some agents will dislike me for my next statement GO HOME AND SLEEP ON IT Also ask the agent to set up a second showing for you the next day to see the homes that you feel work for your needs and your family’s needs. You must remember that the purchase of a home is the biggest investment most people make in their lives .So going back and seeing the homes for a second time will as a rule make the decision as to the one that you like most come easier.

Next blog making an offer to buy.

Cheers Marcel

So you are thinking of buying a home, here are some tips for what to look for and consider before you buy.

As the saying goes location, location, location. You might wonder why, but it is one of the biggest thing’s to consider. One has to think about such things as how close is it to work, how close is it to shopping, how close is it to a school if one has children, and many more things will now come to you. Write these down as it will help your realtor in finding your home in the right location.

Next think about what is important to you and all the rest of the people that will be living in the house and what the home has to have. Now write these all down we call it your wish list of the 10 things we would like such as

1-How big of a home do you need in sq ft or meters
2-Style of home most wanted, bungalow, 2 story, side split or??
3-How many bedrooms and bathrooms
4-Size of kitchen and does it need to have a eat in area?
5-Do you want a formal dining room?
6-Would you like a basement and if yes finish or un-finished?
7-Is a garage important and if yes do you want an inside entry from the garage to the house?
8- Type of heating you would like, Gas, Oil or electric. Force air or radiant.
9-Outside finish of home such as Brick, siding, wood or combinations’ of these.
10-We will let you fill in this and other things that you would like.

Now one has to remember that not all wishes come true and the same goes for buying your home . So be prepared to possibly give up some items in return for something else. Such as no garage but a car port as the home has everything else that is on the we would like list. We strongly recommend that you share your wants and need list with your realtor as it will make the house hunting more enjoyable as this way they can search for your home and show you all that meet your wants and needs or most of them.

Next blog going out to inspect homes and what to look for

Marcel

But don’t know what to look for, how to go about it and what it will cost you. Well here are a 3 tip’s that we would like to recommend to you.

1 - Go and see your friendly banker mortgage officer and get yourself pre approved for a mortgage so you know up front what you can afford to buy. We also recommend that besides the bank you contact a mortgage broker that is not aligned with any bank because they might be able to get you a better deal on the interest you might have to pay, as every ¼% interest they could save you on a $100,000 mortgage translate into having to pay around $13.00 less per month. (This is on a 25 year mortgage)This might not seem like a lot but over 25 years this adds up to almost $4000.00 dollars. Also mortgage brokers work for you and not the bank. Should you need help with this call me as we are here to help you.

2 - Once you have an idea of what you can get in a mortgage, the next step is to determine what kind of home you would like and where. Next think about what is important to you and all the other persons that will be living in the home. Then write down these items such as # of bedrooms, style of home, # of bathrooms, garage, basement yes or no, how the home is heated , size of lot, size of home , size of the rooms and kitchen and anything else you might feel is important to you and the other people who will be living there.

3 - Now comes the hard part, you have to find a good realtor (we hope you call us) that will work for YOU and not the seller. Now one must remember that the old tale of calling the listing agent is best is not always true anymore as all real estate sales representatives have to disclose who they work for the buyer or the seller. And as the listing agent has a contract with the seller to represent them and as such is looking out for the seller’s best interest. So we recommend you get your own agent to work for you as they will represent your interest. Find an agent that you trust and feel comfortable with, one who will listen to your want and needs. This agent can show you all the property’s that meet your need and will keep their eyes open to find you the property you are searching for. This realtor can and should also show you when you have found a property you like what has sold in the area and for how much so that you can make an informed decision as to what you should offer/bid for the property. This realtor will also look after your interest and make sure that all clause are enter into your offer that you feel should be in the offer such as a financing clause, a home inspection clause, if the property is on well and septic the relevant clauses that need to be there for these item’s, a insurance clause and any other clauses that might need to be place into the offer to buy.

Next blog what to look for in a home.

Cheers Marcel