When you are buying a home, you want to come out of the experience feeling positive. While the process can be fraught with frustration, disappointment, confusion and other negative feelings, overall by the time you’ve put that key in the front door of your new home, you should be feeling pretty good. The only person in control over whether you have a positive home buying experience is you and there are a number of things you can do to ensure it is a good experience.
- Find a real estate professional
Many people believe that they don’t need a Markham real estate professional to help them achieve their goals of buying a home. This couldn’t be further from the truth, as a real estate professional plays many roles during this process and generally they take a lot of stress off of your plate. The best part about having a real estate professional help you buy a home? It doesn’t cost you a cent! The seller is the one responsible for paying the agents. Get referrals from friends and family members who have used someone and had a great experience.
- Get pre-approved
There is probably not much worse than finding the home of your dreams only to realize that you can’t afford it. Your best bet before even stepping foot in a home to view it is to get a pre-approval from an approved lender. This will tell you how much they will loan you and combined with your down payment of at least 5%, this will comprise your purchase price. From here you can tailor your search to homes within your budget.
- Manage your expectations
That picture of your Markham dream house you’ve had in your mind since you were 9? Squash it. Your new dream house will be comprised of realistic expectations for what you can afford in your desired location. Rather than expect that you’ll get a move-in ready home, filled with updates on the best street in your community, you’ll need to list what you truly need and the rest will come in time. For example, if you have a family, you know the number of bedrooms you need, what general neighbourhood and if you are willing to take on a few updating projects. Set your expectations lower from the start of your search and hope you find everything you are looking for.
- Don’t forget your closing costs
Unfortunately, these can be a big surprise for many first-time homebuyers, but along with your down payment, you’ll need to have these, mostly in cash, to close your home. Closing costs in Markham include fees for lawyers, land transfer tax (if applicable), inspection and valuation fees, surveys, taxes, insurance and other such costs. They can comprise up to 2% of your purchase price. Don’t go into any home search without having this money ready to be doled out.
Buying a home can be a very positive experience if you go into it prepared. If you need any help preparing, I’m always available to talk.
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