8 Steps to Homeownership

Utilizing the expertise of industry professionals and following the necessary steps involved, will make the home buying process both easy and enjoyable. If there is one thing I’ve learnt throughout my time in real estate, it’s that “failing to prepare, is preparing to fail”. In order to capitalize on the opportunities available to you, it’s important to have the right plan in place so you can make your move when the time comes.

Connect with a Local Real Estate Agent
It’s important to connect with a local real estate agent who can guide you through the process and advocate for your needs. I service the Greater Victoria area and the southern communities of Vancouver Island. However, if you’re looking for a home outside of my local market, I have a wonderful network of realtors all across Canada and would be happy to provide you with a referral to a reliable agent in the market you’re shopping in. Having a consultation with your real estate agent before you start the house hunting process will give you an opportunity to get to know each other, understand communication styles and expectations, discuss the current market and how to best navigate it for your situation. It will also help you get a better understanding of what you’re looking for, the feasibility of your wish list and answer any questions you have about the home buying process. Being on the same page as your real estate agent or your real estate agent being on the same page as you is so so so important when buying a home.
Get Pre-Approved
Once you’ve met with your real estate agent you will want to start the mortgage pre-approval process. Your real estate agent will be able to connect you with a mortgage broker to help you with this step. It’s important to meet with a mortgage broker early in the process to establish a financial plan and determine your budget before you start shopping. Keep in mind there is more to a pre-approval than entering your income into an online mortgage calculator. So, if you’re ready to get serious about buying a home you will want to schedule a meet with a mortgage broker to get a proper pre-approval in place. Your credit score, job history, downpayment, debt ratio, income and current assets are all considered in your pre-approval application. Throughout this process your mortgage broker will require tax documents, bank statements and letters of employment to finalize your file and provide you with an accurate pre-approval number.
Wants & Needs
Now that you have a clear understanding of your budget, you’ll want to sit down to determine exactly what you’re looking for. What style of home do you want? What neighbourhoods? Are you willing to move further out of town to get the home you want? or are you willing to sacrifice space and style to live in the a specific neighbourhood? Are you interested in doing upgrades or do you want a perfectly move in ready home? Do you need to be close to transit or shops? How far are you willing to commute for work? To help you with this process you can download my ‘Wants & Needs Guide’ . Once you’ve had sometime to think about what you’re looking for, I would recommend scheduling a second meeting or phone call with your real estate agent to discuss your options. As you start viewing homes you’ll likely begin to narrow in on what really matters to you, so it’s okay if your priorities change slightly thought out the process as long as you are keeping your real estate agent informed about your likes, dislikes and preferences. Once you’ve figured out what you’re looking for, your real estate agent will set up with an automated property search that will notify you about all homes within your search criteria as soon as they hit the market.
View Homes
Now that you are all set up with a budget, wish list and personalized property search you can start scheduling showings and viewing homes. When you see a property you like send the address, MLS number, and preferred day and time for the showing to your agent and they will coordinate with the listing realtor. The purpose of the showing is to view the home in person, get a feel for the layout, condition of the home, location and other things that may not have been translated through the photos. After the showing you will take some time to debrief with your agent about the likes & dislikes to determine if this home is suitable for you.
Make an Offer
You’ve found the home and you want to make an offer! There are a few things to consider when offering on a home - What price you want to offer? When do you want to close? What subjects and clauses do you want to add? How much do you want to put down as a deposit? How long do you need for due diligence? Your agent will draft the contract, then send it to you electronically to review and sign. Once the offer is submitted, the seller will respond in one of three ways: Accept offer, reject offer, come back with a counter offer asking you to change price, dates, conditions etc. Negotiations go back and fourth until both parties are satisfied. If parties cannot come to an agreement, negotiations end and we continue our home search. Some listings are very desirable and attract multiple offers. If this is the case, you will discuss with your agent what offer strategy you’re comfortable with and your agents will do everything they can to ensure your offer stands out. Submitting and negotiating offers is a time sensitive matter, it is important you are available to review and sign documents in a timely fashion.
Due Diligence
Congratulations! The seller has accepted your offer. If your offer was conditional, for example on financing, inspection, home insurance and/or title review you will typically have about 5-10 days to research the property, and do your due diligence in order to satisfy the contract conditions to make sure you’re 100% confident in your purchase. If for whatever reason something comes up in your research related to the conditions that you don’t like, you can either renegotiate the contract or walk away from the deal without penalty.
Subject Removal
You love the home, everything is perfect and you’re ready to finalize the contract. Now that you’ve researched the property, are satisfied with the findings and your mortgage broker has given the green light on financing, you can remove your conditions. At subject removal you will submit a non-refundable deposit to show good faith that you will see the contract through to completion and purchase the home. The deposit will get help in trust with your real estate agents brokerage and make up a portion of your downpayment at completion.
Completion
A standard residential home purchase will typically close 30-90 days after an offer becomes unconditional. One week prior to completion you will meet with your lawyer to sign and review all documents, pay the remainder of your downpayment and the closing costs. The lawyer will register the title in your name and ensure mortgage funds have been transferred. They will draft a statement of adjustment to ensure buyer and seller pay their portion of strata fees, taxes etc. You may be required to pay the seller additional monies to balance the statement of adjustment. During this time you will want to pack, get movers lined up, insurance in order, utilities set up and addresses changed.

On the day of completion you will meet your real estate agent at your new home to receive the keys and do a quick walk through of the property to make sure everything is as it should be. Once you have your keys, you can start to settle in!