Tolga’s Tips: Buying Your Home

Finding the perfect home takes time, patience, planning and a lot of hard work. Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area has been the fastest growing region in North America for many years and shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. Purchasing a home can be competitive and full of disappointments, but with the right agent and the right advice you have a much better chance of finding that dream home.

Discover Your Requirements:

Having a clear idea of what you want is a great place to start, but be specific. Determining your needs from your wants is very important, emotions tend to run high when you consider where you are going to be spending most of your time for the next year, few years, or longer. The average person moves once every 7 years, so you want to make sure what you can live with, what you want to live with and what you can and can’t live without.

Location is a great place to start, there are so many great places in Toronto, but they may not be right for you. What’s important to remember is that where you Iive will have a major impact on your lifestyle, is it important to live near transit, restaurants, on a quiet family oriented street? Where you live and how you live are very closely related, a Real Estate Agent should be able to provide you with some ideas and show you a few options you didn’t think were possible. Another point to consider about location is that it is closely linked to the value of your home, so have a good balance of emotion and foresight.

Budget, know how much you have to spend, and just as importantly how much you want to spend. Buying a house has some cost you may not have originally considered, so you need to budget for that.

What kind of house are you looking for? Detached, or a semi detached with an abundance of living space, or a condo, which offers lower maintenance living. Also consider the features of that property, is parking available, a large kitchen, a second, third, fourth or fifth bedroom. Must you have an ensuite? It’s important to have a list before you start looking to narrow down the options.

Starting The Search:

Your search will most likely begin with a search tool, like the one on this page, where you can begin searching for properties based on budget, location and any specific features you desire. Working with an agent can help you narrow down the search as they may be privy to some information that is not listed on the site you are using. The agent will plan a day to show you a list of properties, where you can discuss what works and what doesn’t. A truly professional agent will be able to read between the lines of what you express and narrow the search as you see more and more properties.

The process can be exciting and daunting at the same time, too many options can result in too much time being taken to decide, leaving another buyer time to come in a swoop that property from under your nose, the busy market can be frustrating, that’s where patience comes in handy. While you search it’s important to not get caught up in the smaller things like paint and finishings, those things are relatively inexpensive things to alter. Electrical, plumbing and structural issues are things that you will want to consider and it’s always a good idea to have them inspected by a certified professional.

Making The Offer:

You’ve come to the point where you’ve made your decision, now what. Toronto and the GTA are difficult markets filled with many disappointments, bidding wars and difficult negotiations are unfortunately all too common. Having a realistic expectation of a properties worth and a solid support system to help you through the storm are important, the right agent can help. you with that. The offer you put together with your agent will the include the price you are willing to pay, the expiration of the offer, a closing date and conditions of the purchase. The conditions you will need to consider include, financing, whether a survey is needed to determine if there are any encroachments on the property, home inspection by someone qualified and whether the chattels (like appliances) or fixtures (like the gorgeous chandelier in the front entrance) are included or excluded from the sale. You will also need to deal with your lawyer to ensure an adequate title search for the property has been conducted and you will need to determine whether you need to sell your home. Every sale is alittle bit different from the last. With the offer you present to the seller you will need to include a deposit, the deposit is held in trust by the seller’s lawyer and shows good faith to the seller, the amount will be something you want to discuss with your agent. Next you sit and wait to hear if your offer has been accepted, or rejected. The third option is that the seller counter offers you something they find more desirable, at which point you keep going until you both agree.

An Accepted Offer:

Once an offer is accepted all conditions have been met, the contract is legally binding for all parties. Be sure you understand the legal implications before you sign that agreement because once its signed the only way out is through court order or mutual agreement.

Before you receive the keys there are a few important things that need to be taken care of, you will need to deal with the mortgage and provide them all the documents they require and the lawyers will transfer the title from seller to buyer, the lawyer should also ensure that everything is as stated in the offer to purchase.

There are some extra costs you may not have considered, some to keep in mind are, the legal fees, the appraisal fee, survey costs, high ratio mortgage premium, interest adjustment on the mortgage, reimbursements of prepaid taxes or utility bills, land transfer tax, the agent fees and the mortgage broker fees.

Once you have all of that settled, you can walk through the door with key in hand and celebrate your new home!