First Time Buyers

Buying your first home is an exciting experience. As your real estate professional with over ten years experience, I'll educate you on the market conditions and make the process as smooth and possible.

• Buying a home is the largest investment most people will make in their lifetime. The exercise is neither fast nor easy, but a little bit of knowledge will take most of the mystery out of the process.

  Before embarking on your journey, take a moment to review the following tips. They will assist in making the process more efficient and take some of the stress out of home buying:

  • Know how much you can afford.
    Why waste time looking at homes that are not in your price range?
  • Determine your down payment.
    This will allow you to calculate how much you need to borrow and establish a price point. 
  • Know where you want to live.
    Determine areas that best suit your needs.
  • Decide what type of home you want to buy.
    There are a number of housing types available to today's real estate consumers. Single-family detached homes are most popular but there are also semi-detached homes, links, condominium apartments and townhomes, as well as co-ops from which to chose. Each has different characteristics that are more or less suited to individual lifestyles.
  • Determine what you need in a home.
    How many bedrooms or bathrooms do you need? Is there enough parking for your car(s)?
  • Hire a home inspector.
    Home inspections will identify any potential problems and help to save you time and money.
  • Investigate alternatives available to you.
    Government incentives have been introduced to stimulate activity in housing markets across the county. 
  •  Mortgage calculators. Virtually all mortgage professionals and lenders offer helpful calculators to help you determine how much you can afford to spend on a home based on monthly mortgage payment amounts. Your current income and debts, among other things, are taken into consideration during this process.
  • Obtain a pre-approval. Your mortgage professional or lender representative can help you obtain a pre-approval so you know exactly what you can afford to spend on a home.
  • Consider closing costs. Closing costs must be taken into account when making a home purchase. These are costs above and beyond your down payment and monthly mortgage payments, and include such things as legal fees, property tax and utility adjustment costs.
   How's your credit? Many first-time homebuyers are unaware of their credit rating. You can find out about your credit score through a mortgage professional or lender, or you can also obtain your score online on websites such as Equifax.com