Whether it is your first, second, fifth or tenth home. There’s only one way to buy a home, and it’s to shop the market. As you have noticed over the past year or so, the Windsor market has become a local hot spot for selling activity. This not only creates a limited amount of homes on the market, but it also causes prices to climb. Over the past month, home prices have climbed by 4%!
If you have been keeping a pulse on the current market, with rising mortgage rates, there is no better time to lock in your mortgage rate and start looking. John Diab is your dedicated, real estate sales representative that can make this process much easier. Taking the time to provide you with a list of new properties that come on the market as they are listed. According to your preferences and needs in your home search. Having your financing arranged prior to viewing your options will make the buying process much easier when you decide on “the one,” that catches your attention. Making the offer process seamless, avoiding any hiccups. John will help you with the entire process from start to finish, ensuring you are ready to sign on the purchase offer line with confidence!
Here’s some things to consider when you are purchasing your home, prior to shopping:
Down Payment
Mortgage regulations in Canada stipulate that you must have a 5% minimum down payment for your home purchase, plus mortgage insurance. You will also be responsible to cover the closing costs as well. The Mortgage Calculator will help you determine those $ amounts that you will need based on the purchase price of your home. Having at least a 20% down payment would remove the requirement to purchase mortgage insurance. This would allow significant savings with the purchase of your home and allow up to 30 years to pay the bank for your mortgage.
Budget
Knowing your monthly income and expenses will better assist in determining what house would be right for you. This will also be helpful when setting up the mortgage with your bank or mortgage broker. They will need to know your income and any debt that you will be paying on a monthly basis. When you setup your budget, you can also plan for the future expenses of when you own your home. Keep in mind, that in some cases, the timeframe in which the city/town collects property tax might be in advance, and to avoid any surprises, call your local city/town hall to determine how they collect those payments.
Needs vs. Wants
Write down your necessities. Number of bedrooms, bathrooms, basement finished/unfinished, office space, etc. By having a list available to refer to, it helps keep your search on track. Avoiding any unnecessary options that don’t include your basic necessities. If you only have one vehicle, how close is the grocery store, school/bus route, parks, shopping? These are important considerations when house hunting, because you want to have easy access to these amenities. Check out the listings and you can see the Walk Score, and local amenities to help with this decision. Next, make a list of wants. Prioritizing them will help with comparing your findings during the shopping process. When you find homes that match both your needs and wants, compare what they have with apples to apples. Look back at your lists and make an informed decision when buying the home.
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