MY CALGARY HOME BUYING PROCESS

Purchasing a home can seem like a very stressful process to go through. We didn’t even know where to begin when it came to buying my first home. But not to worry, with our in-depth experience as Calgary Realtors, we’re here to guide you through the process and the steps that you need to follow to find the best home for you and your family! The key thing is making sure that you follow these steps in the right order.

Step 1: The Calgary Home Search

It’s one thing to think it but its quite another to do it. When it comes to the search, starting is the beginning of the process. Start to think about your “WHY”. Some things to think about:

• Why do you want to move?
  • Are you looking to upsize/downsize
  • Life changes
  • Where do you want to move?
    • Which communities…
    • Close to schools
    • What are you looking for in your home?
      • How many bedrooms, baths, garage etc.
      • When do you want to move?
        • Timing, life changes
        • Who is going to be part of the home buying process
        • How are you going to buy the home
          • Cash/Financing?

Once you have asked yourself these questions, start your search. Thanks to technology, it’s easier than ever to access information with a click of a button. Our top notch website Calgaryliving.ca will help you to find what you are looking for. It allows you to input the features you want to find the homes that fit your budget (more on this in the next step) and search criteria.

Step 2: Find a Calgary Realtor

When you start your search and start to get really serious, you will want to find a Realtor to help guide you through the process. They can help to narrow your focus and help you to visualize what your future home will look like by providing you with listings that match your search criteria. Their main objective is to guide you through the process and provide you the information for you to make decisions on finding the most suitable home for you.

Some things to think about when working with a Realtor

• Should be someone you enjoy working with
• Have clear expectations
• Someone that will be honest with you and not be afraid to hurt your feelings
• Should be knowledgeable and an experienced expert in their field

Once you have decided on a Calgary Realtor, they will ask you to sign a brokerage agreement. This is to confirm that you will be working together in this process. Be sure to go over the agreement with the Realtor and ask questions if you are unsure of anything or seek legal advice through a Real Estate Lawyer. You’re set and ready to go on to the next step. Your Realtor in Calgary would have started to put together an online portfolio of listings for you to look at as well.  Will Vo and Mike Litorco from The Group of RE/MAX First will be more than happy to assist with any initial questions you may have!

Step 3: Getting Pre-Approved

Of all the steps in the process, I can’t stress enough how important this step is. Oddly enough it is the most often overlooked and ignored. The common responses of “Oh my credit is perfect” or “I don’t need to do this now” are some of the reasons why Calgary real estate purchases don’t go through or cause great stress in getting everything in place.

Some reasons why you want to get pre-approved with a mortgage broker or bank:

• Peace of Mind
  • Purchasing power – what can you afford?
  • Know what your monthly payments are
  • Getting locked in at a good interest rate
  • Gives you an advantage
    • Not all mortgages are created equal. Shop around and see what products are available and tailored to your needs. Some mortgages can even save you money.
    • Saves you time and stress
      • A lot of the Calgary home buying process is preparation, preparation and preparation
      • Doing as much as possible ahead of time will make the process go smoother and allow you to enjoy the fun part of buying which is the search itself!

Step 4: View Properties in Person

With your Pre-approval ready and your Realtor or ready to guide you, you are now ready to start looking at properties in person. You would have reviewed and selected some properties from the listings that your Realtor would have sent you and you are now ready to view properties in person. Really start to picture yourself in the home. Start to note things that you like and dislike. Your Realtor will have asked what your thoughts are on the property. Start to eliminate those properties that don’t fit your criteria and start to create a “rolling” top 3. Your 1a 1b and 1c. Doing this will help to avoid getting overwhelmed when looking at multiple properties. After a while they start to look the same. Don’t worry, your Realtor will be there to make sure things stay on track!

Step 5: Due Diligence

When you have decided on the property that you want, your Realtor will sit down with you to start to go over the comparables and give you an idea of what to offer for the property. Ultimately, it will be up to you to make the final decision.  An offer will be drafted and your Realtor will confirm with the Sellers if the property is still available. If there are no other offers in play, they will notify the sellers of your intent to put an offer in. Once the offer is submitted, the negotiations have begun, an agreement is reached. From here you will need to satisfy your conditions to make the deal firm and officially sold! After this the lawyers will get involved with their due diligence. In total, expect 4-6 weeks of time required to get everything done.

You then take possession and you have now just purchased your dream Calgary home! Buying a home doesn’t have to be complicated and stressful so long as you follow these steps, you’ll find that this process can be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved!