Its easy to get confused. There is so much information available to you on the internet that many people get overwhelmed and procrastinate often to their detriment later.
Some people wait for home prices to come down when in fact they go up, Others wait for a better interest rate than the one offered now and at the time of writing our government is planning to increase them again to calm down an overheating economy,
The best time to buy a home is when you are ready.
When you can commit to one home for the next 3 or possibly 5 years and in many cases longer.
That is the time to buy a home.
Let us examine the 10 steps you might wish to follow. I like to call this “The Ambergate Method”. All members of my team will encourage you to follow this simple and effective program to ensure you receive the best possible outcome.
1. What’s & Whys
We like to go deeper with you. You might be aware that you need 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and perhaps a garage. We will encourage you think to harder. Perhaps one floor plan style would be wiser than another. Perhaps you could get away with less bedrooms and gain an office. You might want to live on a golf course when a ravine location would do. Some areas are better than others. We help you explore all options so that no stone is unturned. Sometimes we like to take you through a fun ‘what’s and whys’ exercise. Ask us how this works.
2. REALTOR® Selection
Some buyers like to go direct to the listing agent. Calling the listing REALTOR® can be a great way to find a professional that knows the area and whom might be able to answer some direct questions about the home. However, they can never advocate for you. Their one goal is to get the highest price for the seller in the least amount of time. Read this blog to learn you should consider AVOIDING The Listing Agent.
If you have a REALTOR® in your corner working only for you and advocating only for you, then you will enjoy the best possible outcome and that person can help you to see every option in the market.
3. How Will You Pay For Your Home?
Most buyers need finance. Even if you have enough cash to buy a home outright, there are some good arguments to bring an element of finance into the mix. Do you go to a bank or is there another ‘nonretail’ lender out there that has a better product? Are you self-employed? Do you have a mixed credit history? Are you a new Canadian? In these cases, you might be better served speaking to a mortgage broker first. Once you have an approval letter, you can shop with authority and sellers will take note of your preparedness and capability. A word about interest rates. A one percent increase takes 10% off your purchasing power. At the time of writing there is a rumor of further increases by December 2022. This might be a good argument to buy sooner rather than later.
4. Access to the Market
Home listings are everywhere. You can find them on websites easily. Our ‘market funnel’ process ensures you can source the entire market including not only those on the MLS, but also those offered ‘by owner’, new construction and off market homes too.
5. Market Education
We offer 2 stages. The first step is to make a ‘loose selection’ of homes and just go out and look. Three or four homes is usually sufficient. You will not be expected to buy. It’s just for fun. After that though we take your ‘market education’ and tie it back to step one. We can take you out shopping as many times as you need before you select your home. In most cases we limit each showing session to four homes or less to avoid confusion and most of our clients only ever need to go out twice before a home selection is made. Just remember there is no such thing as a perfect home. If you can rate a home as ‘85% or better’ you might want to buy it. It’s also a clever idea to keep a ‘rolling top 3’. In other words, maintain your focus on just 3 homes at any one time. To have more on your list is simply confusing. Oh, and a word about supply. If there is less than 4 months of supply, we consider that a seller’s market and prices should go up. When there is more than 6 months of supply, we expect prices will go down.
6. Submit a Smart Offer
If you are working with someone on our team, you can expect that we will keep you safe throughout this process. We will ensure that your offer reflects what you want and need not what the seller wants and needs. Sometimes these goals are aligned but not often. We ensure you do not pay more than you should and that your offer includes specific and well documented ‘safety valves’ to allow you to back out if necessary.
Your Offer Gains Acceptance!!!
Congratulations. This is a milestone for most home buyers. Now we have to ensure that you complete your due diligence before going on to create a firm contract
7. Due Diligence
A well-crafted offer will include several contingencies that must meet your satisfaction before you finally commit to the purchase. Typically, these include your being satisfied with a home inspection, securing a source of finance and in some cases a review of condominium documents. Other contingency crop up from time to time and we will guide you through those.
8. Connections to Key Service Providers
Perhaps you need an insurance broker. Perhaps you need a plumber and electrician etc. to complete a minor fix on your new home. We have a panel of trusted professionals to whom we can refer you.
9. Walk Through
Sometimes you might elect to do a walkthrough the day before your sale closes. This will allow you to make sure that your new home was not damaged as the seller moved out. Or perhaps would like to confirm that the fixtures and fittings you had us write into your contract are present. We will ensure that this option is written into your offer. Many people miss this step.
10. Move In & Enjoy
The day is finally here when you move into your new home. You unpack some boxes. Switch on the coffee maker or open that bottle of wine. Your home search journey is finally over and the whirlwind exciting as it might have been, is finally over. You are home and safe.
To shop for ALL homes in the metro Edmonton area please go to our website www.AmbergateHomes.ca.
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For a personal consultation, call Stuart Neal at: 780-760-2014 x 3.
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