Buyers

Buyers

FIRST STEP: CREATE A WISH LIST

Being mindful of what you want and need in your house or condo is important. What do your needs, wants, and repellents entail? Do you require a certain number of bedrooms? What type of exterior space are you looking for? Will your home need certain appliances, countertops, and flooring? You won’t be able to obtain what you’re looking for if you aren’t sure what it is. Obviously, location is a crucial aspect – is there a neighbourhood in Toronto that you feel comfortable in?

Keep in mind that Toronto is always a hot real estate market, so compromise will be a crucial aspect of this process. Just about everyone must make compromises on things, and it tends to boil down to price, location, finishes, and size. What do you consider important? Do you prefer living in a large house or close to downtown? Do you intend to buy a house at an inexpensive rate and conduct renovations on it on your own? Or do you have the budget to pay for a house that’s already renovated? Are you open to residing on a street full of hustle and bustle, or do you have the means to live in a residential area close to schools?


SECOND STEP: CHOOSE A TORONTO OR GTA REAL ESTATE AGENT

This section is at the beginning for a reason – the initial steps to buying a house or condo in Toronto is to determine the amount of a loan a bank can potentially lend you. To get a mortgage pre-approval, the lender will assess your debts, income, and down payment. It is prudent to thoroughly optimize your prequalification before looking at properties, and the best way to do so is to receive a pre-approval for a mortgage. If you are pre-approved, it will be articulated as such in writing (your pre-approval will be valid for 3 or 4 months). You will be required to show proof of income and have good credit history. If you are pre-approved, you will receive a guaranteed interest rate.
A pre-approval doesn’t guarantee the issuance of a loan. Lenders need to feel confident that the money they are giving you to buy a home matches the value of a property. Financial institutions in the city of Toronto ask for home appraisals by independent parties prior to the issuance of mortgage funds.
Receiving a pre-approval will tell you how much money you can expect to receive from a lender. In having such a figure, you’ll have a price range to work with when searching for Toronto or GTA homes. Your house hunting endeavours can be limited to homes within your reach. Pre-approvals also bypass the uncertainty and risk of financing after you discover the home of your dreams.

This is a frequently asked question?

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.


THIRD STEP: USING THE INTERNET TO SEARCH FOR TORONTO CONDOS AND HOUSES

94% of people in Canada use the Internet to search for potential homes. Although there are an assortment of real estate sites to choose from, here are some resources you may want to consider using:


1. Realtor.ca

2. Customized listings

3. Realm (contact me to setup an account)

Suggestions for Browsing Homes on the Internet

·  Be open-minded. Pictures do not always indicate what the interior actually resembles.

·  Don’t believe everything you read. If you see something along the lines of “ready for a personal touch,” odds are the property will need plenty of work. If you see a listing that says something like “dream home in Forest Hill for less than $600,000,” odds are the home is in the Forest Hill vicinity (as opposed to actually in Forest Hill).

·  Don’t forget –sale price and asking price are two different things. The Toronto real estate market is hot, and as such, most homes tend to sell for much more than their original listing price.

·  If you are looking for a condominium, be mindful of what the maintenance fees cover, as fees vary for each building. Low maintenance fees might result in higher monthly expenses if electricity and heat aren’t included.

·  Figure out how MLS listings are to be read –the acronym SUMS or ELF may be confusing if you’ve never been on the site before.

FOURTH STEP: REAL LIFE HOUSE HUNTING

Here is your chance to feel out all the neighborhoods in Toronto. Feel free to refine your list selections and make queries. A selection list can be beneficial in determining which properties are worth visiting. Some potential homeowners have an intuition about their ideal home. Granted, they’ll be swayed by a home that satisfies their wants and needs. Nonetheless, the potential of intuition shouldn’t be underestimated.

Homes on the market can be visited either during an open house or with a realtor. Be mindful that not every property hosts open houses. As such, an agent may be your only way of seeing a condo or house. With this method, you schedule a certain time to see a place, as opposed to an open house containing a designated window for mass visits.


Suggestions for viewing condos and houses in person:

· Have a plan: the city of Toronto is quite big, meaning that it is full of unique neighbourhoods. Concentrate on visiting neighbourhoods one-by-one when making your rounds. Factor in the time necessary for parallel parking before you visit a home.

· Carpool: if you are visiting condos and houses with a realtor, they should be the ones behind the wheel. That way, you can concentrate on taking in the neighbourhood your potential home is in. If you are attending an open house, consider biking or walking to it. Finding parking when an open house is in the area can be time-consuming.

· Wear footwear that’s easy to slip on and off: you will be slipping your shoes on and off constantly, so bypass the trouble of tying up your laces each time. Make sure you have socks on when your shoes come off.

· Assess the neighbourhood, not just the home: go for a ride around the vicinity. Figure out where the schools, grocery stores, and parks are. Take a stroll around the block and see what your neighbours are like. Visit a nearby café, pub, or restaurant close to the home.

· When house hunting, timing should be varied: while things tend to look better under the sun, it is crucial to see what the condo or house (in addition to the neighbourhood) looks like at night, too.

· Take the good with the bad: not every neighbourhood is perfect, so you will need to find a way to figure out what the potential drawbacks are. If the home you have your eye on is situated near railroad tracks, determine when trains are most active. If you’re considering buying a condo close to Queen’s Quay, take a walk there in the peak of tourism season (and when it tends to be filled with rollerbladers, bikers, and people on foot the most).

· Take pictures and notes: it is easy to forget individual aspects of condos or houses when you’re looking at multiple homes. We provide clients with iPads so that they are able to take photos and notes of each property they have visited. Be mindful that you probably won’t have permission to take pictures of people’s households, but it does happen. If you do take pictures, refrain from sharing them on the Internet.

· Overlook the grossness: you may be taken aback by the ways people live. However, someone’s outdated preferences, insufficient housekeeping, or poor decorative style shouldn’t influence your opinion.

· Don’t get attached to anything belonging to the seller: this is more prevalent than you may think. The way the condo or house looks with someone else’s things in it may not look the same with your furniture. Visualize what the place will look like after you have styled it.