Steps to buying your first home – continued

Read part one here: https://www.thelocalweekly.ca/steps-to-buying-your-first-home/

Now you have a pre-approval in hand and have selected the realtor you want to use as your buyer’s agent, it’s time to start looking at homes.

At this stage, you should have been set-up on what is generally referred to as a “drip feed”.  The drip feed will automatically email you properties that meet your criteria as they come on the market and you can keep a list of the ones you are interested in. Once you have selected some properties to view, your realtor will set up a tour for you and you will go and visit the homes of interest. This is an important stage in the process for the buyer’s agent. They will learn a lot about your taste, be able to refine your criteria and ultimately have a much better understanding of what you are looking for after spending a few hours looking at properties with you.

I recommend not looking at more than five homes in one session as they will start to blend together if you do more than five. Your buyer’s agent should supply you with info on the properties you are seeing along with a tour sheet. Remember to bring a pen and paper so you can take notes during each walk-through.  Being able to refer back to these notes can be also helpful once you decide to make an offer on a property. Pack a drink and snacks on tour and its best to ride in the same car as your buyer’s agent rather than following behind. Talking to you in the car about neighborhoods and getting feedback on the different properties you view is valuable insight for your realtor.

Once you find the home you want to purchase, it’s time to write an offer. Normally, an offer will have subjects or conditions on it. Common subjects include financing, building inspection, septic inspection, review of title, review of the property disclosure statement and the ability to get insurance. Ten days is the usual time for these subjects but that can vary depending on the situation.

Removing your subjects is the last step in committing to the purchase. It means you have completed your due diligence and are ready to pay your deposit. The sold sign can go up and you can start planning your packing and coordinating your move.

If you don’t already have a lawyer or a notary public lined up, your realtor should be able to give you some options. A lawyer or notary is required to transfer the title from the buyer to seller and look after other parts of the conveyance process.

Tony Browton is an award-winning Realtor who lives and works on BC’s Sunshine Coast. 

His weekly blog can be found here http://www.truebluerealty.ca/blog