#1 Decide who is going on title of the house (important when you are purchasing a house with anyone other than your spouse or common law partner)
#2 Be pre-approved by a bank or a mobile mortgage specialist-online mortgage calculators can only do so much and a bank or other mortgage professional will be able to determine EXACTLY what you can afford to pay, so utilize their expertise it is free after all!
#3 After you have met with a bank and have your limit, meet with me and I will go through the process and show you what is available in your range. We will discuss things such as what features you want in a property (what you can and can not live without), which area you would like to live in the city, importance of schools, and what price range you are comfortable with.
#4 Now that you know what you want and what you can spend, that is when it is time to start previewing properties and not until then. It is disheartening for people who think their credit is better than it actually is and they start looking at upper ranges of properties just to find out that they cannot afford this property. It is not a good use of time or energy, so dont get ahead of yourself! Once you have your price limit I will start sending you listings and you can weed through those online or verbally and we can narrow it down from there and THEN get out and start looking.
#5 Start looking! But give yourself limits and guidelines and take notes as, after a couple of houses you will forget which one had which feature or special thing that stands out. Trust your gut and if it feels right, go for it! Remember, it may not have exactly everything that you like, even if you built your own home it could take you 3 or more times to get it completely right, but some things are quick cosmetic fixes and you have to decide what you can do and what you will not do.
#6 Now is the time to put in the offer. Your agent will help you determine if the asking price is fair or, if negotiating, how much is fair to negotiate and your agent should let you know that offering too low may offend the vendor and you dont want to risk that as they will continue to think you are trying to take from them. Dont wait a few days or a week, or even one day if you think it is the right property. Act fast as someone may beat you to the punch and you may be very disappointed and not find something you like again for a long time. The market generally goes up as well so you may even end up paying MORE than what the first one was listed for due to the market changes and having to wait to find something else.
As always if you have any questions please feel free to contact me at karicalder@sasktel.net or visit my Saskatoon real estate website.
Kari Calder
Saskatoon Real Estate Agent
Century 21 Conexus Realty Ltd.
www.karicalder.com