Buying a home in Toronto’s real estate market can be an overwhelming task if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of purchasing in a busy and sometimes very competitive market. Whether you’re a first time home buyer or an experienced “move up” buyer, there are certain steps you should take to ensure buying your home will be a smooth and enjoyable experience…

1. Ensure you are familiar with the buying process from start to finish and ask as many questions as you can. Sometimes things can get a little crazy when you’re in the middle of offer negotiations so now is the time to get familiar with the process. I have a team of mortgage and financial advisors, home inspectors, lawyers, and a host of other specialists related you your home purchase who will be able to provide the support you may need.
2. Have a prioritized list of your needs and wants. It’s important to have a clear picture of the type of home you expect to find because sometimes the market isn’t always able to supply you with what you desire. Having a prioritized list as a guide allows us to find a property that will best suit your overall needs and provide you with good resale value in the future.
3. Understand the incidental expenses involved in closing a real estate transaction. Please refer to my blog post about moving costs for further information on this point.
4. Get your mortgage pre-approved. This step is very easy to do and is possibly the most important step. I suggest speaking with at least two mortgage specialists to determine what your mortgage options are. Part of my service is to hook you up with the best names in the business, so please just ask, should you need a referral to a mortgage specialist. This is also a good time to arrange for your deposit funds to be available so that when you do find the right property, you have the deposit available to secure it.
5. Looking at homes. This is the fun part of the process and one that allows me to hone my understanding of what it is you’re truly hoping to find in a new home. It’s best to try to see a group of homes at one time and our outings will probably range from 1-2 hours at a time. Seeing more that 4-6 properties on any given day can be a bit confusing so it’s best to bring a pen and notepad along with you to keep track of what you’ve seen.
6. Preparing an offer. Once you’ve found a property you love, it’s time for me to draft an offer for you. It’s a really good idea for you to have an understanding of the basic clauses that are included in the pre-printed agreements from the Toronto Real Estate Board, so at this time we will review the standard clauses and the custom clauses used in your offer to purchase. Once you’re comfortable with everything, it’s time to sign your offer.
7. Presenting your offer. The etiquette of this step has changed a lot of the years because of the digital age; I do however do my best to be present at the offer presentation. Many sellers and seller’s agents don’t want the buyer agent present because of time restrictions or because they know I’m representing your interests and not theirs… they will allow me the opportunity to explain the details of your offer to them but often it’s done through the seller’s agent and not directly with the seller.
8. Expect a ‘sign-back’. Unless your offer is accepted, expect the seller to sign back your offer to you. This is just the seller’s way of saying that they aren’t completely happy with your offer but they are “willing to negotiate”. At this point, you can either accept the seller’s offer to you or you can sign back the offer again to them with terms that are more agreeable to you. This is ‘negotiating’ and you can expect this process to happen a few times before an acceptable agreement is in place.
9. Fulfillment of conditions. Once negotiations are finished and an agreement is in place, any conditions within the agreement must be waived. The most common agreements are conditional upon certain requirements such as arranging financing or having a home inspection done on the property. Often you have a limited amount of time to satisfy yourself with any conditions that are in the offer and if they are not fulfilled within the allotted time frame then the agreement becomes “null and void” and your deposit is returned. Of course, as your advisor I will let you know the list of activities to complete and the dates by which they must be completed to finalize the sale.
10. Celebrate! Once you have fulfilled and waived all your conditions, you will have a firm and binding contract. It’s now time to plan your move.