How to buy a House in Chilliwack – A Step By Step Guide
Everything You Need to Know to buy a house!
Buying a home is most likely the largest purchase that you’ll ever make in your life, and there’s a lot that you need to know to buy a house!
Have you ever wondered the steps involved in buying a house ? Read below to find out how……
The home buying process can be very stressful overwhelming, but this step by step guide will help you to understand how to buy a House.
You might have questions like How do I find a realtor, to making an offer, to the final move in.
Obtain Mortgage Approval
** This should be the first step in how to buy a House. Looking for a house without approval from a bank or mortgage broker will be a waste of time for you and everyone else involved **
Firstly, it’s important that you hire a mortgage broker that has a good availability. Furthermore, you will want to work with someone who is easily accessible. This is important because you could be writing offers last minute and in evenings. Working with a mortgage broker with a flexible schedule is one of the most important steps when purchasing a home.
The main jobs of a mortgage broker is to help you get pre-approved and determine your affordability for your home purchase.
Another option for you is to go to your bank and find a mortgage broker that can assist you with the home buying process and goals.
Minimum down payment rules in BC are as follows:
- 5% for properties for the portion of the purchase price up to $500,000
- 10% of the portion of the purchase price above $500,000 but less than $1,000,000
- 20% on the purchase price for properties valued at and above $1,000,000
FIND YOUR REALTOR
It is very crucial to work alongside a great realtor to guide you through the entire home buying process. And of course, make sure to check business Testimonials of the Realtor on the Realtors website or Goggle Reviews.
The buyer’s agent is there to assist you in the entire home buying process. In addition, your Realtor will help to guide you in the right direction, show you homes and different neighborhoods, write an enforceable contract for you, and assist you towards completion/possession to ensure their are no surprises for you.
Some of the services a realtor will provide are:
- Providing accurate answers to any questions you may have about a specific home you are considering
- Assist you on the type of home you need and can afford for your budget
- Providing information about available properties and recommending a lender
- Determining market value of a property so that you don’t overpay
- Arranging appointments and scheduling to view available properties
- Writing enforceable offers and explaining key terms, subjects/clauses, and agreements to ensure that you are protected in your purchase
- Reviewing all the related documents of the Contract Of Purchase And Sale
- Presenting your offer to the listing agent and sellers and using their negotiating skills to help you get the best price possible
- Facilitating all the steps between an accepted offer, home inspection and completion/possession of your new home
- Meeting you at your new home to give you your keys and do a walk through of the home
MAKE A LIST OF WANTS AND MUST HAVE’S FOR YOUR NEW HOUSE
We recommend you sit down and make a list of what you absolutely must have in your new home and what are your wants.
Purchasing a house is a big expense so it is very important to be realistic and stay within your budget, it’s equally important to narrow down exactly what you need. Think of everything else included after your “Must Have List” as a bonus!
Try to be cautious to not get distracted by fancy shiny items as these can take your attention away from what you actually need. It can be difficult not to get caught up in this but it is important to try your best to pay attention to price, necessities and dates. Focus on your “Needs” over “Wants” and your home buying process will be much easier!
GO LOOK AT HOMES
Generally speaking, I recommend as soon as you have outlined your list of Needs and Wants, it’s time to go out and look at homes! Spend as much time as possible viewing Open Homes to get an idea of what you Do and Don’t like.
Have your realtor check availability and book private showings for houses he or she has sent you.
NARROW DOWN YOUR SEARCH
I recommend viewing as many Open Homes as possible. In doing so will help you narrow down exactly what you do and don’t want in a home.
When you have narrowed down what it is exactly that you do and don’t want then have your Realtor update your search criteria.
It is important to be patient when you buy a house. The process of finding the right home could take you anywhere from one day to over one year. Take your time, and narrow down what it is you really need so when the perfect house comes up you can jump on it.
WRITE AN OFFER
This is one of the most important steps in buying a house!
A good Realtor will go over all the details of your offer step by step. Likewise your realtor should perform a comparative market analysis for you to determine the market value of the home you are offering on.
The most common conditions of an offer are:
- financing
- title search
- property disclosure statement
- inspection
- strata documentation (if applicable strata property)
When writing an offer there are some important things to decide on:
- Subjects/Conditions
- Dates for possession & completion
- Included & Excluded items
- Offer price & Deposit amount
- Decide on terms of the offer
- Expiry of offer (How long the seller(s) have to counter or accept)
After the seller(s) receive your offer the Seller(s) will do 1 of 3 things:
- Accept the offer as is
- Reject the offer ( Decide not to even deal with it )
- Counter the offer with a different price and or terms
SUBJECT REMOVAL PROCESS
Subject removal period allows buyer(s) to perform their due diligence on the home/property. It is equally important to ensure that all your finances/mortgage approval are in order prior to finalizing the purchase and delivering deposit.
The deposit will be due when you are satisfied with all of the subjects/conditions before or on the subject removal date. If you are not satisfied with the results of any of the subjects in the contract you have the option to walk away from the deal.
House Deposit:
Generally speaking, house deposits are typically 5% of the purchase price. For the most part, your deposit is held in trust by the buyer(s) agent’s brokerage until completion. Deposit will form a part of your down payment on the home. Once you remove your subjects and provide your deposit, the purchase/sale is now considered “sold firm” and the house is yours upon completion date stated in the contract!
CHOOSING A NOTARY OR LAWYER
Whenever you buy or sell a home you will need a notary or lawyer to represent you in the real estate transaction.
If you are buying and selling to use the same notary or lawyer for both transactions.
Your Lawyer or Notary will draft up a statement of adjustments for you. This will let you know how much money is due upon completion and what the exact closing costs are. If something goes wrong the Notary/Lawyer will be your help to ensure things are smoothed out. In most cases, the Notary or Lawyer will usually meet with you 2-3 weeks prior to completion of the sale to sign all the required documents.
MOVING IN/POSSESSION DAY
Now this is the fun part!
The possession date is outlined in the contract of purchase and sale. In addition, the contract will also outline the time that you can have get your keys and gain access to your new home.
It is very important to make sure your realtor goes over these important dates/times with you. In doing so, you will know exactly what time you are able to move in so that you can schedule your move accordingly. In a perfect scenario, the sellers should have already cleaned and vacated the house upon possession time. Although, in some cases the seller(s) have not cleaned properly or finished the move on time. Likewise, everyone’s level of clean is different than others so the home might not be as clean as expected.
Your realtor will pass the keys along to you at the time of possession and walk through the home to make sure that everything outlined in the Contract is there and operational.
In conclusion, you need to work with a trustworthy and experienced Realtor to guide you through all of the steps.
If you’re thinking of making a move in the near future, or have already started looking and are interested in writing an offer then give us a call at 778-888-6566. We will help you throughout the home buying process.
Text or call: 778-888-6566 or email [email protected] to start a conversation.
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Honestly if you are moving or relocating here to Chilliwack, Fraser Valley or Vancouver areas we can make that transition so much easier on you!!
Reach out Day/Nights/Weekends whenever you want, we never stop working for you!!
Chris McRae – McRae Real Estate Group – Top Rated Chilliwack Real Estate Agent
Chris McRae Personal Real Estate Corporation
Homelife Advantage Realty Ltd
📲 Call/Text Direct at 778-888-6566
📲 Email: [email protected]
👨💻 Website: www.mcraerealestategroup.com
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