Are you ready to purchase a new home in Calgary? If so, you are probably wondering how the process works and what all is involved. Although it may seem complicated at first sight, you wont be in it alone. Youll have a team of professionals helping to guide you through the process so that you can end up on the winning side as a new homeowner without having to deal with a lot of stress.
Taking things one step at a time
When you follow the process in a step-by-step order, everything that looks complicated as a whole becomes much more simplified. The first thing that you need to do is get connected with a solid real estate agent and a lender. The real estate agent will work with you to show you the homes that are available while the lender can grant you pre-approval for a mortgage so that you know exactly what type of house you can look at based on your budget.
Finding the right lender
There are a lot of different lenders out there offering a variety of mortgage options. Mortgages themselves can be a complicated affair and to keep the process as simple as possible, and to save money on your mortgage, your best bet is to hook up with a mortgage broker. Hell be able to shop around for the best lender for you based on your own financial situation and can often come up with some pretty good deals at the same time. This will keep your mortgage shopping confined to a one-stop shop with a third-party broker that is interested in finding the right mortgage for you. In most cases there is no fee to pay since the broker is offered a commission from the lending institutions.
Finding the right real estate agent
Look for an agent that has a lot of experience and knows Calgary like the back of his hand. This agent should be personable yet professional in manner and easy to communicate with. When youre first looking for an agent, dont be afraid to ask questions about his credentials and dont forget to ask him the all-important question, Why should I work with you?
Time to shop
When you have reached this point, most of the hard work is behind you. Now you have a team put together and its time to do your home shopping. Have fun with this part of the game and dont let it get to you if you cant find the right home straight away. There is one out there with your name on it; its just a matter of locating this home and then putting an offer in on it. Your agent will help you with the offer and will work on negotiating the best deal for you in the process. The question of a home inspection will be raised and you will be advised whether the seller is offering an inspection or whether you should get one yourself. There may be a clause added to the offer reflecting the inspection, so that the purchase only goes through as long as the home inspection goes well.
When the purchase goes through
At this point youll need to connect with a real estate lawyer to finalize all of the legal papers and thats about it. Now its just a matter of getting a moving company signed up and then passing over the keys on the closing date.