98.4% of people get help from a REALTOR when buying a home. Did you know that only 20% of REALTORS do 80% of the sales? When selecting a REALTOR you want a professional and successful REALTOR who has experience.

By understanding your needs/wants we will take this information and interpret into search criteria, tailored specific to you. By creating a search unique to you, this provides you with only information and homes relevant to your personal buying experience and doesn’t overwhelm you with irrelevant information.

We notify you the moment a great opportunity comes available allowing you to pounce on a good deal.

What Does it Cost to Own a Home?

• Down Payment
• Legal Fees
• Inspection Fees
• Taxes

Monthly Costs of Owning A Home?

• Mortgage
• Utilities
• Maintenance
• Insurance
• Property Taxes
• Condo Fees

How Much Can You Afford?

Knowing your true budget is very important when buying a home. Focus on the monthly number. If you have a figure you can spend each month on Mortgage, Taxes and Condo fees, work with that to ensure that you are comfortable every month.
Make as big of a down payment as you can. Don’t leave yourself short; set aside some money for moving expenses, repairs, renovations and perhaps some new furniture.
We can recommend excellent Mortgage Brokers who can help you with this very important step in the home buying process.

You found a home, Congratulations! Now, to make it yours you have to make an offer that the Seller will accept.

During The Offer Process We Will:

• Do background research to make sure that nothing is left out and you have all the information necessary to make an informed decision.
• Prepare the offer. This protects you and we will follow all your instructions to ensure your needs are met. We recommend reviewing the contracts in our package before writing an offer so you are familiar with them and can ask questions prior to the time of writing.
• Explain all the details. We will give you all the options and ensure you know what you are agreeing to.
• Present and negotiate the offer. You have signed all the papers, now we will do our best to get you the home you want at the price you are comfortable with.

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At the final stretch, there are closing payments that need to be made. These costs can include mortgage application fees, legal fees, inspections. Once you jump through those final hoops you can finally take comfort in knowing you have purchased a new home.

This is where we work through any conditions written into the offer. Typically, these will be Financing and Home Inspection. With a condo there will also be Condo Documents to inspect.

Your lender will need to see a copy of the Contract and you will work closely with your Mortgage Broker or Lender to ensure that they can approve the financing.

Home Inspection: This is your biggest purchase and a few hundred dollars spent on an inspection can save you from unpleasant surprises. We can recommend several home inspection companies to choose from.

GO WITH A LICENSED PROFESSIONAL

JOIN THE INSPECTION

Get up close and personal with your new home. The process can be up to three hours. If any problems are detected, you will see them right away and learn some maintenance tips from a pro.

YOU’LL GET IT IN WRITING

Their report will summarize the condition of your home. If there’s anything that needs work the home inspector will provide guidance and suggestions for any items of concern.

NO SUCH THING AS “PERFECT”

Even with a brand new home there will be some minor defects (and even some not so minor). Every home will have some minor deferred maintenance and issues that will come up. We will work through these to decide which are serious and need to be fixed and which can we live with.

You may have already chosen your lawyer, if not, now is the time. Once you have a lawyer chosen, and we can recommend several, they will need all the required paperwork. This is usually handled by us to ensure they get absolutely everything they need.

You will meet with the lawyer a few days before you take possession and will need to provide your insurance information, the balance of your down-payment, fees and any adjustments for taxes as necessary. The lawyer will send you a statement of everything with a balance owing. You will make an appointment to go in and sign all the paperwork and finalize everything before you own the home.

MOVERS – If you are using professional movers, book early.

MAILING ADDRESS – Gather all your bills, statements, tax information, healthcare information and anything you make automatic payments on. Sit down and make a list of these things early, because you don’t want to forget any. It’s time to start giving out your new mailing address. You might want to have your mail forwarded through the Post Office.

UTILITIES – When you take possession of your new home, it is very important to change your utilities over to your address in advance. This includes your phone, cable, internet, power and gas services. Also, don’t forget to cancel the utilities at your previous residence.

PROPERTY TAXES – A phone call to the City or a quick look on their website will give you the information you need to make sure that your property taxes are set up in your name.

Finally, the day we have all been waiting for.

We will receive a call once the money has transferred and keys are releasable. This is usually around noon, but may be later. We advise to not book movers, cleaners, etc right at Noon in case there is a delay.

If there are any problems keys will still change hands, however the seller will be responsible to take reasonable action to remedy the problem or be in breach of the contract and the buyer can pursue legal remedies accordingly. The lawyer will give you advice if anything is a miss.
You will be extremely excited and emotions are running high. Having a REALTOR who has done this multiple times will ensure that things are done correctly and make sure nothing is missed during this exciting time.

Buying a home is a big decision, and due to the large sum of money being transferred, you want to be sure you have all of your bases covered. One thing every new homeowner should be taking advantage of is the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (FTHBC).In 2009, Revenue Canada introduced FTHBC to benefit first time home buyers like yourself. If you qualify, you are eligible for a 15% income tax credit on a maximum of $5,000 of home purchase costs from the year you purchased the house. Land transfer taxes and legal fees serve as some examples.

In order to qualify for this credit, you must meet the following requirements:

• You or your spouse must purchase a qualifying home (see below)
• You or your spouse’s name must be on the registry of the house
• You cannot have owned and lived in a home by you or your spouse in the past four years
• You must present documents supporting the purchase of the home

Your home must also meet the following requirements:

• The home must be within Canada
• It can be a single, semi, townhouse, mobile home, condo, or an apartment
• You must occupy the home within one calendar year of the purchase date

The HST New Housing Rebate program allows you to claim a rebate on part of the HST you pay on the purchase price of either a newly constructed home or cost of building the home. You can claim a rebate on a newly renovated home, a purchase of a new mobile home, or when your home is destroyed in a fire and is subsequently rebuilt.

The purchase price of resale homes are exempted from the HST whereas the purchase price of newly constructed homes are subject to HST.

New home buyers can apply for a 36% rebate on the federal portion of the HST of the purchase price to a maximum of $6,300 for homes costing $350,000 or less. For new homes priced at $350,000 to $450,000 the rebate will be reduced proportionately. Homes priced over $450,000 would not receive a rebate on the federal portion of the HST.

For the provincial portion of the HST, new home buyers can apply for a 75% rebate applicable to the purchase price to a maximum of $24,000.

First-time buyers of new and re-sale homes are eligible for rebates on provincial and Toronto land transfer taxes. The maximum that first-time home buyers can receive for provincial land transfer tax (LTT) is $2,000 and for the Toronto LTT its $3,725.

The provincial LTT is payable anywhere in Ontario, including Toronto. As mentioned before, the maximum that a first-time buyer can receive for the provincial LTT is $2,000. For re-sale homes, the provincial rebate only applies to first-time buyers who entered into Agreements of Purchase and Sale after December 13, 2007.

Toronto LTT is payable only for properties in the City of Toronto. The maximum a first-time home buyer can receive is $3,725. The Toronto LTT rebates are in addition to any provincial LTT rebate the buyer qualifies for.

The buyer is considered to be a first-time buyer for the provincial and Toronto LTT if they are at least 18 years of age and must not have previously owned a home anywhere in the world at anytime. If a spouse is involved, the spouse cannot have owned a home or had any ownership interest in a home while he/she was the purchaser’s spouse.