Check Your Credit Score There are two main credit scores. The first is TransUnion, and the second is Equifax. Equifax is the credit score that is most widely accepted. If you are interested in learning more about credit scores, check out my blog post, Credit Score Guide. Choose Your Lender Choosing a Mortgage Lender is the cornerstone to starting your home search. This way you can determine your price point when searching for homes and you can feel confident looking at homes in that price point. Check out my blog post, Bank vs. Broker. Find a Real Estate Agent Another cornerstone to searching for a home, is finding a great Realtor to work with. Find an agent that is hard working, knowledgeable, listens to you, and an that has a consultation with you. I always have consultations with potential clients, this way we can get to know each other, and see if we are a good fit to work together. If you are interested in having a quick chat, feel free to book yourself into my CALENDAR. Search for Homes Have you ever found a home on Realtor.ca and reached out to the agent, but the home is already sold. As a Realtor, I have access to an up to date list of properties, as soon as they hit the market. I can set you up on a search and continue to edit the criteria so that you don't 100 homes that don't fit what your looking for, but a small amount of homes that will fit you and your needs. Get Home Appraisal and Inspection Once an offer has been accepted, you may have the opportunity to have an inspection. For more information, read my blog post about Home Inspectors. This will give you some options for home inspectors in Waterloo Region. If you are looking for outside of Waterloo Region, reach out to me. The Appraisal is something that is needed to be done for Rent-to-Own before the deal goes firm. If its not a Rent-to-Own, the lender will typically be the one that gets that set up, and the cost will be rolled into the mortgage costs. Make a Final Walkthrough If You can negotiate a couple of walk throughs. There are walk through where you can go and take measurements, bring parents through, or just want to see the home again. The Final Walkthrough is where you get to see the home as you will take it, usually it is empty or mostly empty. You can make sure that the home is as advertised, and that they were not hiding damaged floor under a carpet or desk. You can make sure that nothing broke between when you had your offer accepted and when you get the keys. If there was anything that was agreed to be fixed, this is a good time to make sure it has been fixed. I have a Final Walkthrough Checklist is you are interested in downloading it to bring with you. Close on Your New Home You finish everything with the lawyers, and you get the keys! This may also be moving day for you, but I suggest that you do leave some wiggle room if you are able to. This will give time for you to tidy up if need be, paint, change flooring, or whatever else you are thinking of doing before all the furniture goes inside. I have a Moving Guide that will help you stay more organized and save you time. Do you have a question or a comment? Leave it in the comment section or click on 'Let's Chat' and let me know how I can help you or what questions you might have.  |
