Buying
An information link from the Canadian Real Estate Association:
Just click on the following link to have many of your questions answered about buying and selling. Please wait for the program to load.
Let us help you every step of the way.
When purchasing a home, you are faced with a multitude of decisions and questions! Locating a home that meets all of your needs is not always an easy task. Obtaining a mortgage can appear to be a complex process. We will make the process of purchasing a home easier, more enjoyable, less time-consuming, and less expensive. We are familiar with current homes on the market and we can help you select good neighbourhoods with homes in your price range.
Your first step - Loan Pre-approval
Lenders will allow you to spend up the 40% of your gross income (total income before taxes)on your housing as long as your total obligation to pay debt does not exceed 40% of your gross income. For example if you have an total annual household income before taxes of $60,000 then the total payments on all your loans (including credit cards, car loans, leases, mortgages, etc.) can not exceed 40% or $24,000 annually.
The amount you can spend on housing is reduced by other debt that you are obligated to pay on a monthly basis. Your housing costs include municipal taxes of approximately $2600 annually, which would mean you have $21,400 annually that can be paid toward a mortgage ($1784 per month) if you have no other debt.
This is the payment applied to a 30 year mortgage at 3.75% would finance about $385,000 of mortgage. Combined with a downpayment of $20,000 (minimum down is 5%) would allow you to purchase a house for $405,000
A $405,000 variable rate mortgage at 2.25% would have payments of $1546 per month!
Each lender has mortgage specialists working outside the office that can meet with you after hours (evenings and weekends). If you need to know who the specialist is for your lender give us a call.
You know you are pre-approved when you have given the lender or broker all your financial documents such as pay stubs, job letter, income tax returns, etc and they have given you a letter that says you have been pre-approved for a specific amount.
Being pre-approved in writing puts you in a very strong position when making an offer on a property, especially if you end up in competing offers. If you have just had discussions with your lender and they have given you a verbal amount without reviewing the above information you are not pre-approved. You may waste weeks of time and energy viewing houses in the wrong price range.
First Time Buyers Transfer Tax Exemption
As a first time Buyer there are savings in transfer taxes if you meet the qualification. You must never have owned a home anywhere before. You must be a resident of British Columbia and have been a resident for more than one year. Your purchase must be under $425,000. If you meet these qualifications you should be exempt from paying the"property transfer tax" which is 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% on the amount above. There is a declining benefit from $425,000 to $450,000 but if the purchase price is over $450,000 you must pay the full amount upon completion. The property must also be your primary residence for a limited time of 12 consecutive months. For more information please visit the government site at:
We will find the right home for you
Once you've been pre-approved and know what price range you want to stay in we will sit down and review your requirements. There will be features that you absolutely need and then things that would be nice to have. This is very important so that we can narrow down our search. It's also important because when we do find a home that appears to be the right one we can refer back to our original list of requirements.
We will search everywhere for that special home
We will search for properties that fit your needs by using the (MLS®) Multiple Listing Service® (current and expired listings), our own client / contact list and homes that are for sale by owner. If you want to be in a specific location we will canvas the area for properties that meet your requirements.
We have the best possible resources and communication systems available today to help us locate the homes on the market that match your specifications. You can even search MLS® listings here at our website.
We will help you every step of the way
We will help you complete your financing and inspections, and close on the transaction. Our top priority is to make sure that your home buying experience is pleasant, cost-efficient, and successful.
Email