Navigating the world of Canadian home buying



Step 1: Figure out how much you can afford.


Falling in love with a house you can’t afford can be heartbreaking. Avoid disappointment by figuring out your budget before you start looking.

 

  1. •First, decide how much you can afford for your down payment. The Home Buyers Plan lets you withdraw up to $20K per person (or up to $40K per couple) from your RRSPs – tax-free – to be repaid over 15 years. The bigger your down payment, the less principal you will owe, and the less interest you will pay.

  2. •Don’t forget about closing costs, like insurance, legal fees, home inspection costs, land registration and land transfer fees. Add those to your moving expenses and service hookup fees, and they can add up surprisingly fast.

  3. •Your monthly housing expenses (mortgage, taxes, heat, etc.) shouldn’t use up more than 32% of your income. (If your combined monthly income is $5000, for example, 32% of that is $1600.) If you have car payments or credit card debt, the rule of thumb is that debt repayment shouldn’t be more than 40% of your income.

  4. •Get pre-approved for your mortgage. It’s a good way of finding out how much you can borrow – and it speeds up the process once you’ve found the home you want to buy.


Step 2: Figure out what type of home is right for you.


Sit down and make a list of must-haves and nice-to-haves. Be realistic, but be clear about the features you can’t live without. How many bedrooms do you need? Bathrooms? Do you want a home office? A garage? How about a big backyard? Hardwood floors? Eat-in kitchen? Consider your lifestyle and your stage of life. If you’re planning kids in a year or two, the studio loft might not be your best bet.


Step 3: Decide where you want to live.

Living in an area you like is as important as buying a home you love. Do you want a busy urban lifestyle, a house in the ‘burbs, or a quiet place in the country? Do you want to walk to work or are you okay with a longer commute? Do you need to be close to good schools? Rec facilities? Shopping?


Step 4: Start looking.

Go to open houses. Visit mls.ca. Check the classifieds. Drive around neighbourhoods you like looking for For Sale signs. Talk to your REALTOR® about your needs and start looking at properties.


Step 5: Build a team.

Put together the right group of experts to help you buy. Start with a REALTOR® you trust, then look for a reputable lender or mortgage broker, a lawyer (or a notary in Quebec), a home inspector and an insurance broker. Your REALTOR® works closely with all of these professionals, and will be happy to recommend people you can depend on.


Step 6: Make an offer.

You’ve found the perfect place – now it’s time to make an offer. An offer to purchase includes the purchase price you’re offering, chattels to be included in the purchase (like appliances or light fixtures), the amount of the deposit, the closing date and any other conditions.

Your REALTOR® will help you prepare your offer, and will present it to the vendor, who will either accept it or make a counter offer (which asks for a higher price or different terms). You can accept or reject the counter offer. If everyone agrees, the home is yours. If not, you can make another offer, or you may have to keep looking.


Step 7: Get a mortgage.

Once you’re approved, you’ll need to decide what type of mortgage works best for your needs. Will you go with a fixed or variable interest rate? Will your mortgage be closed or open? What will your amortization period be? Will you make payments monthly, biweekly or weekly? Your mortgage broker or lender can help you find a mortgage that suits your needs – and saves you the most money in the long term.


Step 8: Move in and enjoy!



Trademarks owned or controlled by The Canadian Real Estate Association. Used under licence.



For Sellers

10 Ways to Conquer Clutter

Clutter. It creeps into crawl spaces, fills up cupboards and, when we least expect it, overflows into the garage. Whether you’re trying to stage your home for an open house, want to reduce the number of items you’ll have to pack, or you just want to live in a cleaner, more organized space, here are some steps to help you pare down those piles.


Work in threes

Working with bags or boxes, place items into one of three piles: keep, donate or trash. You can always sift through the piles later to decide what to recycle or sell at your next yard sale.


Start small

The best way to exercise your clutter-busting muscles is to start with a manageable area like a desk drawer or small closet. Give yourself a time limit (15 minutes) and get it done, then pick another area and try to do it even faster.


Reject the need to collect

Just say no to stuff you really don’t need. As hard as it might be, pare down your collection of figurines, matchbooks or Ming vases to five favourite items only. Or, if you can’t bear to part with any of them, make a plan to only have five items on display at one time and keep the rest packed in boxes. Simpler looks and feels better – and having too much of anything out in the open will only require more dusting.


Keep your paper sorted

Organize paper as it enters your home by sorting mail near the front door with a three-way filing system: bills, reading materials and recycling. Place it near a calendar so you can mark down important events right away. If the urge to hang onto items is too strong, get yourself a nice basket to hold all of these oh-so-necessary documents and go through them once a month to see what really needs reading or keeping.


Aim to lose a third

While most professional organizers will insist you cut your belongings in half, try for a third. If you have 30 scarves, trim them down to 20. Four shelves of books? Go for less than three. Do you really need five fondue sets? If getting rid of your items is painful, remember: less is more…more space, more time, more peace. And if you’re moving, more savings on moving costs.


One in, one out

Try this rule to keep clutter at bay: if something new comes in, something old has to go. Clothes, books, shoes, cars, shampoo bottles, tools…nothing is exempt. Note that “new” means new to you, not necessarily brand new. So those hand-me-downs count too.


Put it in its place

Once you decide to keep an item, honour it by giving it a designated spot. That way you’ll always know where to find it and where to put it back when you’re done using it.


Use it or lose it

If you can’t think of the last time you used a small appliance (like that bread maker that’s stowed under the sink) or wore a particular outfit (shoulder pads, anyone?), it might be time to give it to someone who can really appreciate it. Still not ready to give it up? Place the item in question in a box or a cupboard for six months. If it hasn’t been used by then, give it away.


Keep at it

Conquering clutter isn’t something that you can accomplish in a single afternoon; you have to work at it every day. The more often you do it, the less you have to do. Plus, living in a clutter-free home just feels better since you’re not digging through drawers and cupboards looking for lost keys or important warranty documents, and you’re not dealing with piles of stuff everywhere you turn.


As you can see, there’s no one cure-all for clutter, but by applying just a few of these methods you’ll be able to turn yourself into a clutter conqueror!

 

First-time buyers plan