What you should know if you want to buy a home in Canada.
Probably every immigrant who is coming to Canada have a dream of ownership of the house and if not, eventually you would have that dream at some point. And the good news, the dream can come true one day. Yes we have really crazy housing market today in Toronto and Greater Toronto Area but it can be real. For us, as young family, it came true on third year of our living in Canada. We bough a house in which we still happily live today and today our home is worth almost double from the price we bought it but this is another story.
So what are the steps to buying a home in Greater Toronto Area?
1. You should determine if homeownership is right for you or not. It is not a secret that some people feel more comfortable living in rent for long period of time and they don't want to be committed to certain obligations connected to ownership of the home. But if you want to buy anyway there something you should consider before. Property taxes. Every owner of the house or condominium must pay property taxes. They are depends on your type of home, cost of it, size of the lot and in which city, town, or community your home is. In average it could cost you anything from $3,000 to $5,000 per year. Also you have to pay insurance, utility bills and condominium fees (if you are buying a condo).
2. Meet with mortgage broker and find out for how much you can be approved. That would be your starting point. Make some research on mortgage brokers ask your friends for good professionals and interview them to find the best person who will be helping you with the mortgage.
Aside from mortgage broker you can go directly to bank it might be a good option too especially if you have a good credit score and you stand financially very well. But you should understand that mortgage broker is works for you to get you the best mortgage rate or if your current financial situation not easy to find the way to get the mortgage with best possible rate and options.
3. Figure out the all upfront costs. Downpayment, the closing costs, moving costs and so on.
4. House or condo. You have to decide which type of property you want to buy. It is good to remember that your first home doesn’t have to be your dream home. Sometimes it is better to buy something than buy nothing. Thus you will put yourself in the "game".
5. Learn about the areas you want to live. It is better if it will be as close to your work as possible. Look for good schools if you have kids or planning to have them soon. But again if you can't afford anything within the places you want to live don't be afraid to look around. It could be better to buy a home and have a longer commute to work than stay in rent closer to work.
6. Educate yourself about current housing market situation in Greater Toronto Area and particular cities and towns you are looking to buy in. You should understand why some areas are more expensive and some less. Learn about upgrades, renovations and remodeling and its cost.
7. Find a good realtor who will be helping you with house hunting. Again try to find the best one who can deliver the best results for you. But look around by yourself too. Use realtor.ca to see the prices, compare homes and areas and see what is on the market at the moment.
Please let me know in comment if you have any questions about homebyuing process in Canada, Ontario.
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