Tips for First-Time Home Buyers

• Know what you can afford. Get pre-qualified for a mortgage and only look at houses within the price range you can afford.

• Prioritize. Determine what you NEED in a home and what you WANT. Where and what you buy will affect your life for as long as you own the house, so get your priorities in order. Make a "buying blueprint" based on your needs and wants -- and what's available in the marketplace. If you need 3 bedrooms, put that on the list. If you want a pool, list that too. You can always refine your list when you get down to talking hard numbers with your REALTOR®.

• Use a REALTOR®. A REALTOR® can help you identify what you want and take you to homes and neighbourhoods that meet your needs. They will know what’s available on the market at any given time and will have the pertinent information you need to make your decision. A REALTOR® can also help with issues such as:
  Obtaining a mortgage
  
  The role of a lawyer
  
  The appraisal
  
  The home inspection
  
  Tax and GST
  
  Real property reports
  (legal documents that clearly illustrate the location
  of significant visible improvements relative to property
  boundaries). Improvements are any visible structure of a
  permanent nature constructed or placed on, in or over the land.
  
  
  
  
• Determine the right location for you. Do you like city life or suburbia? The unhurried pace of village life or the country? Are you a gardener? A theatre buff? Consider the totality of your life when pinpointing the location of your home to be.

• Consider your lifestyle, because it will determine whether you look for housing in the city or in a rural setting. Consider jobs, commuting distance, and your interests. Do you have children? If not, do you plan to? Survey your options. Which works best for your current and projected lifestyle?

• New homes come with warranties and are built to contemporary standards. You won't get full-grown trees and a neighbourhood with instant character when you buy new, but you will get vitality and a chance to grow with your new community.

• Resale homes are more likely to have established lawns and gardens . . . and they will probably have done all their shrinking and settling. However, there may need to be repairs done and the decorating may not be to your taste.

• Townhouses and condominiums often mean sharing common walls, hallways, landscaping and parking areas. They're great if you don't want to be bothered with general maintenance or repairs (a maintenance company usually handles all this on behalf of homeowners). But you will also become a voting member of the condo corporation and pay a monthly fee to maintain common areas.

• Rural and small town properties are often less expensive than properties in the City. Balance this off against commuter costs and the fact that community services may be more limited. Proximity to school is very important for young families. Older areas often provide more types of schools. Check to ensure the specific program you need -- Special Education or French Immersion, for example -- is available. Also important to families with children are the proximity of other children, playgrounds and recreational centres.

• Look to the future. A number of factors may have an impact on what your property will be worth in the future. For example, construction of a highway, of the adequacy of municipal services such as water, sewage and roads, and be sure to ask your REALTOR® about any zoning bylaws that may limit additions or renovations.