A Timeline to Possession
October 22, 2015
Guest Blog Brought To You By: Saskatoon Residential (Gregg & Ryan Bamford)
If you have bought a house before you are most likely aware of the steps required to get pre-approved approved, compile a deposit and the many other steps that fall into buying a home. However, if this is the first time you are buying a home you might not know where to start.
Rest Assured, we are here to help! We want to ease you through the guess work of homeownership and take off the stress of the unknown.
Let us help you get ready to buy your first home.
Step One – Getting started
Timeline = About one week
Sounds easy enough but there are a few steps that are required from you before you can walk into your financial institution and ask for pre-approval. To get pre-approved for a mortgage you will need the following information:
– Letters of employment stating the amount of gross income per month.
– List of any other income; e.g. investments, stocks, bonds, RRSP’s, GIC’s, revenues, etc.
– List of any debts; e.g. car payment, bank loans, furniture loans, consolidation loans, etc.
– Balance on credit cards; e.g. Visa, Master Card, Zellers, Bay, Sears, etc.
– List of any writs outstanding or claims against you; e.g. bankruptcy, divorce, etc.
Before you head down to your local financial institution to see if you are pre-approved – ask us how to get qualified at your bank.
We can also suggest a number of lending institutions or brokers that might be able to match financing to your special needs.
Next, you will need to arrange the down payment.
The more you understand about down payments and the more you have saved for your down payment, the easier this is going to be on you (financially and mentally).
Establish the following when calculating a down-payment amount:
– How much total down-payment is required? How much is required for the deposit with the Offer to Purchase? CMHC?
– Where will these funds come from (RRSP, Savings Account, gift, etc.)?
– How quickly can you access funds?
Step Two – Look For Your Home
Timeline = About 1 to 12 weeks (maybe more)
This is an exciting time. You will probably want to start looking at homes on your own. Before you get started it might be wise to sit down and make a list of your needs and then put down your wants.
How to Start Looking for Your Home:
– We will provide you with MLS Listings
– Home Showcases
– Drive-by
– Signs
– Classified ads
– Social Media
Once you have found a home that fits your needs and includes your wants it’s time to make an offer.
Step three – Making An Offer:
Timeline = 1 to 2 hours
There are not a lot of steps to tackle here, but there may be a lot of writing. The offer contains the conditions in which you are comfortable moving forward. This includes addressing all of your concerns and ensuring you protect yourself and your investment moving forward.
Step Four – The Conditional Sales:
Timeline = Typically within one week of writing the offer
At this stage, the seller has accepted your offer and as far as your financing is approved and inspections are passed, you may be buying a house.
– Financing – get mortgage approval
– Inspections, etc.
– PCDS
– PID
– Possible deposit increase
– Removal of conditions
Step Five – Sold!
Timeline = Approximately 2 to 12 weeks
Congratulations! You have secured your home! However, it is not time to open the bubbly just yet. There still a few tasks you need to complete in order to secure your investment and protect yourself.
– Arrange Insurance
– Meet with lawyer to sign papers
– Meet with mortgage broker to sign papers
– Arrange for movers
– Arrange for utility hook-up
– Change of address notices
Step Six – Possession
Timeline = As previously agreed upon in the offer
Now it’s time to pack up your old home, unpack the boxes in the new home and it is also the perfect time to pop that bubbly!!!!!!
On the day of possession, we will most likely call you around noon and then you will enter your new home.
Congratulations on the purchase of your new home!
Gregg Bamford & Ryan Bamford