Buying
WHY USE A REALTOR®?
Welcome to the process of home buying, whether you are starting or continue to invest in yourself. It is an important to build equity through owning property. Considered to be one of the biggest purchases of one’s life, regardless of whether it is your very first time or you are a seasoned property owner, buying is usually the start of the process.
Working with a licensed real estate agent, know that is free in Alberta as the fee, or commission, for the agent comes from the seller’s side. Your realtor will have access to the market, in terms of both sales, Pending and active listings, and be knowledgeable of Calgary as a city and her suburbs. We have done deals all over the city, but have probably done the most business in the NW and the SW. Furthermore, your trusted realtor will be able to conduct behind the scenes on any property that you are interested in purchasing, just to rule out any unexpected surprises or major concerns. A hard-working realtor will let you know that there are no ‘unicorns’ and will talk to you in detail and depth as to what your criteria is in relation to what is on the market. This can save a lot of time for both buyers and realtor. What about the paperwork? That is all taken care of and your realtor will go through the various forms with you and answer your questions. Kick-butt Negotiating is the art of the deal, whether this is over price, following up on a home inspection, or even down to getting the carpets cleaned by the seller before you move in on possession day. Very useful. Finally, residential realtors can help with re-sale and new homes, including representing your best interests at the show home sales center. Give us a call and let us start your buying journey together today!
Guide to Buying
1) Getting Pre-Approved
The most important step in the process is knowing how much you can spend, how much your payments will be, and what additional info the bank will need from you. This is key especially when it comes to writing an offer and getting an offer accepted. We want this process to be as streamline as possible.
WHY USE A MORTGAGE BROKER?
A mortgage broker is like a personal shopper, they shop around for you. Using a mortgage broker is not tied to a specific bank, so basically has access to more products for you, with over 40 different lenders - good for more choices! Pulling your credit score once, they will also find the right terms and conditions - not to mention rates - for your mortgage package. Like using a realtor, you do not pay out of pocket for the mortgage broker, they are paid by the lender.
2) Viewing Properties
We will arrange private viewings, around your schedule, of any home for sale with any company - even private sellers. Before preparing your offer, we will research the history of the home and review all your concerns and questions.
3) Writing An Offer
Once you have decided on a property that you would like to purchase, we will pull sales data from the system to create a comparative market analysis on the property. This will assist us in getting the price right, we do not want you to be over-paying. All the while, we will go through the purchase contract, including what conditions should be included, and answer all your questions. Negotiating will be forefront of getting the best price with the right terms and inclusions, usually this process takes about 12-24 hours or so. If we have done our CMA correctly, we should expect a counteroffer!
(Look, we are just going to say it: we kick ass at negotiating. We know every trick in the book. We will negotiate on your behalf as though we were buying our own home and will not be bullied or pressured into making a move you are not comfortable with. We know the legal agreements backwards and forwards and can help you decipher the fine print. We will take the mystery out of all that legalese and do everything we can to make the process as painless as possible.)
4) Conditions/Firm Sale
The most common conditions are home inspection, financing approval, and selling your current home. We will recommend suitable home inspection companies. If issues come up, we will help you solve them or re-negotiate your deal.
5) Closing, Keys Released & Congratulations!
After all the conditions are waived, we officially have a firm sale. Time to choose a lawyer- do not have one? We can recommend one! We will stay with you until moving day and beyond as your personal real estate concierge.