How much can I afford?

Before you decide on what you want to buy, you need to take into consideration what price range you can afford. The worst case scenario would be finding a great place after searching for weeks or months, and then find out from your lender that you can’t afford to buy it. The best way to avoid this situation is to visit a lender and get pre-approved, as this way you will know your price limits.

Where do I want to live?

When deciding on the area to purchase, there are a few things to take into consideration. Convenience doesn’t necessarily become a smart investment decision. Yes, the ease of being near the workplace or the kids schools is a big plus; however, perhaps the neighborhood or area isn’t the best investment with regard to potential market increases or future value. A smart purchaser will always look at the future selling potential versus just looking at their current needs. The most common mistake made by inexperienced buyers is the purchase of a property, which even though serves their current needs becomes a potential nightmare with regard to selling and investment potential in the future. Once you know your pricing limits, your Realtor should take the responsibility of finding properties with a combination of convenience, investment potential, and selling potential while taking into account your specific needs.

What are my responsibilities as a buyer?

When purchasing a property a buyer should take the steps necessary to make sure that the place they want to purchase is in a condition that is satisfactory to their needs. Finding out as many details as possible about a property can make the process a much less stressful one.

• When purchasing a condo, reviewing and looking at all the documents should always be done. Find out as much information about the building that you can. This means contact the property manager for that particular building and have an experienced building inspector come and view the property.
• For houses, make sure that you get an experienced building inspector to fully check out everything from the foundation all the way through to the roof. You can also contact the city for further information for example; potential building restrictions on a property, a property survey or any details which pertain to the title on a particular property.

Due diligence is the key to purchasing a property. It is your job as a buyer to seek out and look for anything that could pose a potential risk in the purchase. If you know that you have done everything possible to satisfy your questions and concerns about that particular purchase, its now time to go buy it!