6 tips to help you make your 1st real estate purchase
Looking to buy your first property? Here are 6 tips from experienced real estate brokers for a successful acquisition.
It’s a dream we all have to own our own home and never have to pay rent again. Perhaps, like many tenants, you feel trapped in a home that doesn’t belong to you. You don’t see how you could buy your own home.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been renting or what your financial situation is, the truth is that little-known information could help you become a homeowner.
They will teach you how to :
- Saving for your down payment
- Stop enriching your landlord
- Stop wasting thousands of dollars on rent.
The most common problem tenants face is not securing a monthly payment, but rather having the capital needed for the initial deposit.
Saving this initial sum is not as difficult as you might think if you take note of the following six points.
1) You can buy a house with a lot less cash than you think.
In fact, there are local and national programs (such as the Home Ownership Program) to help people access the real estate market. You can also qualify as a first-time home buyer even if your spouse previously owned a home, as long as your name has not been registered as a co-owner.
Make sure your agent is knowledgeable and skilled in homeownership programs to show you all the possibilities.
2) You may be able to get help from your financial institution for your down payment and acquisition costs.
Even if you don’t have the downpayment amount, if you have no debt and you have net assets (for example, a paid-off car), your financial institution could lend you the downpayment by using these assets as collateral.
3 ) You may find a good broker willing to help you.
Some sellers may agree to a second mortgage. In this case, the seller becomes more or less the lending institution. Instead of paying him cash for his house, you pay him monthly installments.
4) You could create a cash account without going into real debt.
By borrowing money to invest in RRSPs up to the desired amount, you can benefit from a tax return that you can use as cash. It’s true that money borrowed in this way can technically be considered a personal loan, but the monthly payment could still be minimal. In this way, the money invested in both the house and the RRSP is yours to keep.
5) You can buy a house even if you have credit problems.
If you can’t raise the minimum cash or secure a loan because you don’t have equity, lending institutions will still receive your mortgage application.
6) You should be pre-qualified for a mortgage before you start looking.
Indeed, this is a necessary step that should not be neglected when you want to buy your first property. It’s easy to do, and gives you peace of mind when it comes to shopping for a home. Mortgage brokers can get you approval in writing without cost or obligation. It’s even easy to do over the phone.
More than a verbal approval, a written pre-qualification is the equivalent of money in your bank account. You receive a certificate that guarantees your mortgage level. Consider calling on a professional who specializes in mortgage loans. Using his services can mean the difference between getting a mortgage or being stuck with your landlord forever. There is usually no charge for information. This conversation won’t cost you anything, but it can bring you a lot.