First Time Home Buyer

The first step to buying a home or a condominium in GTA Toronto is finding out how much your Lender / Bank is willing to lend you. When you pre-qualify for a mortgage, your Lender / Bank will look at the following items:

• Income
• Financials
• Debts
• Downpayment
• Credit history

The pre-approval process must be provided to the applicant in writing and will include a guaranteed interest rate (this is usually valid up to 90 days). Pre-qualifying  process will ensure that you as a home buyer knows how much mortgage you can qualify for.  This will in turn will help you understand what price range of homes you should be targeting in your search criteria. This will allow you to focus your house hunting efforts and eliminates the risk and uncertainty of financing once you find your perfect home.

Knowing what you need and want in your home is critical to ensure we find you the right home.

What are some of your must-haves, your it will be nice to have, and your no way absolutely not?

• How many bedrooms do you need?
• What kind of outdoor space do you want?
• What about counter-tops, appliances, and floors?
• Which neighbourhood and school district is important?

You can’t get what you want if you don’t know what you want.  The main thing is the location. What Toronto or GTA neighbourhoods makes you feel at home?

We provide all our clients with a list of Questions to Ask When Selecting a City or a Neighbourhood.

Buying a home or a condominium will likely be the biggest purchase you’ll ever make.  As a First Time Home Buyer in Toronto, there’s a whole lot to learn.  The more you know about buying your first home, the better your decisions will be. There is nothing to worry about, you don’t need to do it alone.

The Jesse Johar Real Estate Team will include: (Realtor, Mortgage Specialist, Home Inspector, Real Estate Lawyer)

• Jesse Johar is a Toronto Real Estate Agent who works exclusively in your best interests. Think of your REALTOR as the quarterback to the home buying process.
• A Lender / Bank or Mortgage Specialist to take you through your and advise you on your financing options.
• A reputable Home Inspector that will inspect the condition of the home and provide you with a detailed inspection report.
• A Real Estate Lawyer that is there to advise and help with the legal aspects of the purchase.

Now that you completed your mortgage pre qualification process, narrowed down your search and picked a great First Time Home Buyer Toronto REALTOR to work with.  It is time to start looking at listings and homes in the area of your search. To start searching for homes, your Real Estate Agent Jesse Johar will prepare and send you customized listings that match your criteria.

Congratulations!!!

Your house hunting efforts have paid off, and you’ve found the right home that satisfies your wants/needs. It is in your price range, and it feels just right. The offer process is quite exciting and you will be working closely with your realtor. In the province of Ontario, all offers must be in writing and will form the Agreement of Purchase and Sale also know as (APS).

The Agreement of Purchase and sale (APS) is a legally binding document which contains the following:

• The price you agree and are prepared to pay
• The deposit amount you include in your offer (This amount may vary and we can negotiate based on each individual offer. Example: 5% of the purchase price or a dollar figure, that is due within 24 hours after the offer is accepted)
• A Closing date (The date you take will take possession of the home)
• Inclusions with the offer that you want ( All of these are negotiable: Eg: all existing light fixtures, all existing appliances, washer and dryer, or the bbq)
• There are also some conditions included in the offer that need to be met for the deal to go through.  There is a Notice of Fulfillment which has a time period to allow you to full-fill the conditions that are included for the benefit of the First Time Home Buyer. (Conditions in an offer (APS): financing condition, home inspection, status certificate review condition, lawyers review, sale of property condition)

Once your Real Estate Agent has submitted your offer to the Sellers Brokerage, the Seller can accept it, reject it or sign back with a counter offer to the Buyer.  During the process of  back-and-forth negotiations, you may need to compromise on small things, but a great REALTOR will work hard for you to get you what you want.

If you find yourself in a Multiple Offer Or a Bidding War situation, make sure you know the facts about Bidding Wars and How to position your offer to Win in Multiple Offers.

There is a conditional requirements included for the First Time Home Buyer within the Agreement of Purchase and Sale that must be met for the sale to go through become Firm.

As a First Time Home Buyer, you may have included the following conditions:

• A financing condition in your offer.
• A condition that allows your lawyer to review the legal details of the property.
• A status certificate condition to review.
• A condition for a home inspection.
• A custom conditional clause

The above conditions are time sensitive and require you to communicate with your Real Estate Team to ensure you complete these conditions in the time period that is agreed upon.

And of course, you will submit a deposit in an amount up to 5% off the purchase price, which is held in trust account until you close. Once all of the conditions you included have been met in the conditional time period, the agreement and sale is said to be ‘FIRM’.  Now it is just a matter of waiting for your closing date. And of course you need to start packing!

Now you are almost a homeowner!

Closing is the point at which the ownership and possession of the home or property is then transferred from the Seller to you the Buyer.  It takes place once all the legal and financial obligations have been met by the Purchaser / Buyer.

You need to ensure that all your signed and accepted document copies of the (APS) are delivered upon Acceptance and Firm are delivered to your Real Estate Lawyer and Lender / Bank or Mortgage Broker.

Closing the purchase on your home will always be team effort.  In addition to yourself the Home Buyer,  your  Real Estate Lawyer and your Lender / Bank will all be involved in helping close the deal.