What Not to Do Before You Buy an Edmonton Home!

July 27, 2012

When you get a raise or have saved up some cash in a savings account, you probably will find yourself with a desire known to modern men and women as “spend money”.This is when many people turn to purchasing a new car, and then after a few more months decide to purchase their own home.Or perhaps your current Edmonton Home is a bit small. You want something bigger! Next, you contact a bank to secure a loan and get yourself prequalified for a mortgage. The mortgage broker asks what price range you are looking at, and how much money do you have for the down payment. You give him the answers and provide him with your income and pay stubs. The mortgage broker crunches the numbers.This is why you don’t want to buy that new car or take that vacation.This also applies to any type of major purchase that would increase your current debt like major appliances, furniture, jewelry and even an expensive wedding!Another tip to follow is not to move your money around before purchasing that new Edmonton Home. When the lender starts to review your loan application to approve it, one thing that they look at is where your funds will come from for your down payment and closing costs. You will need to provide the mortgage broker with statements for the last two or three months on liquid assets. These are comprised of savings accounts, checking accounts, money market funds, certificates of deposit, mutual funds, stock statements, and also your company retirement accounts. If you moved money around during this two or three month period, there may be large withdrawals and deposits in some of them. The person who approves the loan will usually require a complete paper trail of all the deposits and withdrawals. It could become a very daunting task, gathering canceled checks, deposit receipts and other inconsequential data. You become overwhelmed. The mortgage broker and bank are only doing their job! In order to eliminate potential fraud and ensure good quality control, it is necessary on most loans to document completely the source of all funds you have. In the end, moving your money around, even if you are consolidating to make it easier, could just make if much more difficult for the lender and you to properly document your funds. Oh, one last thing, no matter what, do not change your bank while you are in this process! The best solution is to leave your money where it is, and don’t make any major purchases until you have talked to your bank or mortgage broker and gotten that preapproval for your mortgage for that new Edmonton Home! If you are ready to make that big purchase of a new home or ready to sell your Edmonton Home, call the TalkToWalker Team first. The TalkToWalker Team has been selling real estate for over 20 years and offers a free, no-obligation market value analysis to determine homes and sales value. The Edmonton market and economy is booming so many home values are higher than some sellers may think.

 

Buying your First Home

June 29, 2012

You have heard it more than once.  Friends, family, co-workers all saying you should buy a home.  Now you have thought about it and decided that owning your own home is a good decision for you, here are some great tips for that first home purchase.

Where do you begin?  Well, why not start on the Internet.  Statics say that almost 80% of home searches begin on the Internet.  By just clicking your mouse a few times, you can search hundreds of listings online.  You can browse through tons of photos and view aerial shots of homes and neighborhoods.  You can even take virtual tours.  By doing this and having a good idea of where you want to live and the type of house you want, as soon as you meet with your realtor, you are halfway to owning your own home.

You ask, “How long should it take to buy my first home?”  If you are a motivated buyer, you should find a home within two weeks.  Statistics show most buyers will find a new home within two days.  A good realtor listens to what you want in a home and what you need in a home and makes sure they only show you the homes that will fit your parameters.

How many homes will the realtor show me?  There are studies that show your memory improves dramatically after you consume carbohydrates and your memory slows down after you consume sugar.  So maybe you should have a hearty meal of carbohydrates before going out to tour homes.  On an average, you should not see any more than 7 homes in one day.  Why?  Your brain will go into a major overload!

Here’s a little analysis of Edmonton home buying using the new shoes treatment that women can relate to!  You need a new pair of black shoes.  You get in your car and head out to the shopping mall.  You hit the first shoe store and find a great pair of black shoes.  They fit perfectly when you try them on.  They look great!  Your legs look beautiful in them.  They have a great price!  Are you going to buy them? Of course not!  You go to all the other shoe stores in the mall.  You try on black shoes in everyone one of them and you are almost ready to give in to exhaustion.  But wait, you go back to the very first store and buy those black shoes!  Please don’t shop for a home this way.  When you see your perfect home, just buy it!

Inventorying the home you see is a great way for a first-time buyer to rate the home.  Some suggestions are to take photos.  Bring a digital camera with you and the first photo taken should be a good close-up of the house number.  This will help you identify where each set of home photos start and the next one begins.  Make notes of any unusual colors, design elements or features.  Take a look at the house’s surroundings.  What is next to the Edmonton home?  Is the home a single-story home and are there two-story homes that tower over it?  Is the location what you were looking for?  As soon as you leave, you should rate each home using a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 would be the highest.

You should view your top choices a second time before buying your first home.  After you spend a few days touring homes, instinctively you will know the one or two homes you would like to purchase.  You should ask to see them again.  This time you will see them with different eyes.  You will notice elements you didn’t see the first time.

Call the TalkToWalker Team, when you are ready to sell or buy an Edmonton home. The TalkToWalker Team has been selling real estate for over 20 years and offers a free, no-obligation market value analysis to determine homes and sales value.  The Edmonton market and economy is booming, so many home values are higher than some sellers may think.