Now Providing Mortgage Broker Services to Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Lethbridge and Canmore

The Home Buying Process

  

Step 1: Pre-Approval

When you first decide you want to purchase a home, it is wise to get a pre-approval. The pre-approval will tell you how much of a mortgage you qualify for, ensuring you are looking at homes in your price range. One of the benefits of getting a pre-approval is that you will get a rate hold from 90-180 days depending on the lender, this will ensure you get the lowest rate from the time you get pre-approved to when you purchase your first home. As well speaking with a mortgage broker will help you find out where you stand and if for some reason there are any issues you can deal with them right away before you find your dream home.

Step 2: House Hunting

Find a good Realtor who has your best interest at heart, it's FREE to work with them when you are purchasing. Once you know your price range, your realtor will begin researching the available properties and will show you homes that fit your criteria. When you work with a Realtor you get listings a week before they get listed on MLS.

Step 3: Offer In and Accepted

Once you've found your home, you will make an offer. The offer will be "subject to financing," meaning that the offer depends on whether or not you are able to obtain a mortgage. Your offer may also have other conditions, such as "subject to a satisfactory home inspection" or "subject to review of the condo documents." Once the offer is accepted, your realtor will provide a copy of the purchase agreement to your mortgage broker.

Step 4: Lender, Insurer, Appraisal

Your mortgage broker will work with the lender, insurer and appraiser to get you final approval on the financing. Your mortgage broker may ask you for further documentation at this time such as job letter, pay stub, bank statements, etc. You will need to collect the requested paperwork and submit it to your mortgage broker in a timely fashion.

Step 5: Firm Sale

Once you have met all of your financing conditions, your mortgage broker will instruct you to remove the "subject to financing" condition from your purchase contract. This is done with your realtor. You may remove other conditions at the same time (if they have been met). Once all of the conditions are satisfied, you have a "firm sale." Instructions from the lender will be sent to your lawyer's office at this time.

Step 6: Moving Details

Your lawyer is now receiving and preparing the mortgage documents. Your mortgage broker should follow up 2 weeks prior to your possession date to make sure your lawyer received instructions and then update you and your realtor. Use this time to start preparing for the move. See the moving checklist under FREE Reports.

Step 7: Lawyers

Your lawyer will call you in to sign, usually about 3 to 4 days prior to your possession date. Your lawyer will advise you on what you will need to bring such as certified bank draft for the remaining down payment, photo ID and personalized void cheque. The possession date is the date the money is given to the sellers and the property is transferred to your name.

Step 8: Move In

You will do a walk through with your realtor usually before noon and then at noon they release the keys and you get to move in to your new home.

Step 9: First Mortgage Payment

Unlike with rent, which is paid at the beginning of the month, you make your mortgage payment at the end of the month. For example, if the purchase of your new home was completed on July 1, and you chose monthly payments, you will not have a mortgage payment until July 1.

 

Call me today to set up a FREE, No Obligation consultation 403-803-6625!

"Jackie made our experience painless and effortless working literally all hours day and night to ensure things were running smoothly for us, consistently following up with updates and reminders. As first time home buyers she educated us before the process even started so we understood fully what we were getting into and did not make us feel ignorant for asking certain questions. She gave her personal input for certain things, was not flaky and didn't ever try to sell anything to us. Being a young couple it was important to us to feel treated as adults, and she did just that, also leaving us more confident after every time we talked to her. We enjoyed working with Jackie and have already referred her to our own family members. Thank-You Jackie for helping us get into a house to call a home."

Corrine & Jared Reed