Determining Your Needs

Professionals Inc., Realtor

Independently Owned
and Operated

Milosov Lukaroski - Mike
Sales Representative

- Determining Your Needs
- Arranging a Mortgage
- The Offer
- Closing
- The Move

- Thinking of Selling
- Getting Ready
- Marketing Your Home
- Negotiating Offers
- Closing

- About REMAX
- About Me

Determining Your Needs

So, you've decided you want to own a home. It's a popular dream. For most people, with the right planning, it can become reality. But there is a lot to know before you begin moving. I will take you through the planning process step-by-step, to determine exactly the kind of home that's perfect for you.
How many bedrooms will you one day require? Your preschoolers will be teens some day. Are you planning to stay in your home that long? Perhaps your teens are ready to move out on their own. How many cars will require space? How is your work situation? These days people tend to change jobs frequently, and sometimes the best way to get a promotion is to move to another company. If you might be transferred, will you be able to sell quickly? Keeping work in mind, how long do you want to spend commuting? Do you drive or rely on public transportation?
As you can see, you will want to give some thought to how long you intend to stay in your home. It may be difficult to answer before you've even found your home, but if it's your first home give some thought to the resale value when it is time to upgrade. On the other hand, if you're planning to stay in your home for a long time, consider your future needs and purchase a home that will accommodate them.
The first question you're bound to ask is, "How much home can I afford?" That depends on a number of factors: " Your selected location. Are you set on a specific area? Downtown? The suburbs? A rural setting?
" Your preferred type of home. Detached? Semi? Duplex? High-rise? Link? Townhouse? New or Resale? There are a variety of home styles you will want to explore.
" Your income. After all, it's not just the mortgage you have to take into account. There are property taxes, utilities, and in some cases condo or strata fees. As a general rule of thumb, your monthly home-carrying cost should not exceed 30-35% of your income.
" Market conditions. Is it a buyer's, sellers or balanced market?
A part of deciding just what you can afford can be accomplished by meeting with your bank or a mortgage broker and negotiating a pre-approved mortgage. There are many types of mortgages.
Of course, the first step in deciding on a new home is your lifestyle at present and how your lifestyle will change over the next few years.
Urban living usually puts you at the centre of the action. It offers a wide variety of amenities like shops, theatres and restaurants. It may be closer to your workplace. Look for schools (Public and Catholic), Playgrounds, Parks, etc. Make sure there are no undesirable areas surrounding your neighborhood such as a garbage dump, industrious buildings disposing bad odors, etc.
The suburbs usually have the advantage of newer homes and more square footage for the same price as an urban location, but may not have the other amenities as close as you'd like.
New neighborhoods tend to have a noticeable lack of foliage and can look barren for years as the landscaping matures. If you purchase a home before it is built, you will be able to take advantage of upgrades during construction, and when you move in you can decorate to your taste. A new home won't have the charm of an old one, but will have warranties covering most major components. Be careful in understanding what the warranty covers. New homes have some real disadvantages that most people don't think of until it's too late.

New vs. Used
1. When buying a new home, keep in mind that the representative you are dealing with at the new home site may not be a licensed real estate agent. The new home representative's best interest may lie with the builder and not you. In many cases, the builder will not allow me as your agent to protect your interests or help you prepare the agreement.
2. The builder's agreements can be very one-sided in favor of the builder. Did you know that many agreements allow the builder to extend closing by 2-3 months twice, and then cancel the agreement if the house still isn't built?
3. Your team of experts cannot fully protect you when buying a new home.
For example, your lawyer will not be able to force the builder to sell you a house that's not there yet. Whereas when buying a used home, I will be able to negotiate the price, and your mortgage expert will be able to arrange the best possible mortgage for you. If you do decide to buy a new home, try not to get confused with terms like "mortgage-pay-downs" that are built into the price of the home.
4. Remember, your home inspector will not be able to inspect a house that's not built yet and new homes are not always trouble free.
5. As a new home buyer you may have to spend money on additional expenses like driveways, decks, landscaping, decorating, recreation rooms, air conditioning and fencing. If you want all of the above without having to go through all the hassles a used home might be the solution for you.

Your Housing Needs
Where will your family spend most of its time? Kitchens are a popular family gathering area. Make sure your prospective kitchen can handle the traffic. You may also want an eat-in kitchen or one with a breakfast nook, allowing you to keep the dining room for special occasions.
How much bedroom space do you need? Some people prefer small, plentiful rooms to house children, frequent guests or a home office. Others prefer fewer, larger rooms. Of course, if your budget permits, many large rooms would probably be ideal!
Bathrooms are also a major point to consider. How many bathrooms does your family need to handle peak traffic times? Is one enough? (Not likely!) While one per person might be more like it, that dream may not be affordable. Make sure the home you're ready to purchase has sufficient bathroom space and that the bathrooms are comfortable. When looking at bathrooms, ask yourself how important a window is for light and fresh air.
When it's time to relax and entertain, how will your prospective home meet your needs? Do you want a formal living room, or a room where your family can stretch out and watch television? Do your children need a play area or your teens an entertainment room? Some homes have a living room and a family room.
Attics and basements can be wonderful storage areas, or can serve as additional living space. If extra space is important, you will want to consider a finished basement.
A brief word about closets. Look at the clothes you have now. Add another half, and then look for closet space to hold it all. If you're like most of us, you'll never have enough closet space!
As you can imagine, each type of home has its advantages and drawbacks and no two buyers will have the exact same wants and needs. The only way to truly evaluate which home is right for you, outside of price, is to consider what you absolutely must have and what you can live without.
Before you go house hunting, prepare a list of 'can't live without' features and a list of 'would be great if...' features.

Condominium:
Condominium is a type of property ownership, not just a style of home. When buying into a condominium complex, your home will usually cost less and you often won't have to worry about snow shoveling or lawn mowing or major exterior maintenance like fencing or the roof. Condominiums can also come with extras like a security service or recreational facility. Of course, you should be prepared to pay a monthly maintenance fee. This fee goes into a collective cash reserve that is used to cover property maintenance, repairs, replacements and insurance.

Types of costs:
There are two types of costs in buying a home -- the initial amount you will need for your purchase and the ongoing costs of paying back your mortgage along with monthly operating costs. The largest one-time cost is the down payment. It usually represents 5-10% of the total price of the property.

Typical One-time Expenses:
" Mortgage application and appraisal fee
" Property inspection (optional), due at time of inspection
" Legal fees, due at the time of closing
" Legal disbursements, due at the time of closing
" Property survey (sometimes provided by seller), due at the time of closing
" Land transfer, deed tax or property purchase tax, due at the time of closing.(in Quebec within three months following signing)
" Mortgage interest adjustment (if applicable), due at the time of closing
" Home and property insurance, at closing and ongoing
" Moving expenses, due on the date of move
" PST on High Ratio mortgages
" Realty Tax Holdback

Typical Monthly Expenses:
" Mortgage payments
" Maintenance (this could be condominium fees, or allocated maintenance fees)
" Property and content insurance
" Property taxes
" Utilities

Agent
A real estate agent is a professional who can save you time and trouble. And possibly even a lot of money. You see, real estate agents have the home buying experience most people lack. They know all of the steps and they are good negotiators who will work on your behalf.

As your agent I will:
" Fine-tune your wants/needs list
" Get special computer access to listing information
" Screen houses so as not to waste your time
· Arrange appointments:
" Offer helpful advice about the neighborhood
" Introduce you to trusted contacts that should be on your team, such as mortgage brokers, lawyers, and home inspectors.