Before you put the pen to paper and sign on the dotted line, you’ll want to revisit some of the long-term goals that you have for yourself, and determine how home ownership fits in. Whether you think of it as a way of investing, or just want the independence of not having a landlord, you’ll want to have a clear picture of the future before you make a decision.
It also helps to know what types of information you will need to collect before you start the process of finding your dream home and making it yours officially. This is of course the kind of thing that a licensed mortgage broker can quite easily assist you with, greatly reducing the amount of stress you might otherwise have to deal with.
Here are four simple questions that may help you to make sense of things:
1. What size of mortgage will you qualify for?
Before you even start to look for a new home, you’ll need to find out how much money a lender would be willing to give you. You may actually qualify for less than you had thought, or more for that matter. This will depend on factors such as your employment history, monthly income, and debt. You’ll want to know what you’re dealing with before you fall in love with something.
2. What type of home would work best for your situation?
There are a number of options to consider when purchasing a home, including single-family homes, townhouses, condos and multi-family buildings. All of these options have positives and negatives, but the important thing is to nail down the right choice from the get go. By narrowing down your search at the start you will save yourself a great deal of time, and end up in your new home sooner, which is really the end goal after all.
3. What features would you like your home to have?
Although you’ll want to keep an open mind for this list, it is important that you be as exhaustive as possible. This could be the biggest purchase of your life, and you should try to get something that fulfills your needs and wants to the fullest extent possible. Your list should include everything from the neighbourhood you want to live in, to the types of appliances you’ll get for your kitchen.
4. Who will help you navigate the process?
The best advice here would be to contact a local mortgage broker. Mortgage brokers will work with multiple lenders to secure competitive rates alongside the financing options that you are looking for. This is in addition to the many other services that they offer to homebuyers.
