Congratulations on deciding to work towards buying your very first home. This is an exciting step in life that is quite often, the largest investment you'll ever make. Such an emotional and historic event should be treated with caution, and with an approach that helps you understand the process, the timeline, all the different forms that are involved, and the concept of Agency – just to name a few. It can be a scary and daunting task if you don't have someone to guide you every step of the way. We have created this step-by-step resource to guide first-time buyers into the wonderful world of home ownership.

To purchase a home in Alberta, a minimum of 5% of the purchase price is required to get start the ball rolling. There are even a number of government programs that can help you source part of this money if you don't have it available right now. A mortgage professional will guide you through all the steps to getting a loan pre-approval, and advise you what requirements need to be met to purchase your first home. If you don't already have a mortgage professional to work with, feel free to contact us and we'll find out what is important to you and set up up with a choice of a couple of our preferred mortgage professonals to choose from.

Let our passion, training and experience in real estate guide you towards buying your very first home. And we promise, they'll be no pressure and you'll get great service and advice. These are some of the things you can expect from us:

 

In an initial homebuyer consultation – at a time and location that is convenient to you – you'll be matched with professional REALTOR® from our team – one who is proficient and knowledgeable in the area you'd like to search.

 

Our experience is that people have a general idea of the "zone" or quadrant of the city they wish to live in. You can visit the Northwest, Southwest, Southeast and Northeast Calgary pages to get a better feel for the types of neighbourhoods and homes in each of these areas. In this initial meeting, we like to describe the general process and get an understanding of your desired area to start our search. We will ask you a few key questions that will help narrow our search, and save you a lot of wasted time.

 

Some of the questions will include:

• What has you motivated to buy a home now?
• Your mortgage loan pre-approval limit?
• Your purchase limit? (This is what you're comfortable in spending on a home since not everyone is comforable with spending what they're approved for)
• Your area specifics? (What type of neighbourhood are you looking for, does it need to be close to work, recreation or any other priority in your life?)
• Your timeline for finding a home?
• Your preferred type/style of home? (are you looking for a condominium apartment, a condominium townhouse, a 2-storey home, a bungalow, a bi-level home, or a half-duplex, etc. Don't worry if you don't know the differences, we will help)
• Your absolute "must haves" in a home? (You NEED a 3 bedroom home, is an example)
• Your "wishlist" for a home? (i.e. What you would like to see in your home? A fireplace, hardwood floors, granite countertops?)
• What are some general features that you hate in a home? (You probably have examples from other people's homes)

It's perfectly normal not to know everything. We will work through features that you love, and try to fit them within the budget requirements that you have. It's our job to make your search a fun, enjoyable and rewarding experience.

 

In our homebuyer consultation, we'll also educate you on the home buying process:

• Educating you on the current real estate market
• Educating you on home styles and home ownership styles
• Helping you understand the various forms that are involved in the process and when you should expect to see each one
• Helping you understand the differences between a Listing Agent, a Selling Agent and a Buyer's Agent
• Helping you understand the differences between a real estate agent, a real estate salesperson and a REALTOR®
• Educating you on how house prices are established, what influences house prices, and how the money you pay for a home pays the seller, the sellers home selling expenses, and pays the various agents involved
• Helping you understand Agency Law in the Province of Alberta, your options, and how each of these options can impact your ability to get a great deal on a home
• Educating you on what not to do during your home search

This is where the fun really ramps up:

 

Looking for your first home is exciting with the advanced techonology on our website. If you haven't done so already, we'll register you on our website and start looking through the very easy-to-navigate system. The tools are quite extensive and have detailed information for you on your Calgary area real estate search. We can narrow down specific areas, property types, and details such as the number of bedrooms, whether a property has a finished basement or a garage, and even whether there are schools or shopping nearby. Since your real estate professional has ideas from the initial consultation, we'll immediately start a two-pronged search:

• We'll program our real estate systems to notify you, by email, of all the current and new home listings as they hit the market. You can then review them in detail using the descriptions, photos, virtual tours and floor plans provided by other real estate agents.
• Your REALTOR® will also program our "agent-only" website to notify them of homes that meet or exceed your criteria the very the minute they hit the market or fall into your price range. They will review them to confirm a match to your criteria. They'll also explore other homes in a less vertical and limited search.

Once we have narrowed the search from the dozens of homes that will meet your initial criteria, "viewing appointments" will be arranged by your agent, based on your time schedule.

 

Keep notes on the homes that you visit. Based on experience, homes start to blend together for many buyers. Unfortunately, you just can't buy the house that has the spacious living room from one home, the kitchen "to die for" from another, and the luxurious ensuite from a third. Your REALTOR® will also provide you with a useful home rating scale to help try to keep them all in focus.

You've found it! Now it's time to review the facts about this home, search for some of the legal restrictions on the property and perform a quick search to locate comparative homes. This information will assist us when reviewing pricing for making an offer. Your agent will examine past sales history in the area using our "agent-only" MLS® System website, and locate all recently sold, conditionally sold and active listings that fit the same criteria as your find.

 

We'll propose a purchase price based on the current real estate market and advise you on "top-market value" so that you're aware of it well before the negotiations take place.

Your REALTOR® will have an "Offer to Purchase" form already drafted on their iPad. As professional REALTORS®, we now have the ability to provide an almost paper-free transaction to help the environment and to eliminate unnecessary delays.

 

It usually takes between 15 and 30 minutes to completely fill out the documents (providing we did a good job explaining them in the initial consultation), and to forward the signed Offer to Purchase to the co-operating REALTOR®.

 

A cheque for the deposit will be discussed, and it will required by the other REALTOR® at the appropriate time. It should be noted that deposits are fully refundable if the conditions imposed in the Offer to Purchase are not satisfied. The amount of the deposit will vary depending on your position, the home being purchased and sometimes on the wishes of the seller. Once the final amount of deposit is determined through the negotiations, your REALTOR® be asking for it.

 

Important sections on the offer:

After writing the offer, your REALTOR® will carefully devise a strategic plan of attack to leverage your position. A cover letter is often attached along with the offer and sent to the seller's REALTOR®. We confirm by a telephone call to ensure they received it in legible, complete condition and to discuss and highlight the various parts of the offer.

 

Once you and seller agree on all the terms, conditions and price of the home through our negotiations, both REALTORS® will get the final signatures and your REALTOR® will ask for your deposit cheque. A final copy of the offer will be provided to you and the deposit cheque will be placed into the co-operating real estate brokerage's Trust Account for the benefit of both the buyer and the seller. 

Once your offer has been accepted, signed and delivered, procedures will commence to satisfy the conditions in the contract. Timelines need to be kept and quick action is required. The usual amount of time alloted for conditions is between 5 and 10 days. However, this timeline can be changed and renegotiated provided both parties agree to it in writing. If you are a first-time buyer with the mortgage amount which requires mortgage default insurance, the required amount of condition time will almost alway be 10 days eventhough you were fully preapproved by your lender. After your financing, property inspection, and other conditions have been met, we will discuss any outstanding issues, and sign the waivers to move forward from a conditionally sale (C/S) to a firm sale (which in legal terms is referred to as a "pending sale" until you have taken possession and the title to the property is transferred into your name). Once the sale is firm, your REALTOR® will deliver your contract to your preferred real estate lawyer. Don't have one? No problem, we work with a select few and will be happy to help you select one.

• If you haven't done so already, now is the time to finish packing, arrange for the movers, or a moving truck rental and line up your friends as helpers. If our brokerage's moving truck is available, we'll book it for you.
• Arrange for gas, electricity, water and other utilities such as Internet, telephone and cable television services.
• Arrange for home owner's insurance on the new home. This is a requirement of a mortgage and will need to be completed prior to the meeting with your real estate lawyer to sign the various documents.
• About two weeks before possession, make an appointment with your real estate lawyer. During that meeting, your lawyer will go through all the details of the file, have you sign the mortgage documents for the lender, and receive from you the balance of the purchase price (and their fees) necessary to complete the sale. If you have any concerns at all, don't hesitate to call the lawyer well before setting up this meeting with them.
• Arrange for you mail to be forwarded to your new home. Complete the necessary an address changes for your mail and inform your employer and your various bank branches of your new address.
• Do Not - buy furniture or major appliances, buy or lease a car, or make any credit applications until you take possession of your new home.
• There are a lot of items here. Have no worries – we'll work with you and remind you along the way.

It's here... the big day you've dreamed of: Owning your first home!

 

Usually keys are released by the seller's lawyer just before noon. Once all monies are transferred and confirmed by the seller's lawyer, your real estate agent can pick up and release the keys to you. A walk-through of the home is done at that time to verify that everything is as it should be. In the very unlikely case that it's not, that's when the lawyers get involved again.

We will be contacting you shortly after the move-in to make sure you're happy and that things are running smoothly. If you have any questions prior to that, we are only a call or email away. Then, we'll be keeping in touch with you - we're not leaving you alone and isolated!

 

Register today to start receiving new listings automatically sent to your email address, manage your home search and to view full details on Calgary real estate listings.

 

So, is it time to get started? It's your move!