Your First Home

Оглавление

Kimberley Marr. Your First Home

YOUR FIRST HOME. A Buyer’s Kit for Condos and Houses!

Introduction

1. Renting versus Home Ownership: Do the Math

1. Renting Is Paying Someone Else’s Mortgage

2. Build Your Own Equity

3. Creating Your Home Buyer Plan

2. Mortgage: How Much Can You Afford?

1. Understanding Mortgage Products

1.1 Conventional mortgage

1.2 High-ratio mortgage

1.3 Second mortgage

1.4 Vendor Take Back (VTB)

1.5 Builder’s mortgage

1.6 Closed mortgage

1.7 Open mortgage

1.8 Fixed rate mortgage

1.9 Variable or adjustable rate mortgage

1.10 Convertible mortgage

2. Getting Pre-Approved for a Mortgage

2.1 Obtain your credit report

2.2 Understanding the difference between pre-qualify and pre-approval

2.3 Determine how much you can spend on a home

3. How to Shop for a Mortgage and Get the Best Deal

3.1 Using the services of a mortgage broker

3.2 Mortgage term and interest rates

4. Plan Your Budget

Worksheet 1: Monthly Budget

3. Eliminate Your Mortgage Fast

1. Principal versus Interest

2. How to Pay off Your Mortgage Quickly

3. Your Mortgage Term

4. Begin with a Starter Home

5. Pay off Your Mortgage Faster

Sample 1: Mortgage for 25 Years

Sample 2: Mortgage with Monthly and Biweekly Payments for 25 Years

Sample 3: Mortgage with Biweekly Payments Plus $50 for 25 Years

Sample 4: Mortgage with Biweekly Payments Plus $100 for 25 Years

4. Government Programs

1. The 5 Percent Down Payment Program

2. Home Buyers’ Plan

2.1 How to withdraw and repay your RRSP funds

3. Moving Expenses

4. Land Transfer Tax Programs

4.1 Ontario land transfer tax rebate

4.2 British Columbia property transfer tax exemption

4.3 Prince Edward Island first-time buyer land transfer tax rebate

5. First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit (HBTC)

6. Green Home Program

7. New Immigrant and Self-Employed Program

5. Deciding What to Buy

1. Buying a Newly Built Home

1.1 Functionally modern layout, features, and current technology

1.2 Green standards

1.3 New home warranties

1.3a Ontario’s Tarion Warranty Corporation

1.3b British Columbia New Home Warranty

1.3c Alberta New Home Warranty Program

1.3d Québec

1.3e Atlantic Home Warranty

1.4 Long closing

1.5 Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST)

1.6 New home builder’s agreement of purchase and sale

2. Buying a Resale Home

2.1 Home warranty on a resale home

2.2 The resale agreement of purchase and sale contract

3. Freeholds and Condominiums

6. Understanding the Relationship between You and Your Real Estate Broker

1. Understanding What Your Real Estate Agent Does

1.1 Tasks of a real estate broker

1.1a Determining your plan

1.1b Financing plan

1.1c Researching properties to view

1.1d Booking showing appointments

1.1e Discussing the viewed homes

1.1f Completing the agreement of purchase and sale

1.1g Connecting you to other relevant professionals

1.2 How to find a real estate broker

1.2a Interviewing real estate brokers

2. Who Is Working for You?

2.1 Buyer representation

2.2 Seller representation

2.3 Multiple representation

2.4 Customer service

3. Individual Identification Record

7. The Search for Your New Home

1. Make a List of What You Want and Don’t Want

2. The Different Types of Homes

Worksheet 2: Home-Buyer Profile

3.1 Do a search

3.2 Viewing properties

Worksheet 3: Home-Buyer Checklist

3.3 How long will it take to find a home?

3.4 Market data

4. What Type of Economic Market Cycle Is the Real Estate Market Experiencing?

4.1 Seller’s market

4.2 Buyer’s market

4.3 Balanced market

4.4 What type of marketplace are you currently experiencing?

4.5 Seasonal cycles

8. The Agreement of Purchase and Sale

1. What Is Included in an Agreement of Purchase and Sale

2. Negotiating the Offer

9. The Home Inspection

1. What Is Covered in a Home Inspection?

2. What Is the Role of the Home Inspector?

2.1 Insulation

2.2 Marijuana grow operations

2.3 Accessory apartments

2.4 Attend the home inspection

2.5 The home inspection report

3. Is an Inspection Needed for a Newly Constructed Home?

10. The Role of Your Lawyer

1. How to Find the Right Lawyer

2. What Is the Lawyer’s Role When Closing Your Deal?

3. Closing Costs

3.1 Ontario land transfer tax

3.2 British Columbia property transfer tax

3.3 Prince Edward Island first-time buyer land transfer tax

3.4 Alberta and Saskatchewan land transfer fees

3.5 Manitoba land transfer tax

3.6 Québec land transfer tax

3.7 New Brunswick real property transfer tax

3.8 Nova Scotia land transfer tax

3.9 Newfoundland registration of deeds

3.10 Northwest Territories land transfer tax

3.11 Yukon Territory land title

3.12 Nunavut

4. Closing Tasks

Worksheet 4: Closing Tasks

11. Title Insurance

1. Title Insurance and How It Protects the Buyer

2. Title Insurance and What It Doesn’t Cover

3. How Do You Choose a Title Insurance Company?

4. What Does Title Insurance Cost?

5. How Do I Obtain a Title Policy?

12. Home and Property Insurance

1. Property and Contents Insurance

2. Mortgage Insurance

13. Moving forward

Acknowledgements

About the Author

Notice to Readers

Self-Counsel Press thanks you for purchasing this ebook

Contents

Отрывок из книги

Buying your first home is an exciting, big step. There is a need amongst first-home buyers for sound guidance, information, and disclosure of facts. Home ownership is a major decision; it is not just about acquiring shelter or making an investment. When you purchase a home you are buying a lifestyle. It is a place where dreams can become reality; for example:

• Enjoying the warmth of a fireplace in the family room.

.....

Assuming everything checks out, you should be given a written mortgage pre-approval outlining the amount that the lender will commit to over a specific time frame and at what interest rate. The mortgage pre-approval may also specify certain conditions, so make sure that you understand the terms and conditions of the pre-approval. Special conditions and requirements may include that you pay off a credit card or debt.

The guaranteed lock-in time frame is an important date to keep in mind when searching for a home. This is a cut-off date or time frame for which your interest rate is guaranteed. Beyond that time frame, if interest rates have increased, you may find that it could affect what you are approved to spend and the cost could be higher. The guaranteed lock-in time frame is usually three or four months depending on the lender. Most of the time, buyers have no problem finding and closing on a home within this time frame. (If you are considering purchasing a new home that is not yet built with a longer anticipated closing date, check with the builder and your lender because often there are mortgage products or programs designed for new construction purchases.)

.....