Buying a home made easy

Buying a home involves a combination of research, time, effort, and, of course, a broad range of emotions.

Knowing where to start and what to expect can ease you through the process, ideally in the most straightforward direction.

We suggest you begin by connecting with three important professionals, a banker or mortgage broker, a realtor and a real estate lawyer. Banker or mortgage broker This professional can help you get pre-approved and give you an idea of what you can afford and what your potential payments would be.

As a mortgage is often your largest financial commitment, ensure you are informed on this before you start the hunt for a home. Realtor Find a real estate agent who understands your needs, is familiar with your preferred area and can strongly negotiate for you.

Once you have found your dream home and you are ready to put in an offer, you will work with your realtor to put together a contract.

In addition to the purchase price, two critical decisions in the preparation of your contract will be choosing the dates to close and having additional terms and subject conditions carefully drafted. Lawyer The earlier, the better for contacting your lawyer.

Often real estate contracts include a subject condition that gives buyers time to have the contract and the property’s title reviewed.

This review can help ensure the property meets your needs, especially if you have plans to renovate or change the use of the property.

Once you have your team in place, you are ready to proceed.

If you are fully satisfied with the contract terms and you are confident you have both the desire and ability to see the contract through to completion, you will work with your realtor to make the contract binding.

This is often when your real estate lawyer and their conveyancers will reach out to you to obtain the necessary details from you in order to prepare closing documents.

Keep in mind, once these documents are prepared, you will be required to attend your lawyer’s office to sign the documents.

So, if you plan to be out of town around the closing date let your lawyer know as soon as possible.

It is also often at this signing appointment your lawyer will tell you the final funds required to complete your purchase.

This will take into account your deposit paid, any mortgage funds used, applicable property transfer tax, and adjustments for property taxes, utilities and strata fees, if applicable.

Additionally, this will include the legal fees and disbursements, which are charges your lawyer incurs on your behalf for items such as obtaining title insurance, strata documents, municipal tax information and Land Title Office fees.

Try out our closing cost estimator on our website, Pihl.ca, to get an idea of how much money you may need to complete your transaction.

Once you have signed your closing documents and provided your funds, you can leave the completion of the transaction to your lawyer knowing your team has successfully worked together to make your purchase as seamless as possible.

Courtney MacRae is a lawyer at Pihl Law in Kelowna. Reach her at lawyers@pihl.ca.