Your Home Buying Checklist

Buying a home can be overwhelming for most people.  Just over a year ago I had written a blog with some helpful tips on things that buyers should consider before taking the plunge on the purchase of their home.  You have now found the right home with the right builder in the right location, but what happens after you’ve done your due diligence and determined how much house you can afford, created your wish list, established a down payment, received your pre-approval for your mortgage and budgeted for all other expenses?  Here is a useful checklist for the buying/building process for those who are not well versed.

1.  A sales agreement will be written up by your sales person and you (plus any other soon to be owners!) this process takes about 2 hours so be sure to schedule enough time for the sales person to through all the paper work
2. After your sales agreement is written, it is generally considered conditional to financing (as most people don’t have the cash to pay for it) this is the time to make final arrangements with your lender to obtain a mortgage, you generally have up to 14 days to obtain financing or your agreement is terminated and your beloved house/lot is up for grabs!
3. Depending on your builder, you may have to go in for several design consultation to choose the finishings in your home, or your builder may have pre-set “designer” colour boards for you to choose from –you may have to take time off work as design consultations usually operate during regular business hours
4. Arrangements may be made with your builder to review the stages of construction that your home is currently at, through email or telephone.  For safety and insurance reason, please do not drop by the construction site unexpectedly.
5. Before possession, your builder will take you on two to three walk-throughs of your home (depending on your construction stage). Also note these walk-through events occur during business hours Monday to Friday.
6. Make sure you have a residential lawyer in place to take care of the final paper work and closing information prior to your possession, you’ll also need fire insurance on your home and return to your lender for your final mortgage terms and transfers required to be able to take possession!
7. Upon possession the builder will also give an in-depth explanation on several components in your home and how to use them, such as the sump pump or humidifier. You may not have a drive way or any landscaping, they will explain seasonal items as well.
8. Before you move into your new home, be sure to take care of the smaller details by notifying any important contacts you may have of your change of address and arranging services such as phone, internet, cable, electricity, water and gas.
9. On closing day, the title of your home is transferred to you from the builder and the outstanding payment is transferred from your financial institution once your lawyer has filed the closing of your deal and contacted the bank.  Once the payment has been received by the builder’s lawyers, the home is OFFICIALLY yours!
10. As I had mentioned in my “Smooth Moves” blog, if you’re hiring a mover for your big day, I recommend booking for the day after in case something gets delayed during the closing process.

Of course, there are hundreds of itty bitty details that come with purchasing a home, but we hope this checklist can help you better understand what to expect when you’re finally ready to make the big move!  And just because I love sneaking in a shameless plug for Rohit, we have homes that perfect for those hunting for their first homes (or just wanting to live in a really nice townhome condominium community), including Callaghan Landing, Tawa Landing and Casselman Landing!