Buying a pair of shoes, or a new flat screen can change your day, but buying a new home can change your life, especially when you’re buying one for the first time. The thing is that when you know what you’re in for, buying real estate in Toronto doesn’t have to be intimidating. So we put together a short guide to everything, and we mean everything you need to know before you buy a new house, condo, townhouse or loft. Maybe you’re tired of throwing money into a rental. Or maybe you’re getting too big for that one-bedroom condominium. Or maybe you’ve always dreamed of owning your own home with a backyard. Whether you’re going into the market for the first time, or whether you’ve bought and sold real estate before, we can help. We have real estate agents specifically trained to help buyers. So get stated by looking over this short guide, then give us a call and we’ll help you with the rest.

1. don’t just find an agent, find a Buyer Agent.
Real estate buyers need agents who are specialized in restate buying. A Buyer Agent doesn’t get bogged down with all the extra baggage of trying to be an expert in everything. MyArea Buyer Agents are totally dedicated to understanding what real estate buyers need- from the state of the market, to the buying process, to matching you with your perfect home, a Buyer Agent can do this better than anyone. So getting matched up with a MyArea Buyer Agent is a good first step.

2. get some advice on money.
It’s easier than you think. With the advice of a good mortgage broker (you can find one in our Links section), you can quickly sort out how much you can afford, what the monthly payments will be, and what price range you should be looking in. They’ll pre-approve you for a certain amount, and also explain the many mortgage options available. Experienced buyers can also get help figuring out how to make the most out of their next purchase.

3. get out there and see some property.
Whether it’s one, two, or twenty, your Buyer Agent will show you as many properties in Toronto as it takes to find the perfect one. They’ll also tell you just about anything you need to know about the buildings and the neighborhoods. MyArea agents also send out Toronto building info by email, as soon as it comes available. We tell you what properties come up; you tell us which ones you want to see. We can’t promise that you’ll find the right home the first time out, but we can promise that when the right home becomes available, you’ll be one of the first to know.

4. figuring out a property’s value.
After you’ve found a place you love and before you do a victory dance, we figure out its value. It’s complex, but we’ve got a system. We look at the selling price of similar houses in the area, or in the case of a condo, we check the sales history of the condominium, and we look at market trends. From this, we produce a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), which is basically an educated estimation of the property’s real estate value.


5. the offer.

Making an offer is all about finding something you and the seller can agree on, after all, you both want to make a sale.

When you’ve found a property you like, your MyArea Buyer Agent will help you figure out a reasonable offer, one that has a good shot of being accepted by the seller. Price is obviously the most important part of the offer.

But there are still some factors beyond price that can affect whether or not your offer goes through. These other factors are the conditions you may choose to place on your offer. Your offer could be conditional on your financing being approved, on a home inspection, or on a lawyer reviewing the condominium documents.

The closing date can also affect whether or not your offer goes through. You and the seller will hopefully have a similar date in mind for the deal to close, and for the property to change hands. If you don’t, either the seller or the buyer would be left without a residence for a period of time, which is unattractive to the seller because it can be pretty expensive. So whenever possible, you want to pick a closing date that the seller will find convenient.

Once the offer is made, it sometimes goes through right away. Other times there’s some back and forth between you and the seller. We’re there to represent you in these negotiations.

Sometimes your offer is the only offer and sometimes you’re competing with other offers. In a situation where multiple offers are expected, real estate buyers sometimes won’t put conditions on their offers, along with an attractive price, to make the offer more competitive. There are a lot of variables in this regard, but your Buyer Agent will help you through it all.

6. the deposit.
If you’re at this point, the seller has accepted your offer and you’re on your way to buying a new home. As a sign of good faith, the buyer gives the seller a deposit with the offer, or within 24 hours. This is usually around 5% of the purchase price. The seller’s agent holds the deposit in trust until closing, and should the buyer be unable to fulfill the conditions of the offer, if any, the deposit is returned to them in full. When the sale closes, the deposit goes toward the purchase of the house. The MyArea team will help you, the buyer, through this by organizing the pickup and delivery of your cheque, and making sure you are kept in the loop.

7. fulfilling the conditions.
Now that you’re here, your offer has been accepted and if all goes well, you could be picking out paint colors in less than two weeks.

First, the financing conditions need to be addressed. You’ll visit your mortgage broker (check out the list on our Links page for some good ones) and they’ll begin the final approval process.

If you’re buying a condo, your lawyer will want to review the condo’s financial and legal profile from a document produced by the condo corporation called the Status Certificate. The cost for the document is usually $100, which is paid buy either the buyer or seller, depending on what you’ve negotiated. The document can take up to 10 days to put together, and about 2-3 days for your lawyer to review. Check our Links page for lawyers who can help you through this process.

If you’re buying a house, we recommend a home inspection. A professional home inspector goes spends 3-4 hours thoroughly checking out the home. You can go along and ask any questions you have. The inspector will produce a summary of their findings and some recommendations for the home.

Sometimes, especially in situations where there is more than one offer, the buyer may complete these steps before submitting an offer with their agent. This potentially makes the offer more attractive to the seller.

If all goes well, you’ll be planning your moving day and saving your newspapers for packing. But should something not go according to plan, if you’re not happy with the home inspection, or you are unable get the financing you expected, you’re covered. You get your deposit back and the real estate deal is null and void. Should you find yourself in this situation, we’ll help you through it by keeping track of the various professionals involved and by keeping you in the loop.

Once the conditions have been fulfilled, you sign a waiver(s) and the deal is firm. It’s time to send out the housewarming invites and call your mom so she can get started on that embroidered “Home Sweet Home” disc you’ll hang prominently in the basement. You’ve done it. And after all this hard work, you’ve got a new home. Congratulations!