Buyer’s Road Map

Whether you're deciding to buy your first home or an investment property, Eleeka Homes is driven to educate and provide more confidence to home buyers like yourself. We know that not everyone has the time to learn the nitty-gritty of assessing the worth of different properties, so we want to save you time and money while providing you with an experience that is enjoyable and less stressful.

HIGH-QUALITY BUYER SERVICES

  1. Deciding to buy

Purchasing a property has significant financial importance. Whether this is your first purchase or you are an experienced buyer, this decision must be made very carefully in order to ensure success.

 

  1. Getting your finances ready

 Before you even begin to start seeing properties and calling agents, you have to get your finances in order.

If you’re thinking of getting a loan, begin with cleaning up old debts, improving your credit score, and building up a healthy savings to put down a 20% down payment. Note that the required down payment may be a bit more if you’re in a sellers’ market.

Whether you’re buying in cash or with a loan, it’s important to know that the land transfer fee, title search, inspections, appraisals, and legal fees could amount up to around 1% of the total purchase price and are always extra. (NOTE: Exact amount is different in every scenario)

 

  1. Choosing a real estate agent

 A Real Estate Agent adds value by working with you in order to understand your needs, offering a roadmap to success, and walking with you to help you achieve your goals.

Additionally, Real Estate agents ensure that appropriate rules are and regulations are followed.

 Choose a Real Estate agent that is willing to listen, engage and constantly update you on the market and opportunities that become available – all while providing sound advice that comes from a treasure chest of experience.

 Also and in Ontario, buyers do NOT pay a fee for utilizing a Real Estate agent in the process. Not the main reason to hire an agent, but possible grounds to make it a no-brainer….

 

  1. Planning for the Purchase

A good agent will ask you many questions, often times in the form of a questionnaire. Knowing the answers to these questions is instrumental for you and your agent to align goals and ultimately make the experience more enjoyable, productive, and time efficient.

Get to know the neighborhoods, or subdivisions, which interest you. Drive around and get a feel for what it would be like to own a property in the area. Start getting a sense of the properties available in those areas.

 

  1. Time to go shopping

Once you have the neighbourhoods and target pricing sorted out, your agent will set up an interactive process for you to see available and upcoming properties in the target neighbourhoods.

Select a few properties that interest you the most and ask your real estate agent to make appointments to visit them. Get help from your real estate agent to find out the potential long term resale value of the properties you are considering.

 

  1. EllyZscore

EllyZscore is a custom tool developed and used by Eleeka to capture and document the “Feel and Presence” of properties in a way where they can be compared objectively with each other. As a buyer, your shortlisted homes can be inspected, scored by Eleeka complimentary if you hire me as your real estate agent and together we calibrate these scores based on your personal priorities.

 

  1. Putting an Offer

Once you find the property that interests you, the real estate agent will prepare an “Offer to Purchase” – which is an agreement you propose to the seller.

This legal document presents the conditions that you are willing to meet in order to complete the purchase.

Often times your agent will negotiate the terms of this offer before it’s prepared and submitted to the seller or the agent.

 

  1. Inspection and Appraisal

Inspection

Once an offer is accepted and unless you waive the “Inspection” clause, you will need to hire a licensed property inspector to inspect the property within the time frame that was agreed upon in the effective contract to purchase.

Appraisal:

If you’re purchasing a property with a loan, it is imperative that you keep in close communication with your lender, who will let you know when additional documents are needed to approve your loan application and fund your loan.

If your “Offer to Purchase” is conditional upon financing, then the property will be appraised by a licensed appraiser to determine the value for the lending institution, via a third party. Appraisers are specialists in determining the value of properties, based on a combination of square footage measurements, building costs, recent sales of comparable properties, operating income, etc.

It’s important to double check with your lender to be sure the loan will go through smoothly and on time between 10 to 14 days before the closing day.

 

  1. Closing Day

Congratulations! You are almost there. Here what happens before you get the key to your dream home.

  • Final Walk-Through Inspection

The final inspection takes place a day before, or the day of the closing. You will visit the property with your real estate agent to verify that everything is still at the property and in working order.  All should be the same as when you last viewed the property and signed the purchase agreement.

  • Transfer Home Services and Utilities.

You should contact the service providers to transfer the utility accounts before the closing occurs.

  • Closing

The real estate lawyers will provide all parties involved in the agreement with a settlement statement, which includes the details of the purchase agreement and the financial transactions enacted in the process. The two parties review this document to certify its accuracy and sign.

The seller should arrange to hand in all property keys and other important information on the closing day.

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Eleeka Helali
Eleeka Helali
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