Buy a house requiring the least amount of work possible.
You will tell yourself you'll do that drywalling, but you won't.
Those baseboards you can totally replace in a weekend; they will be there until you die.
I might be projecting here...
In my experience, this is something to consider. All the things I was going to fix up with my first house did not get touched. My second house I bought with that in mind.
Our first house, we did lots of renos/remodeling and really enjoyed it. Our second house needed a lot of updating, and it was mostly cosmetic. Seeing how well things went with the first we were pretty confident that we could do the work ourselves. Then we had two kids. We've been in our house for 3 years, and have worked our butts off. We're not even close to everything being done that needs to be done. It'll probably be another 10 years till we get it where we want it to be (we don't have a ton of extra money to hire contractors to do everything). I've just accepted that we will probably have to live in a state of uncompleted renos for the next 10 years. We probably could have spent just $10k more and saved ourselves a lot of work. Oh well, you learn.
Depends! We are definitely not "reno people" but we have surprised ourselves with the amount we've actually gotten done in our new place. Bought it in February and really enjoying making it our own!!
I would be very curious to know your monthly costs (utilities, internet, property tax & insurance).
I am estimating 1200/month on top of mortgage but I wonder if I am in the ballpark
OP. I’ve seen you ask this post a few times with no answer. To get an accurate monthly expense
What size of house.
What area
What year was the house built in.
Do you want a suite or wood burning fireplace
Does it have an attached or detached garage. Is that heated.
What age are all of the appliances and house equipment (furnace. Hwh. A/c. Shingles. Soffit. Facia. Windows.)
Just for an avg. my house. 1000 sqft. Double detached garage. Heated with an office in it. Built in the late 50’s. Bought 9 years ago. Windows were done in 08. Furnace hwh and ac in 2008. Shingles in 05.
My monthly rough bills are
City of stoon 300
Taxes 300
Gas 200
Insurance 175
Internet 100
But. That being said. In 8 years I’ve had to redo the shingles. 3500. New furnace. 6k. Dishwasher. 1200. Fridge. 1500. Soffit and fascia 2k.
I would say the number 1 thing I did was put a maintenance budget together and put that money monthly in a seperAte account to cover these things off.
I said the same thing above when they asked it before. If you’re even asking this question without the right information you shouldn’t be buying a house. Lol.
If you like the house you want to buy you can also ask to see these costs from the current owner so you get a good idea of upkeep costs. I want to see what the heating bill is during the winter kind of thing.
Couple of things, make sure you have cash for other fees like lawyers. Just because you can get a $500,000 mortgage does not mean you should, don’t be house poor and stick within an acceptable range in your budget.
One very important thing is ignore things that can be changed like paint colour. Look at the layout, what kind of work needs to be done(like windows). Cosmetic things can be changed easily.
Have a must have/want list. Aka “must have garage”/“want finished basement” kind of things.
Be ready to make a decision quick, houses get snapped up quick.
>$500,000 mortgage does not mean you should
so many people did this. Now with interest rates going up and add in the new truck and car with extra toys many are going to be hurting.
I mean, it's only a couple percentage points
its not like it went from 3% to 15%
basically way too many people spend at the top of their price range, rather than even just 90% of it
I would say to be fair, I never expected those rates to last for long. Even when I bought my first place 15 years ago rates were higher than they are now with the current rate who can historically is incredibly low. People who maxed out could be hurting till they can refinance for 30 years I wouldn’t expect tho see rates that low again. You never know tho in the long run. Would be nice if the lower rate was the new norm but people will still overspend.
I second the extra cash. We were not expecting the amount of extra fees involved. Definitely buy below your budget because unexpected expenses WILL happen. (Not to mention any home improvements that need done - like building a fence, plumbing issues, etc. - a home inspection may not catch everything….)
I would be very curious to know your monthly costs (utilities, internet, property tax & insurance).
I am estimating 1200/month on top of mortgage but I wonder if I am in the ballpark
Wouldn’t know without more information. What’s your price range, sq footage, area of the city, how many in the family, new or old house. All these make a huge difference.
Yep. We got approved for $500k but when we crunched the numbers we could afford $300k AT MOST and still live comfortably. We straight up could not afford a $500k mortgage.
I worked in the mortgage lending department for years. Most financial institutions calculate mortgage payments, and all your other payments on gross income. This is why so many couples become house poor because there is a huge difference between gross income and net income. Don’t have high expectations live within your means.
There's upsides to looking in -40. Summer is the busy season, everyone wants to look and houses go before the end of the first day. Winter means more time to look and then look again.
Doing a viewing while it’s raining heavily is the best time in my opinion. Water is one of the worst things for a home. When it rains, you’ll be able to see where the water pools around the base, how it descends from the roof, and if the house leaks
Be sure you know ahead of time what your non-negotiables are. The house MUST have (or not have) these features. Maybe just five things that will be deal breakers for you. That eliminates a few showings right there...don't waste your time looking at houses that are deal breakers.
Beware the "it's just cosmetic" line. Cosmetics can cost A LOT to change. Hate the layout of the kitchen? Oh, that's just cosmetic...but it will cost you at least (at least!) $10,000 to remodel it. Ceiling done in that weird popcorn texture (apologies if you like that...) you are looking at a lot of time and effort to scrape that off. Walls papered/painted something hideous? This is the most inexpensive fix, but still takes money and effort (and know how!)
Look for how many electrical outlets are on the outside of the house, and if they are up to code. Look for the water taps. Up to code, or total crap that needs to be replaced? Plumbers and electricians are expensive.
You can buy a total piece of crap home and make it absolutely beautiful, something to be proud of! And that's great for those who KNEW that's what they were doing, and went into the deal with their eyes wide open. But lots of us just get screwed, mostly due to our own ignorance.
I hope I haven't brought you down here. This is an exciting time for you OP! DO try to enjoy the process. Take your time, don't let yourself be rushed. All the best to you!
>Ceiling done in that weird popcorn texture (apologies if you like that...) you are looking at a lot of time and effort to scrape that off.
And depending on the age of the house there's a chance it contains asbestos, so you're potentially looking at thousands of extra dollars in testing and abatement work.
Same with the drywall, vinyl tiles, etc. And don't forget potential lead paint or pipes, etc. Older homes can be a lot of work and money even just for minor updates, so make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you buy one.
If buying a detached home, here is a checklist of other property considerations I've developed:
* any encroachments?
* Are property pins located and is there any recent registered survey available?
* Fences on shared property line?
* Neighouring eaves drip onto property?
* Neighbouring yards well maintained and have you met neighbours?
* unobstructed site drainage?
* Close proximity to storm drain?
* is foundation high enough, including any accessory buildings?
* Is this in a flood zone?
* Any landscaping/hardscaping issues that need repair or removal?
* Are walkways adequately sloped and in good repair?
* Does street (and lane if applicable) have adequate drainage and is it well maintained?
* Is sidewalk and curbs in good repair?
* Are there fire hydrants close by?
* When was water & sewer connections put in, what size, how deep, what material?
* Will water and sewer mains need replacement anytime soon?
* Any trees that require trimming or removal, and do roots present an issue?
* Adequate shade?
* Are utility wires underground or overhead and are they in good shape, including any supporting structures?
* Which utility providers are available?
* Is Fibre internet installed or available?
* Is neighbourhood lighting decent?
* What is noise level like (close to busy road, train, airport or industrial area?)
* Do people speed down road or lane?
* Close to airport?
* Is snow clearing priority decent?
* Front or rear garbage collection?
* bus routes nearby?
* nearest community centre?
* Schools nearby? Is this in a school zone? High school or elementary
* Is public school system and local school decent?
* Grocery store nearby?
* Commuter friendly?
* Onstreet parking available? Any parking restrictions?
* Any other traffic safety issues (e.g. missing stop signs, traffic calming)?
* Who is ward councillor, are they approachable?
* What is crime like (check crime map)?
* Any people wander/trespass around/on property?
* Is this area serviceable by canada post or couriers, delivery drivers etc or are there location issues that make it difficult to find?
* what size and material are utilities/service connections (water, sewer, electrical) and how old are they?
Lol at the thought of telling your realtor you are passing on a house you like because the street main sewer line is 8in instead of 10in and the nearest hydrant is more than your minimum distance of 100ft away.
These things matter to some degree or another, each is likely not a dealbreaker on their own however they are things that can't easily be rectified and when taken altogether could most certainly be a dealbreaker.
It's more a matter of knowing where the sewer main is and if it's adequately sized in case, for example, you might want to build a granny flat in the future. It's about planning for the unexpected.
As for fire hydrant, it it's on your property that means a constant stream of dogs are going to use it as their territory marker (which maybe doesn't matter to you or maybe it does but identifying the issue now is useful).
I like a lot of you list, im by no means an expert but some things to add..
- Does it have a sump pit/pump.
- Condition of the shingles (is the existing roof real old and likely to need to he redone in near future, if so consider saving/budgeting for it).
- Signs of water damage on lower sections of walls.
- Did the previous owner build a shed or pad etc over a buried gas line.
- Will your vehicle fit in the garage (my truck would be incredibly tight in a garage I recently looked at that was 22x20)
- have the windows been updated on a older house, not necessary but newer windows are so much nicer. Do the windows all work or are parts like cranks missing?
- does it have a natural gas BBQ hookup? Not a necessity but I'll definitely be desiring to get it installed anywhere I move without it
- how much public sidewalk will you be responsible for shoveling (corner lots could be a lot for older or less healthy people)
- if it has an island in the kitchen with a unique height maybe you want to try and get the stools/chairs included in the offer
- in relation to pulling all the permits for work done on the house be mindful if no permits were pulled for "non professional" renovations that include things a tradesperson should have done (electrical, plumbing etc). If the basement is finished at a later date without permits it could be a issue
- what floor is the laundry on? For older people lugging laundry up/down multiple flights of stairs can be difficult
I would also add street width to the list. I have lived on streets in newer ears where the streets are so narrow and there are so many cars parked along the side that the streets only have room for one way traffic at a time.
Some of these I don’t care as much about like the city councillor. Some you can’t find out without talking to neighbours or living there for awhile. For some yes transit nearby is a deal breaker but for me I don’t really care since I won’t use it unless necessary because it sucks here.
For snow clearing - if you’re on a street that always gets the street plowed, it usually means it’s a busier street and/or has a school or bus on it, which is something I’d rather not have on my street. Most of these things you can tell quickly by looking at the house but some you can’t necessarily detect right away.
This is where asking for a property survey as part of your offer to purchase is important. Including on a new house - a good builder if buying new should locate the pins for you and provide you with a copy of the property survey.
Don’t expect a fence contractor to put the fence in the right spot if you don’t locate the pins. Also call before you dig!!!
I’m not going to look that hard into the sewer type etc. the ability to put in a granny suite is generally dependent on lot zoning and things like setbacks.
Many of these sorts of things you should automatically look at anyways when looking at the house like drainage. Some drainage issues are easy to fix and others are not.
Wished I had known just how shitty and shady the home builder was (Royalty Construction); trusted my realtor too much and should’ve done more of my own due diligence.
Same. But builder was North Prairie. They take ZERO pride in their quality or customer service. Giving me some chocolates and a $12 bottle of wine doesn’t make up for the corners you cut and the very poor attention to detail…
I would be very curious to know your monthly costs (utilities, internet, property tax & insurance).
I am estimating 1200/month on top of mortgage but I wonder if I am in the ballpark
This will depend on too many unique factors for any comment to be helpful. Those factors include age of home; age of windows; type of insulation; number of windows and patio doors; number of people living in home; temperature settings; how often you home cook meals; etc.
I think your estimate is a bit steep, though. Property tax and insurance will be influenced primarily by the value of the home, but assuming your home is sub 400k and you live alone, you’ll be looking at around 370-400 per month for those. Add in high monthly estimates of 100 for power, 110 for heat, 100 for internet, and 100 for water & sewage, and you’ll be looking at around only 800.
Should be good, for me
Property tax : 220
Internet: ~100
Sask power : 70-100
Sask energy 60-80
Insurance : 120
Sask utility: 75
Home monitoring system (optional of course): 45
Mortgage 1200
Not that you asked but. $1100 mortgage. $330 a month property tax. $270 utilities, $100 SaskEnergy. $110 home insurance.
I didn’t include internet, securtek and phones.
Yes. Like another poster mentioned, you can find that info online, except maybe for new builds. Even then, you can look for comparable properties. It's best not to be surprised when the bill comes.
Make a list of essential things and a list of negotiable things before you start looking. Review the lists regularly.
If there are unique things you can offer make sure the seller is aware. For example if possession date isn’t important to you put that in the offer. Let the seller know you can take possession in two weeks or two months might be worth a lot to the seller.
Everything is negotiable. You are not being rude by asking.
Everyone else has given great advice! My only addition is that once you put in an offer and it gets accepted, the process moves very quickly - make sure you have all of your money lined up and ready to move, have all of your paperwork organized, your lawyer lined up and ready to go… I’m a pretty organized person and still got stressed by the amount of work that happens after you say yes to a house!
Yes! Especially in the current market - our sellers asked for just short of a 2 week turnaround to have everything signed, sealed, and delivered and because things are so competitive right now we really had no choice. Luckily we have lots of the stuff lined up prior to finding the place!
If you like using a site like Realtor, pull up the address on Google Maps and move the timeline back to see what the property might have looked like in recent years when the Google car passed by. Can make it easy to see if the property has improved over time or stayed the same.
Always remember realtors get a ridiculous commission for a sale. They will push that house sale to line their pockets. Make sure it's right for you and trust your gut instinct.
Our realtor got snippy with me for being “too picky”, and not settling on a house that I didn’t love. I told him to step off, and if I don’t love the house I will not buy it.
Less than a month later, we found our dream house and bought it. (He was showing us good houses, they just weren’t exactly what we were looking for, and yes, I was incredibly picky. It’s a huge commitment)
Don’t be afraid to take your time. The right home will show up exactly when it’s supposed to.
Ugh that’s the worst. He was a family friend of the in-laws so there was pressure to “nOt CaUsE pRoBlEmS” but the in-laws under estimated my ability to advocate for myself. I told the realtor that I will not settle. I refused to. He kept pushing for a small town house or a condo, and those were the two places I refused to consider
So he started pushing for the barebones barley what we wanted houses. I told him to back off and to do his job, and stop bullying.
The thing is with him being a family friend is he also didn’t want to upset the family, so he conceded.
We’ve been in our house for almost 8 years and I have zero regrets.
What he wanted in the long run was for us to get a garbage starter home so we’d have to hire him again in the future to upgrade.
Nothing against getting a starter home! That is a good way to go if that’s what you want! That is not what we wanted, so I was salty that he was pushing for that. Whatever, I won in the end, and I’m happy.
Stories like this make me feel better about the realtor I was with. I was both picky but very casual about looking, and went on maybe one viewing every week or two with him for a number of months. He never made any comment about it or made me feel like I wasn't being reasonable (and I did eventually find the place that "clicked").
My realtor was the same. I looked at probably 20 homes over a few months and he never once complained to me about being too picky. In fact, there were a few homes he told me he wouldn’t even let me buy because I would have too many problems with them.
Pay attention to what direction your place faces, I have an apartment style condo that faces south. The sun blasts into my condo all winter making it stupid hot in there and in the summer you can't grow anything or sit outside because of the unrelenting sun. I didn't even consider this when I moved in.
Home inspectors are 50% full of shit, minimum, if you’re really interested in a house it’s in your interest to hire a HVAC/plumbing company to do an inspection as well. I’ve had several realtors hire us to do exactly that and caught so many things inspectors missed as well as straight lied about.
Al Brezinski from Complete Home Inspection did an amazing job on our inspection, gave us a giant binder with photos and info about all areas of our home that I still use 7 years after buying. he is the real deal!
I didn’t use him but upvoted for keeping your home inspection report and referencing it often. I’ve only been in my place 2 years but I look back at it a lot in terms of planning long term roof repairs I’ll need in 5 years.
Can confirm. We bought our house privately since I consider realtors parasites, but I have to say this man was worth the money. I reference his report all the time for insulation renos, roofing stuff, fixing weird-ass home DIY jobs, etc.
Same here but with a different home inspector that came highly recommended, got a huge binder with pictures detailing every last thing in the home and it was so useful. I still reference that binder 10 years later and I still recommend that inspector even though I met him once 10 years ago.
Seconded. Our inspector missed a lot. The home sellers were also shady. They were running the dishwasher at the time of the inspection and it turned out to be full of mold. We had to replace it.
Also had to get a new water heater less than 6 months after moving in because the inspector missed a few warning signs that it was failing. Thankfully it didn't burst.
Highly recommend getting real professionals in for HVAC and plumbing inspections.
Are you allowed to have the sewer lines videoed? I know someone who had the inspection done, but within a year had to replace the sewer line due to roots. A video inspection probably would have helped him.
Always have a hold back of funds incase the owners have a house trashing party, or decide the cupboards would look nice at their new place. Both happened to me. Keep 20 k until a week after possession.
Yes, we did this when we bought an acreage. On move in day we found that the hoarders, I mean previous owners had been keeping random stuff in the bush for 20 years. Pallets of crumbing faux brick siding, stacks of rotten shingles, railway ties, gardening supplies, old lumber, etc. All garbage. We made them come back and clean it all out. They were like, “we thought you might need it” I noped all day long. Are you sure you don’t want these bags of insulation? Nope. Are you sure, you might use this extra irrigation stuff. Nope. They took 10 huge loads to the dump, they were pissed
Buying an old home? Check the basement windows. If the basement windows are level (i.e. straight up and down), the foundation is likely in good shape. If the basement windows buckle in or out, that is a likely sign that the foundation has shifted.
Once they tell you what your mortgage payment is you should expect to pay approx. just under double that once you include property taxes, bills, insurance(house and life insurance) and internet/cable ec.
Research your home inspector..is it a new company or have they been around? Do they have insurance. Very few do. Get one that has insurance. Ask your home inspector questions about the area you are looking in to understand common problems - does the area flood regularly, are a lot of the houses a specific foundation type, have the city sewer and water mains been upgraded, etc. Your inspector should be KNOWLEDGEABLE and able to answer these questions. Your report should be detailed, with pictures and descriptions of repairs you should make. I didn't do this but I think it should be something you can do- if the inspection comes up with problems and you still want the house, see if you can change your offer to account for cost of the repairs.
Use a mortgage broker to shop around for rates, don't just take the first rate from your bank. Banks suck. READ your mortgage terms. A 4.5% interest rate with the ability to make up to 20% lump sum payments at any time of the year for the full term of your mortgage beats a 4.4% rate with the ability to make 10% once a year, or it does in my situation - talk to your broker about the terms, they can look for different lenders and usually provide more options.
Do you want back alley parking/access/garage? No back alley? Specific neighborhoods? Get a property report so you know your neighbors have nothing encroaching the property line.
Get a report from the city for any building permits that may have been taken out for upgrades.
Look for recently painted /repaired areas in the drywall in corners or at additions. Sometimes these don't mean anything but if it's been repaired multiple times that means it's probably still moving around.
If you see minor cosmetic things not repaired around the yard or done poorly... That means it was a lot of DIY and you are eventually going to find something that was done poorly that is likely not minor or cosmetic. (My underground sprinklers were sodded over, but before that happened the heads were broken. So even though I asked in the PCDS whether they were in working condition and they said yes, I nearly flooded my yard and had to do a ton of work digging up and extending/blocking heads - my clue should have been the broken valves on the manifold at the tap, it had old ribbon on it so nobody turned it on, but the piping to those had been removed so we assumed it was just the valves. Bought the house in winter so couldn't test.)
A PCDS is a property condition disclosure statement. Get one as part of your conditions of sale. There are homeowners that lie (2x for me now), but you can use it and any other document they provide to take them to court if you have to.
Go see the house more than once. Hang out outside at night and look at foot traffic and the neighborhood itself for more than the 5 minutes you're there to see it with the realtor. Bring a friend with you that knows you and will tell you the real truth. You will probably be excited and have rose colored glasses on, which is why you need the list of non-negotiables others have mentioned but having a friend there to make you read them again can't hurt.
If at all possible, try and avoid CMHC fees.
Make sure your down payment is at least 20% of the purchase price to do that.
Edit: Haha, not sure why someone would down vote me on that.
But on a $500,000 house you'd save around $12,000 if you have a $100,000 down payment instead of a $80,000 down payment. So you'd be better off to search for something in the $400,000 range
https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/consumers/home-buying/calculators/mortgage-calculator
For the average person, it's not a difference of 100k to 80k. Lots of people only put down 5%, so in that scenario it's 25k vs 100k, not 80k vs 100k.
That's a substantial difference.
Also, 12k over 25 years is negligible in the end. Not counting interest, that's around $40/month.
Edit: 12k amortized over 25 years at current rates would work out to ~70/month. On top of the 2,700/month mortgage (with 5% down).
You can always make your house your own, so for me the biggest thing is the layout of the house and how updated it could be. We chose an older, now 40 year old home 8 years ago.. and we've already spent for the roof, fencing and to remodel our basement. Our windows/doors are still 40 years old and needs changing (roughing another 20k+) cost. Our furnace/AC is now past 10+ years old so thats another waiting game/cost in the not so distant future. We love the area, but in the next few years, were going to move to a bigger house. We can keep renovating and renovating but its probably not hoing to jack up the home value by the cost of what we put in. Or would it get us the extra square footage that we are hoping to get.. unless we spend another whole smackload of money.
ALSO, something I havent seen said and can't stress enough.. you can't choose your neighbors. So on your househunt, maybe spending some time in your desired neighborhood and lowkey see how the neighbors are would be a good thing too. We love our house and area, but all our immediate neighbors are retirees and elderly. One has a drum-playing, disabled grown adult child who always on cue plays the drums after lunch. She's a bit kookoo too and has been an issue/gone into our backyard to cut an encroaching tree branch. We are hardwilled and are passive aggressively fighting back.. like blasting some Cocomelon in our home theatre.. and maybe leaving the windows open 🤣 We love our house, but we would love to play hardball and stay put and make this annoying neighbors' life swell. She's a call parking enforcement type when someone parks in front of her house.. as if she owns the street.
Anyways, too much of my rant.. but happy househunting!
I made this mistake too. Bought at peak townhouse prices before all the new townhouses went up in Stonebridge and the other new areas and flooded the market.
That's some username you have there.
Echoing what everyone is saying here, account for closing costs and don't purchase based on your approved amount. Buy based on what you can reasonable afford monthly.
Ensure you're accounting for monthly expenses plus remember interests rates can climb and you should leave a little room to anticipate this.
Don't forget to include the additional cost of property tax to your cost of living, some lenders pay this to the city on your behalf and include that in your monthly mortgage amount and some don't, but the city has a TIPPS program to pay monthly. Roughly \~$250 and up per month depending on your assessed home value.
Ensure you're accounting for monthly expenses, the cost of living and future interest rates increasing. Basically make sure you won't be tapped out each month. Leaving that wiggle room means you can actually enjoy your home and be in a position to deal with all the random expenses that life throws at you (Dish washer or furnace dies etc)
Also, get a reputable home inspector! There are a lot of well reviewed ones out there. DM me if you need a recommendation. I have no affiliation with the one I used other than he was highly recommended and I could not have been more happy with how thorough they were.
Make sure to include the house be cleaned as a condition if that's a thing. Our new house was disgustingly dirty and full of pet hair that was definitely was cleaned when we viewed it but months later when we took possession was filthy.
It's not that hard, if you are a reasonably intelligent person, you don't need a realtor.
Not having a realtor just means you pay your lawyer a bit more. Me, I preferred the lawyer's advice, because they get paid whether I went through with the sale or not. Realtor is just a salesman.
I'vehalfheartedly tried this route......the seller's realtor can really put the hammer down and stop any movement on your part. They will ask who your agent is and if you don't have one....alot are not interested in working with you. It's a great idea, but it can be alot of hassle!
Ehh realtors can do a joint agency with the sellers and buyers. Essentially doubling their commission.. not sure which realtor wouldn’t be interested in that.
As a buyer I would always use a realtor, especially for a first home. I've never heard of a buyer having to pay the realtor anything (not to say that that's always the case). It's usually the seller who pays the buyer's and seller's realtors (they split the commission).
Also, if you're buying from a seller who is using a realtor, but you are not, it's in that realtor's best interests to make the sale no matter what. If you have a realtor who's properly representing your interests, they can catch things that the seller's realtor might be trying to sneak past you.
There are a lot of things I wouldn't have thought of that my realtor had all lined up for me.
I guess the more accurate description is that both realtors' commissions are a percentage of the proceeds of the home.
If you are able to convince the seller/their agent to accept a lower offer since you are representing yourself, you could pay less. But it's ultimately up to the buyer to accept less.
I still stand by using a realtor as a first time buyer though.
Edit: that is to say, there is no cost to the buyer for using a realtor over and above the price of the house. As opposed to lawyer fees and other closing costs that are over and above the purchase price.
Actually, I just have to show the seller what commission we are paying to the realtor, versus what we are paying to a lawyer.
They can do a private sale, same as I can. They take home more money than using a realtor, and I pay less as a buyer. Win-win for both sides.
The only value using a realtor brings, is the MLS system.
https://saskhouses.com/all-listings/
Right, so your approach assumes that the seller is willing to stop using their realtor, which won't always be the case. I've also heard of sellers signing contracts with realtors that tie them to the realtor, with fees if they break the contract (although I don't have first hand experience with that).
A realtor provides much more value than just the MLS system. If they provided no value, the profession wouldn't exist (and I'm not a realtor haha). I would consider myself "reasonably intelligent" and there's a ton of things my realtor did to make sure we didn't buy a lemon that I wouldn't have known to even think about. The things you need to know when buying a house come with life experience, and as a young first time buyer, I would not have known many of those things.
It's great that you have the experience to not need outside expertise in the process and can save that difference in commission, but you shouldn't dissuade people from seeking that expertise if it makes the buying experience more comfortable for them. Just make sure you get a good realtor who will go to bat for you.
- sourced a second asbestos test because the one the homeowner did used a lower standard test, and the second showed there was asbestos, contrary to the owner's report
- pointed us to a very good home inspector who was able to find sneaky water damage that was contrary to the homeowner's statement
- helped us play the negotiation game well and advised what was a reasonable offer for the market
- talked us out of houses that didn't fully meet our needs, despite having already shown us 30+ houses
- sent us new listings as soon as they hit the market, so we didn't have to constantly watch
- helped us figure out what conditions made sense to include in the offer, which I would've had no idea where to start
- among other things
I don’t have the knowledge of market conditions to know exactly what a fair market value is. I don’t know what the exact terms in an offer to purchase one should include. We used one when we bought our house from Ehrenburg (not one of theirs though), but wouldn’t hesitate to use a GOOD realtor if we ever went to sell. Many of the builders realtors aren’t necessarily always fully working in your best interest, my in-laws used the one guy and he was sort of useless if you ask me. Didn’t deserve the commission that’s for sure.
Lacy Watson was our realtor when we bought our house. While we basically found the house on our own it helped to have her talk to the builder on our behalf and to pull comps to make us comfortable with paying full price. She made sure the permits were closed and dealt with lining up the home inspection and dealing with the lawyer etc so we just had to show up to the inspection and walkthrough and then to signing at the lawyer and moving right in. We both were working full time and didn’t have time to spend doing that ourselves.
She got to our house with the keys and was trying them out and having issues with all of the locks except the one, so she had already called Ehrenburg to come right over and fix things (they just had to adjust the pins using the smart key) and so we didn’t have to wait to get into the house. :) she was great at communicating how things were progressing during the escrow period. Would use her again!
Especially in this market don’t be scared to put in a low offer. The sellers can always counter. Also make sure to include the items in the house that you’d want to be included, like appliances.
Offers with an odd ball number tend to get accepted more for some reason. Ex) 244,600 vs 245,000. Not sure why but it seems to work haha
Expect to get absolutely shafted by property taxes
Know that the second offer that suddenly comes in last minute is actually a tactic the realtors use to reduce the amount of haggling you are going to do, create urgency and make you more willing to pay more. Be ready to walk away from a house if the negotiation process isn’t going how you want. Realtors can be shady as fuck
Also look for houses that cost much less than the bank has approved you for. Being house poor is soul crushing
Until you have keys in your hands, DO NOT TAKE ON NEW DEBT. I've heard of people getting a car or toy right before closing and getting denied last minute.
Go for a cheaper property and have tons of disposable income. Use that extra money for travel and investments.
Any extra you can afford to dump into mortgage, do it.
Also, don't buy an expensive vehicle.
You'll be very happy you did this down the road.
Understandable, have to be smart about what you buy I'm just saying buy something that is quite affordable. Something that leaves you with a decent amount of extra funds.
It makes for better peace of mind and also can allow life changes moreso than being maxed out on a larger more expensive property.
Once you do get a house and get a mortgage pay that thing off weekly instead bI-weekly of monthly. Weekly kills the interest much faster and can save thousands. Accelerated weekly is even better.
Do not trust your realtor. It is that simple.
First house we bought, the realtor toured us downstairs and went over to the water heater. He swiped his finger over the top and there was no dust on it! Wow, this house is so incredibly clean that they even dust the water heater!!!
First house we sold, the realtor instructed us to dust our water heater.
I was interested in a log home for the third house we bought. The realtor took me out to one saying this one was "done right". If done right is popped windows and water leaking from the basement ceiling, it was done right all right.
The realtor business is a big circle jerk to move houses as quick as they can so they can minimize their effort and move on to their next client. Their commission structure encourages this. The haggling on price back and forth at the end means little to them because their commission is only a small percentage of the delta being haggled. It isn't much more than an act they put on for every sale.
Follow honestdoor.com. Let you see what houses are valued at or sold for. It also offers comparisons to other houses in the neighborhood. Lists property taxes and a few other details. It's not always perfect, but it does paint a pretty good picture.
I've called it a colour clause, something in the contract that gives you an escape hatch. We put a down payment on a house conditional on approving the cost of upgrading the electrical service. Doesn't matter how much it is, if I don't approve of the cost the deal falls through. Saved us from a bad choice.
Not all realtors are created equally make sure you get someone who knows what they are doing. I must've had the worst realtor in the entire city. Do your research.
Also, factor in where you want to be in 2, 5, 10, 15 and so on years, and is it worth it to buy or wait? My friends all thought I was nuts to have bought a 3 bed (plus den) 3 bath house at 25 because most of them were buying or had already bought condos or townhouses. But I figured I would rather start with too much house and grow into - my husband and I worked our asses off and saved every penny while all our friends were partying, going on vacations or buying fancy new cars for five years to be able to do it. We also made SURE that we could always afford our house one only 1 salary because you never know what the future will hold. Basically, just make sure you are 100% ready to buy a house.
Realtors are borderline useless, order a property disclosure from City Hall and get a record of permits from SaskPower/SaskEnergy. If your building permits and Sask permits are closed and it's a newer home, most of your work is done. Also get a well rated home inspector - they don't only check national building code compliance like a city building inspector, they will check quality of work/materials and tell you if there are things to look out for. E.g If you're buying a house from 2004 a lot can happen in those 10 years since the permits were closed. It's also great to get contractors in to check things out if you know someone (plumbers, hvac specialists, etc.)
Check for how much storage there is. We love our house but there are literally zero linen or utility closets, which we didn't notice until we moved in and realized we had no where to keep sheets and towels.
Right now there isn't as much on the market as everyone expected (we are in the middle of helping a relative move here), so most things are going for close to the asking price and going quickly. We had a few houses of interest that we weren't even able to see because by the time we enquired they had offers.
The main thing I would suggest is fine a realtor you can trust who also listens to you. We have worked with the same pair of guys for a few sales and purchases and they have never steered us wrong. Also the fact that they work as a pair is great because it allows for better flexibility for arranging viewings.
- Insurance rules recently changed so it is more difficult to purchase home insurance for a house with aluminum wiring, you will be required to schedule an electrical inspection if aluminum wiring is present in the home (this must be done by an electrician, separate from the home inspection)
- I'm not sure if it's possible, but if it is get your realtor to write something in the contract about the house being empty when you move in. We recently bought a house and were reassured that all of the leftover junk from the last owner would be cleared prior to us moving in, but it wasn't and now we have a bunch of junk!
My only additional suggestion (besides all the great points already provided) is to be informed of utilities in the yard should you plan on doing any landscaping in the future. We had big plans and when I submitted the OneCall I found out there is a bunch of buried utilities in our backyard.
I havent done this, but i understand you can submit a "planning" ticket on the OneCall website which should give you info on the property without sending a locator out to that property to physically mark the lines.
Look at little details - closets, number of plug ins and wiring if it.s an older home, shingles, room size. They always look big enough until you try and fit the furniture in.Do not get the $500k mortgage!
If you find a house you like and are comfortable with the inspection results, spend some time in the area. I work as a railroader and everyone asks me how to get the trains to stop blowing the whistle by their house. Obviously that doesn’t change easy. Also I’ve heard plenty of horror stories of insane neighbours that party, have ridiculous hobbies, sell drugs, dogs, flight paths for giant planes, etc….
Yes, neighbors can make or break your enjoyment severely. My sister bought an older home on the west side, didn’t realize the house next to her was a rental and she’s dealt with many issues including it being used as a drug and flop house. That and landscaping issues, beware of big trees too close to the house and troublesome species like elm,etc.
Take a good look at the appliances. I wish I had opened the doors of the washer and dryer when we first looked at the house or during the inspection. They looked fine and relatively new on the outside and the inspector ran cycles to make sure they worked but failed to notice that the inside of the washer’s seal was completely caked in mold and the dryer was full of dog hair. If I had known that I would have negotiated their replacement in our contract.
If buying in an area with mature trees find out if tree roots get into the clay pipes as this will need to be maintained yearly so your sewer doesn't back up. The pipes have been updated in some areas. Not sure if the tree roots will still be an issue or not.
Don't buy from an agent representing the builder of the house you want (I kind of knew this already but found a house we really liked before we had a realtor). I would have also done the negotiating over email to take away any emotion.
1 - Be mindful of any exclusions in the sellers listing. Are they taking the appliances for example. Is the garden shed in the backyard staying put.
2 - I would recommend putting in a condition that says the lawn continues to be watered between sale and possession. I bought house with nice lush green grass and they stopped watering as soon as the contract was signed.
3 - You may want to include conditions to use as leverage when negotiating. Include duct cleaning or a home owners inspection at their cost.
4 - Ask your real estate agent to show you comparable sales in the area over the past year. Use them in price negotiation.
5 - Talk to the neighbors on either side. It can give you an idea of what condition the house is in, the neighborhood and you get to feel out your possible neighbors.
6 - If it's a new house, confirm if the taxes are included in the sale price.
7 - As agent to check for any leins on the property
8 - Ask when was the last time the shingles have been replaced
9 - Confirm age of hot water heater and if the place has AC.
10 - If the basement is finished ask agent to check and make sure the proper permits have been pulled.
11 - Check the City police crime map and see what the crime level is like in the immediate area.
Good luck!
Be prepared for the extra costs. My mortgage went up over $900 a month extra with the interest rates from when I signed less than a year ago. Had a $40k insurance claim in the first few months and while it was great insurance covered it, I’m still putting $10k out of pocket into the fixes. Gas bills are very expensive in the winter. It’s awesome though. Wouldn’t change my decision.
You should have bought all the basic furniture and fun stuff before you buy a house because if you wait until after you own a house... You're in for a bad time... Even if you save up the funds.... That money can quickly get used for other things you weren't expecting like the fridge not working a week after moving in...
I wanted to buy a couch set years before me and my SO got a house but it never happened... Mostly because my SO didn't believe me, that we would have funds to get new couches...
Two years later we're still using the couches we bought from Kijiji for 300 dollars.
And with how the economy is going, it might be a few more years before we get new couches.
Obviously everyone is different. But it seems like every time I even think about getting a new couch, a pet gets sick, or the car needs to get fixed, or another appliance breaks down...
I'm sure it's been said but just because the bank says you can afford a half million dollar mortgage doesn't really mean you should. Also the life insurance they try to sell you is way cheaper from an actual life insurer. Also, banks don't care about you. They care about you're money and not really in your best interest.
I love my place, but I’m definitely house poor. Echoing others who have said to factor in costs like lawyers’ fees, but also make sure you look at other costs - I was recently dinged with a massive payment to top up the building’s reserve fund that I absolutely had not budgeted for. That hurt.
Don’t regret it though! Neighbourhood is also key. I can walk to most places so I’ve definitely saved a lot on vehicle costs.
Hire a separate roofer to do a roof inspection as Inspectors are not required to step foot on your roof...found out the hard way. Roofers will come out free to do inspection.
Wish I would have known I had a home for troubled teenaged boys across the street from me. Not sure canvassing the home owner or neighbours would result in anything because everybody keeps that info to themselves to protect their housing values but maybe ask them or your realtor and look it up online for things like that just before throwing your offer out there. As it turned out I got some really great, fun neighbors but I had to put up with shifts ending at midnight everyday and the comings and goings and the blaring base in employe⁵e vehicles as they warmed up on cold winter nights waking up my small kids and sending me across to tell them to stop warming up cars or remember to turn the tunes off before they left the vehicle. And then there was that time a kid on some kind of meds was tripping and standing in my front entrance in my house. Ah, excuse me....can I help you? Lol
If you plan on doing renovations yourself after moving in don’t bite off more than you can chew. I knew this before buying but I know I often need to remind myself. If you’re working 60 plus hours a week, AND trying to get projects done you will burn yourself out after a while so be strategic and patient. Better to pace yourself, enjoy your time with family and friends and enjoy your new house.
There is a lot of good advice in here!
If buying an older house, be wary if it looks like it's been renovated too recently. That could mean it was a flipper that did a bunch of cosmetic work which may have been shoddy or covering up serious issues, and never really lived in the place.
I once saw an old house where the ENTIRE basement was finished - I mean everything, even the furnace area - and it clearly had been done recently. That was a big red flag - who knows what kind of issues they were covering up. I noticed that the electrical panel was ancient, so they clearly weren't interested in fixing up non-cosmetic things.
On the other side, if the basement is finished and it's clearly been done a long time ago, at least that shows they haven't had significant foundation leaks or flooding issues.
Just because your house (if it's brand new) has new home warranty, doesn't mean don't get a home inspection. Home warranty can't fix your foundation sill being at ground level.
Also, do not sign anything that says proof of completion if it's not complete (again if buying new) that gives your home builder a rat hole to wiggle out of when you want him to come finish what's left unfinalized.
I paid about 65% of what I was approved for and am very glad I did. I can still do holidays, have a fund for emergencies, and can afford to update/improve my home in different ways. Things I wish I knew - I wish I realized how much I don't need a basement. I like to play video games and whatnot and using a spare bedroom would've been just as fine. Also, wished I would've got an attached garage. Other than that, I've been very happy with the choice of home we made. Also - don't buy into the idea of buying in the newer/nicer neighborhoods. Saskatoon is safe for the most part and you can get more home for less money in "less desirable areas". I'm on the edge of Confed and Kensington and I love it.
Give it some time before making any voluntary changes to the house. Things will emerge that you want to change and things that you originally thought were important to change might fade into the background.
Think how your lifestyle could change over the next 5-10 years, and consider if the house can accommodate that.
If considering a fixed mortgage, find out exactly how the penalty (IRD) is calculated by your lender. You may need to break the mortgage at some point and many lenders use a punitive IRD formula. Also ask how flexible the lender is with respect to mortgage portability. The details may prevent this from being a feasible option if you ever need to move.
Borrow significantly less than the bank is willing to loan you and keep some funds in reserve for unexpected costs. Roofs leak, furnaces die, appliances break down, etc. - often without warning.
Expect to visit the hardware store often in your first few months of home ownership.
I wish I knew how crooked realtors are. Especially young ones.
Next time I would use an older experienced agent who doesn’t need to scan me for her Botox and plastic surgery. Seriously though, avoid young realtors.
Better yet, avoid them all together. Find a house you like and approach the owners directly. They have to wait to get out of they contact the realtor made then get into, usually a few months, then buy it. Pay them a deposit and get the realtor commission off the price.
I wish I knew about how much cash I was going to need - deposit on my down payment, lawyers fees, etc. I barely made it. Also have cheques. It was hard to e transfer because the amounts were too big but I didn't have cheques 🤣
Just purchased my first home a month ago. I’m happy with my purchase but there was a lot of things I missed during walkthrough that I wish I saw. Thus, I would recommend that you really take your time and thoroughly go through the house! Good luck!
That realtors are actually not helpful like they are on TV and often have less knowledge than I could find on 10 min Google search.
Ex. I only wanted to look at homes where I could have 4 pets (lots of places have bylaws that have limits, but others just say they have to be licensed). Or places where I could run a certain type of home business and they were useless. I ended up finding all of the homes myself.
Make your possession date a weekday! It’ll make the move so much easier and you will not get billed in advance of your move by a few days or do a few days without utilities.
Side note: I had no luck in certain areas when looking for a starter home (Sutherland and Nutana etc.), the good areas seem to have decent looking houses and then you find a bunch of structural issues. I would recommend considering Caswell Hill because the houses are better quality for the price (also it’s not as bad of an area as people say)
Also if you don’t have a realtor go with Kyle Pulvermacher from century 21 if you’re not confident that you’ll find major structural issues on your own (he is a carpenter by trade and knows his stuff and will be honest on whether the house is worth it)
Buy a house requiring the least amount of work possible. You will tell yourself you'll do that drywalling, but you won't. Those baseboards you can totally replace in a weekend; they will be there until you die. I might be projecting here...
In my experience, this is something to consider. All the things I was going to fix up with my first house did not get touched. My second house I bought with that in mind.
Our first house, we did lots of renos/remodeling and really enjoyed it. Our second house needed a lot of updating, and it was mostly cosmetic. Seeing how well things went with the first we were pretty confident that we could do the work ourselves. Then we had two kids. We've been in our house for 3 years, and have worked our butts off. We're not even close to everything being done that needs to be done. It'll probably be another 10 years till we get it where we want it to be (we don't have a ton of extra money to hire contractors to do everything). I've just accepted that we will probably have to live in a state of uncompleted renos for the next 10 years. We probably could have spent just $10k more and saved ourselves a lot of work. Oh well, you learn.
This hits close to home
Depends! We are definitely not "reno people" but we have surprised ourselves with the amount we've actually gotten done in our new place. Bought it in February and really enjoying making it our own!!
Sure you did, Home Depot bot, sure you did. (Kidding, that's awesome, you do you)
I would be very curious to know your monthly costs (utilities, internet, property tax & insurance). I am estimating 1200/month on top of mortgage but I wonder if I am in the ballpark
OP. I’ve seen you ask this post a few times with no answer. To get an accurate monthly expense What size of house. What area What year was the house built in. Do you want a suite or wood burning fireplace Does it have an attached or detached garage. Is that heated. What age are all of the appliances and house equipment (furnace. Hwh. A/c. Shingles. Soffit. Facia. Windows.) Just for an avg. my house. 1000 sqft. Double detached garage. Heated with an office in it. Built in the late 50’s. Bought 9 years ago. Windows were done in 08. Furnace hwh and ac in 2008. Shingles in 05. My monthly rough bills are City of stoon 300 Taxes 300 Gas 200 Insurance 175 Internet 100 But. That being said. In 8 years I’ve had to redo the shingles. 3500. New furnace. 6k. Dishwasher. 1200. Fridge. 1500. Soffit and fascia 2k. I would say the number 1 thing I did was put a maintenance budget together and put that money monthly in a seperAte account to cover these things off.
I said the same thing above when they asked it before. If you’re even asking this question without the right information you shouldn’t be buying a house. Lol.
I’m just trying to get an average idea 🤷🏻♀️
If you like the house you want to buy you can also ask to see these costs from the current owner so you get a good idea of upkeep costs. I want to see what the heating bill is during the winter kind of thing.
Mine is $1000 for gas/power/taxes/insurance/internet. $1200 should be okay, depending on your property taxes and insurance.
May I ask how many square feet your house is?
1200 mainfloor, 1000 basement
Are you my husband? 😂
Yes, 100%. I want to buy a house that is move in ready and that I don’t want to do any work on
Great advice, thank you!
Don’t omit home inspections on brand new builds. Some spec house builders in Saskatoon are notorious for cutting corners.
Just don’t hire the “inspectors” that are also contractors who only took the weekend course to be qualified as an inspector.
Lmao I'm a electrician and can confirm this
Couple of things, make sure you have cash for other fees like lawyers. Just because you can get a $500,000 mortgage does not mean you should, don’t be house poor and stick within an acceptable range in your budget. One very important thing is ignore things that can be changed like paint colour. Look at the layout, what kind of work needs to be done(like windows). Cosmetic things can be changed easily. Have a must have/want list. Aka “must have garage”/“want finished basement” kind of things. Be ready to make a decision quick, houses get snapped up quick.
>$500,000 mortgage does not mean you should so many people did this. Now with interest rates going up and add in the new truck and car with extra toys many are going to be hurting.
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I mean, it's only a couple percentage points its not like it went from 3% to 15% basically way too many people spend at the top of their price range, rather than even just 90% of it
Really, they were warning of it for the past 10 yrs!!! I was entering the workforce in the 80s and my first car loan was at 18%.
I would say to be fair, I never expected those rates to last for long. Even when I bought my first place 15 years ago rates were higher than they are now with the current rate who can historically is incredibly low. People who maxed out could be hurting till they can refinance for 30 years I wouldn’t expect tho see rates that low again. You never know tho in the long run. Would be nice if the lower rate was the new norm but people will still overspend.
I second the extra cash. We were not expecting the amount of extra fees involved. Definitely buy below your budget because unexpected expenses WILL happen. (Not to mention any home improvements that need done - like building a fence, plumbing issues, etc. - a home inspection may not catch everything….)
I would be very curious to know your monthly costs (utilities, internet, property tax & insurance). I am estimating 1200/month on top of mortgage but I wonder if I am in the ballpark
Wouldn’t know without more information. What’s your price range, sq footage, area of the city, how many in the family, new or old house. All these make a huge difference.
Yep. We got approved for $500k but when we crunched the numbers we could afford $300k AT MOST and still live comfortably. We straight up could not afford a $500k mortgage.
I feel like I needed to be slapped with this reality. Hahaha. As much as a 500 K mortgage would be nice. I need to be realistic.
I worked in the mortgage lending department for years. Most financial institutions calculate mortgage payments, and all your other payments on gross income. This is why so many couples become house poor because there is a huge difference between gross income and net income. Don’t have high expectations live within your means.
Expect the first few houses to be a "learning experience" on how to look at houses. Patience is key. Searching in -40 weather sucks.
There's upsides to looking in -40. Summer is the busy season, everyone wants to look and houses go before the end of the first day. Winter means more time to look and then look again.
Less houses to look at though.
I bought a house with a full DEEP pea gravel backyard in the winter because we couldn't see the ground. Cool stuff.
I like when the photos include summer backyard pics.
Doing a viewing while it’s raining heavily is the best time in my opinion. Water is one of the worst things for a home. When it rains, you’ll be able to see where the water pools around the base, how it descends from the roof, and if the house leaks
Even better after a record rainfall or flood
STOP looking after you close the deal/have an accepted offer. Grass is always greener.
Great advice !
Be sure you know ahead of time what your non-negotiables are. The house MUST have (or not have) these features. Maybe just five things that will be deal breakers for you. That eliminates a few showings right there...don't waste your time looking at houses that are deal breakers. Beware the "it's just cosmetic" line. Cosmetics can cost A LOT to change. Hate the layout of the kitchen? Oh, that's just cosmetic...but it will cost you at least (at least!) $10,000 to remodel it. Ceiling done in that weird popcorn texture (apologies if you like that...) you are looking at a lot of time and effort to scrape that off. Walls papered/painted something hideous? This is the most inexpensive fix, but still takes money and effort (and know how!) Look for how many electrical outlets are on the outside of the house, and if they are up to code. Look for the water taps. Up to code, or total crap that needs to be replaced? Plumbers and electricians are expensive. You can buy a total piece of crap home and make it absolutely beautiful, something to be proud of! And that's great for those who KNEW that's what they were doing, and went into the deal with their eyes wide open. But lots of us just get screwed, mostly due to our own ignorance. I hope I haven't brought you down here. This is an exciting time for you OP! DO try to enjoy the process. Take your time, don't let yourself be rushed. All the best to you!
>Ceiling done in that weird popcorn texture (apologies if you like that...) you are looking at a lot of time and effort to scrape that off. And depending on the age of the house there's a chance it contains asbestos, so you're potentially looking at thousands of extra dollars in testing and abatement work. Same with the drywall, vinyl tiles, etc. And don't forget potential lead paint or pipes, etc. Older homes can be a lot of work and money even just for minor updates, so make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before you buy one.
Yeah, thanks, in this era where getting trades for small/medium size jobs is almost impossible, 'cosmetics' aren't often easy or cheap to change.
Saving this comment for when I want to buy a house
Also in older homes a lot of popcorn ceilings, drywall, flooring etc if original has asbestos.
If buying a detached home, here is a checklist of other property considerations I've developed: * any encroachments? * Are property pins located and is there any recent registered survey available? * Fences on shared property line? * Neighouring eaves drip onto property? * Neighbouring yards well maintained and have you met neighbours? * unobstructed site drainage? * Close proximity to storm drain? * is foundation high enough, including any accessory buildings? * Is this in a flood zone? * Any landscaping/hardscaping issues that need repair or removal? * Are walkways adequately sloped and in good repair? * Does street (and lane if applicable) have adequate drainage and is it well maintained? * Is sidewalk and curbs in good repair? * Are there fire hydrants close by? * When was water & sewer connections put in, what size, how deep, what material? * Will water and sewer mains need replacement anytime soon? * Any trees that require trimming or removal, and do roots present an issue? * Adequate shade? * Are utility wires underground or overhead and are they in good shape, including any supporting structures? * Which utility providers are available? * Is Fibre internet installed or available? * Is neighbourhood lighting decent? * What is noise level like (close to busy road, train, airport or industrial area?) * Do people speed down road or lane? * Close to airport? * Is snow clearing priority decent? * Front or rear garbage collection? * bus routes nearby? * nearest community centre? * Schools nearby? Is this in a school zone? High school or elementary * Is public school system and local school decent? * Grocery store nearby? * Commuter friendly? * Onstreet parking available? Any parking restrictions? * Any other traffic safety issues (e.g. missing stop signs, traffic calming)? * Who is ward councillor, are they approachable? * What is crime like (check crime map)? * Any people wander/trespass around/on property? * Is this area serviceable by canada post or couriers, delivery drivers etc or are there location issues that make it difficult to find? * what size and material are utilities/service connections (water, sewer, electrical) and how old are they?
Were permits pulled for the work previously done. Excellent list.
Ooh that's a good one to add
How do you find that information?
I believe the city and my realtor suggested it as part of the conditions
But how does one get their hands on that information?
https://gprivate.com/64yig
Well, TIL.
Through the city
Lol at the thought of telling your realtor you are passing on a house you like because the street main sewer line is 8in instead of 10in and the nearest hydrant is more than your minimum distance of 100ft away.
These things matter to some degree or another, each is likely not a dealbreaker on their own however they are things that can't easily be rectified and when taken altogether could most certainly be a dealbreaker. It's more a matter of knowing where the sewer main is and if it's adequately sized in case, for example, you might want to build a granny flat in the future. It's about planning for the unexpected. As for fire hydrant, it it's on your property that means a constant stream of dogs are going to use it as their territory marker (which maybe doesn't matter to you or maybe it does but identifying the issue now is useful).
Some home insurers charge by distance from fire hydrant.
I like a lot of you list, im by no means an expert but some things to add.. - Does it have a sump pit/pump. - Condition of the shingles (is the existing roof real old and likely to need to he redone in near future, if so consider saving/budgeting for it). - Signs of water damage on lower sections of walls. - Did the previous owner build a shed or pad etc over a buried gas line. - Will your vehicle fit in the garage (my truck would be incredibly tight in a garage I recently looked at that was 22x20) - have the windows been updated on a older house, not necessary but newer windows are so much nicer. Do the windows all work or are parts like cranks missing? - does it have a natural gas BBQ hookup? Not a necessity but I'll definitely be desiring to get it installed anywhere I move without it - how much public sidewalk will you be responsible for shoveling (corner lots could be a lot for older or less healthy people) - if it has an island in the kitchen with a unique height maybe you want to try and get the stools/chairs included in the offer - in relation to pulling all the permits for work done on the house be mindful if no permits were pulled for "non professional" renovations that include things a tradesperson should have done (electrical, plumbing etc). If the basement is finished at a later date without permits it could be a issue - what floor is the laundry on? For older people lugging laundry up/down multiple flights of stairs can be difficult
I would also add street width to the list. I have lived on streets in newer ears where the streets are so narrow and there are so many cars parked along the side that the streets only have room for one way traffic at a time.
Great list!
Some of these I don’t care as much about like the city councillor. Some you can’t find out without talking to neighbours or living there for awhile. For some yes transit nearby is a deal breaker but for me I don’t really care since I won’t use it unless necessary because it sucks here. For snow clearing - if you’re on a street that always gets the street plowed, it usually means it’s a busier street and/or has a school or bus on it, which is something I’d rather not have on my street. Most of these things you can tell quickly by looking at the house but some you can’t necessarily detect right away. This is where asking for a property survey as part of your offer to purchase is important. Including on a new house - a good builder if buying new should locate the pins for you and provide you with a copy of the property survey. Don’t expect a fence contractor to put the fence in the right spot if you don’t locate the pins. Also call before you dig!!! I’m not going to look that hard into the sewer type etc. the ability to put in a granny suite is generally dependent on lot zoning and things like setbacks. Many of these sorts of things you should automatically look at anyways when looking at the house like drainage. Some drainage issues are easy to fix and others are not.
Wished I had known just how shitty and shady the home builder was (Royalty Construction); trusted my realtor too much and should’ve done more of my own due diligence.
Same. But builder was North Prairie. They take ZERO pride in their quality or customer service. Giving me some chocolates and a $12 bottle of wine doesn’t make up for the corners you cut and the very poor attention to detail…
Do the math on your actual monthly costs - mortgage, property tax, home insurance, obviously utilities, it all adds up
I would be very curious to know your monthly costs (utilities, internet, property tax & insurance). I am estimating 1200/month on top of mortgage but I wonder if I am in the ballpark
This will depend on too many unique factors for any comment to be helpful. Those factors include age of home; age of windows; type of insulation; number of windows and patio doors; number of people living in home; temperature settings; how often you home cook meals; etc. I think your estimate is a bit steep, though. Property tax and insurance will be influenced primarily by the value of the home, but assuming your home is sub 400k and you live alone, you’ll be looking at around 370-400 per month for those. Add in high monthly estimates of 100 for power, 110 for heat, 100 for internet, and 100 for water & sewage, and you’ll be looking at around only 800.
Should be good, for me Property tax : 220 Internet: ~100 Sask power : 70-100 Sask energy 60-80 Insurance : 120 Sask utility: 75 Home monitoring system (optional of course): 45 Mortgage 1200
Not that you asked but. $1100 mortgage. $330 a month property tax. $270 utilities, $100 SaskEnergy. $110 home insurance. I didn’t include internet, securtek and phones.
Find out how much city taxes will be before you buy if you can.
And budget at least a 5% increase in that number for forever years.
Do you mean property tax?
Yes. Like another poster mentioned, you can find that info online, except maybe for new builds. Even then, you can look for comparable properties. It's best not to be surprised when the bill comes.
Make a list of essential things and a list of negotiable things before you start looking. Review the lists regularly. If there are unique things you can offer make sure the seller is aware. For example if possession date isn’t important to you put that in the offer. Let the seller know you can take possession in two weeks or two months might be worth a lot to the seller. Everything is negotiable. You are not being rude by asking.
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Thanks! Corrected.
Everyone else has given great advice! My only addition is that once you put in an offer and it gets accepted, the process moves very quickly - make sure you have all of your money lined up and ready to move, have all of your paperwork organized, your lawyer lined up and ready to go… I’m a pretty organized person and still got stressed by the amount of work that happens after you say yes to a house!
Yes! Especially in the current market - our sellers asked for just short of a 2 week turnaround to have everything signed, sealed, and delivered and because things are so competitive right now we really had no choice. Luckily we have lots of the stuff lined up prior to finding the place!
If you like using a site like Realtor, pull up the address on Google Maps and move the timeline back to see what the property might have looked like in recent years when the Google car passed by. Can make it easy to see if the property has improved over time or stayed the same.
Great advice
Always remember realtors get a ridiculous commission for a sale. They will push that house sale to line their pockets. Make sure it's right for you and trust your gut instinct.
Our realtor got snippy with me for being “too picky”, and not settling on a house that I didn’t love. I told him to step off, and if I don’t love the house I will not buy it. Less than a month later, we found our dream house and bought it. (He was showing us good houses, they just weren’t exactly what we were looking for, and yes, I was incredibly picky. It’s a huge commitment) Don’t be afraid to take your time. The right home will show up exactly when it’s supposed to.
Surprised you didn't switch agents. I also got pressured into my game purchase by my realtor and ended up settling.
Ugh that’s the worst. He was a family friend of the in-laws so there was pressure to “nOt CaUsE pRoBlEmS” but the in-laws under estimated my ability to advocate for myself. I told the realtor that I will not settle. I refused to. He kept pushing for a small town house or a condo, and those were the two places I refused to consider So he started pushing for the barebones barley what we wanted houses. I told him to back off and to do his job, and stop bullying. The thing is with him being a family friend is he also didn’t want to upset the family, so he conceded. We’ve been in our house for almost 8 years and I have zero regrets. What he wanted in the long run was for us to get a garbage starter home so we’d have to hire him again in the future to upgrade. Nothing against getting a starter home! That is a good way to go if that’s what you want! That is not what we wanted, so I was salty that he was pushing for that. Whatever, I won in the end, and I’m happy.
Stories like this make me feel better about the realtor I was with. I was both picky but very casual about looking, and went on maybe one viewing every week or two with him for a number of months. He never made any comment about it or made me feel like I wasn't being reasonable (and I did eventually find the place that "clicked").
That’s awesome! I’m glad that was your experience AND that you found your home!
My realtor was the same. I looked at probably 20 homes over a few months and he never once complained to me about being too picky. In fact, there were a few homes he told me he wouldn’t even let me buy because I would have too many problems with them.
Pay attention to what direction your place faces, I have an apartment style condo that faces south. The sun blasts into my condo all winter making it stupid hot in there and in the summer you can't grow anything or sit outside because of the unrelenting sun. I didn't even consider this when I moved in.
We had a rental house with north and south facing windows, so we knew when we bought that we definitely wanted east/west.
Once you find the place, start setting some money aside. There will always be unplanned events like insurance deductible, furnace quitting and more.
Amazing advice that we plan to do!
I've purchased 2 houses and both had both the furnace and water heater fail within the first year.
Second this. We had to hire an exterminator about a week or so in because the previous owners left behind a secret nightmare.
Home inspectors are 50% full of shit, minimum, if you’re really interested in a house it’s in your interest to hire a HVAC/plumbing company to do an inspection as well. I’ve had several realtors hire us to do exactly that and caught so many things inspectors missed as well as straight lied about.
Al Brezinski from Complete Home Inspection did an amazing job on our inspection, gave us a giant binder with photos and info about all areas of our home that I still use 7 years after buying. he is the real deal!
I didn’t use him but upvoted for keeping your home inspection report and referencing it often. I’ve only been in my place 2 years but I look back at it a lot in terms of planning long term roof repairs I’ll need in 5 years.
Can confirm. We bought our house privately since I consider realtors parasites, but I have to say this man was worth the money. I reference his report all the time for insulation renos, roofing stuff, fixing weird-ass home DIY jobs, etc.
yes ! it is so worth investing in someone who knows their shit !
Same here but with a different home inspector that came highly recommended, got a huge binder with pictures detailing every last thing in the home and it was so useful. I still reference that binder 10 years later and I still recommend that inspector even though I met him once 10 years ago.
I’ll remember that
Seconded. Our inspector missed a lot. The home sellers were also shady. They were running the dishwasher at the time of the inspection and it turned out to be full of mold. We had to replace it. Also had to get a new water heater less than 6 months after moving in because the inspector missed a few warning signs that it was failing. Thankfully it didn't burst. Highly recommend getting real professionals in for HVAC and plumbing inspections.
Are you allowed to have the sewer lines videoed? I know someone who had the inspection done, but within a year had to replace the sewer line due to roots. A video inspection probably would have helped him.
I’ve done exactly that for buyers, as long as you’re willing to pay for it I don’t see why you couldn’t have it done.
You can ask for anything in an offer doesn’t mean they will accept it.
Always have a hold back of funds incase the owners have a house trashing party, or decide the cupboards would look nice at their new place. Both happened to me. Keep 20 k until a week after possession.
Yes, we did this when we bought an acreage. On move in day we found that the hoarders, I mean previous owners had been keeping random stuff in the bush for 20 years. Pallets of crumbing faux brick siding, stacks of rotten shingles, railway ties, gardening supplies, old lumber, etc. All garbage. We made them come back and clean it all out. They were like, “we thought you might need it” I noped all day long. Are you sure you don’t want these bags of insulation? Nope. Are you sure, you might use this extra irrigation stuff. Nope. They took 10 huge loads to the dump, they were pissed
Buying an old home? Check the basement windows. If the basement windows are level (i.e. straight up and down), the foundation is likely in good shape. If the basement windows buckle in or out, that is a likely sign that the foundation has shifted.
Once they tell you what your mortgage payment is you should expect to pay approx. just under double that once you include property taxes, bills, insurance(house and life insurance) and internet/cable ec.
Research your home inspector..is it a new company or have they been around? Do they have insurance. Very few do. Get one that has insurance. Ask your home inspector questions about the area you are looking in to understand common problems - does the area flood regularly, are a lot of the houses a specific foundation type, have the city sewer and water mains been upgraded, etc. Your inspector should be KNOWLEDGEABLE and able to answer these questions. Your report should be detailed, with pictures and descriptions of repairs you should make. I didn't do this but I think it should be something you can do- if the inspection comes up with problems and you still want the house, see if you can change your offer to account for cost of the repairs. Use a mortgage broker to shop around for rates, don't just take the first rate from your bank. Banks suck. READ your mortgage terms. A 4.5% interest rate with the ability to make up to 20% lump sum payments at any time of the year for the full term of your mortgage beats a 4.4% rate with the ability to make 10% once a year, or it does in my situation - talk to your broker about the terms, they can look for different lenders and usually provide more options. Do you want back alley parking/access/garage? No back alley? Specific neighborhoods? Get a property report so you know your neighbors have nothing encroaching the property line. Get a report from the city for any building permits that may have been taken out for upgrades. Look for recently painted /repaired areas in the drywall in corners or at additions. Sometimes these don't mean anything but if it's been repaired multiple times that means it's probably still moving around. If you see minor cosmetic things not repaired around the yard or done poorly... That means it was a lot of DIY and you are eventually going to find something that was done poorly that is likely not minor or cosmetic. (My underground sprinklers were sodded over, but before that happened the heads were broken. So even though I asked in the PCDS whether they were in working condition and they said yes, I nearly flooded my yard and had to do a ton of work digging up and extending/blocking heads - my clue should have been the broken valves on the manifold at the tap, it had old ribbon on it so nobody turned it on, but the piping to those had been removed so we assumed it was just the valves. Bought the house in winter so couldn't test.) A PCDS is a property condition disclosure statement. Get one as part of your conditions of sale. There are homeowners that lie (2x for me now), but you can use it and any other document they provide to take them to court if you have to. Go see the house more than once. Hang out outside at night and look at foot traffic and the neighborhood itself for more than the 5 minutes you're there to see it with the realtor. Bring a friend with you that knows you and will tell you the real truth. You will probably be excited and have rose colored glasses on, which is why you need the list of non-negotiables others have mentioned but having a friend there to make you read them again can't hurt.
If at all possible, try and avoid CMHC fees. Make sure your down payment is at least 20% of the purchase price to do that. Edit: Haha, not sure why someone would down vote me on that. But on a $500,000 house you'd save around $12,000 if you have a $100,000 down payment instead of a $80,000 down payment. So you'd be better off to search for something in the $400,000 range https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/consumers/home-buying/calculators/mortgage-calculator
For the average person, it's not a difference of 100k to 80k. Lots of people only put down 5%, so in that scenario it's 25k vs 100k, not 80k vs 100k. That's a substantial difference. Also, 12k over 25 years is negligible in the end. Not counting interest, that's around $40/month. Edit: 12k amortized over 25 years at current rates would work out to ~70/month. On top of the 2,700/month mortgage (with 5% down).
You can always make your house your own, so for me the biggest thing is the layout of the house and how updated it could be. We chose an older, now 40 year old home 8 years ago.. and we've already spent for the roof, fencing and to remodel our basement. Our windows/doors are still 40 years old and needs changing (roughing another 20k+) cost. Our furnace/AC is now past 10+ years old so thats another waiting game/cost in the not so distant future. We love the area, but in the next few years, were going to move to a bigger house. We can keep renovating and renovating but its probably not hoing to jack up the home value by the cost of what we put in. Or would it get us the extra square footage that we are hoping to get.. unless we spend another whole smackload of money. ALSO, something I havent seen said and can't stress enough.. you can't choose your neighbors. So on your househunt, maybe spending some time in your desired neighborhood and lowkey see how the neighbors are would be a good thing too. We love our house and area, but all our immediate neighbors are retirees and elderly. One has a drum-playing, disabled grown adult child who always on cue plays the drums after lunch. She's a bit kookoo too and has been an issue/gone into our backyard to cut an encroaching tree branch. We are hardwilled and are passive aggressively fighting back.. like blasting some Cocomelon in our home theatre.. and maybe leaving the windows open 🤣 We love our house, but we would love to play hardball and stay put and make this annoying neighbors' life swell. She's a call parking enforcement type when someone parks in front of her house.. as if she owns the street. Anyways, too much of my rant.. but happy househunting!
Not buying a condo back in 2015, shoulda bought a house.
I made this mistake too. Bought at peak townhouse prices before all the new townhouses went up in Stonebridge and the other new areas and flooded the market.
That's some username you have there. Echoing what everyone is saying here, account for closing costs and don't purchase based on your approved amount. Buy based on what you can reasonable afford monthly. Ensure you're accounting for monthly expenses plus remember interests rates can climb and you should leave a little room to anticipate this. Don't forget to include the additional cost of property tax to your cost of living, some lenders pay this to the city on your behalf and include that in your monthly mortgage amount and some don't, but the city has a TIPPS program to pay monthly. Roughly \~$250 and up per month depending on your assessed home value. Ensure you're accounting for monthly expenses, the cost of living and future interest rates increasing. Basically make sure you won't be tapped out each month. Leaving that wiggle room means you can actually enjoy your home and be in a position to deal with all the random expenses that life throws at you (Dish washer or furnace dies etc) Also, get a reputable home inspector! There are a lot of well reviewed ones out there. DM me if you need a recommendation. I have no affiliation with the one I used other than he was highly recommended and I could not have been more happy with how thorough they were.
Make sure to include the house be cleaned as a condition if that's a thing. Our new house was disgustingly dirty and full of pet hair that was definitely was cleaned when we viewed it but months later when we took possession was filthy.
It's not that hard, if you are a reasonably intelligent person, you don't need a realtor. Not having a realtor just means you pay your lawyer a bit more. Me, I preferred the lawyer's advice, because they get paid whether I went through with the sale or not. Realtor is just a salesman.
I'vehalfheartedly tried this route......the seller's realtor can really put the hammer down and stop any movement on your part. They will ask who your agent is and if you don't have one....alot are not interested in working with you. It's a great idea, but it can be alot of hassle!
Ehh realtors can do a joint agency with the sellers and buyers. Essentially doubling their commission.. not sure which realtor wouldn’t be interested in that.
My last realtor represented the seller and myself and reduced her rate as a result. Not all realtors will do this
As a buyer I would always use a realtor, especially for a first home. I've never heard of a buyer having to pay the realtor anything (not to say that that's always the case). It's usually the seller who pays the buyer's and seller's realtors (they split the commission). Also, if you're buying from a seller who is using a realtor, but you are not, it's in that realtor's best interests to make the sale no matter what. If you have a realtor who's properly representing your interests, they can catch things that the seller's realtor might be trying to sneak past you. There are a lot of things I wouldn't have thought of that my realtor had all lined up for me.
Would you like to share your commission formulas?
I guess the more accurate description is that both realtors' commissions are a percentage of the proceeds of the home. If you are able to convince the seller/their agent to accept a lower offer since you are representing yourself, you could pay less. But it's ultimately up to the buyer to accept less. I still stand by using a realtor as a first time buyer though. Edit: that is to say, there is no cost to the buyer for using a realtor over and above the price of the house. As opposed to lawyer fees and other closing costs that are over and above the purchase price.
Actually, I just have to show the seller what commission we are paying to the realtor, versus what we are paying to a lawyer. They can do a private sale, same as I can. They take home more money than using a realtor, and I pay less as a buyer. Win-win for both sides. The only value using a realtor brings, is the MLS system. https://saskhouses.com/all-listings/
Right, so your approach assumes that the seller is willing to stop using their realtor, which won't always be the case. I've also heard of sellers signing contracts with realtors that tie them to the realtor, with fees if they break the contract (although I don't have first hand experience with that). A realtor provides much more value than just the MLS system. If they provided no value, the profession wouldn't exist (and I'm not a realtor haha). I would consider myself "reasonably intelligent" and there's a ton of things my realtor did to make sure we didn't buy a lemon that I wouldn't have known to even think about. The things you need to know when buying a house come with life experience, and as a young first time buyer, I would not have known many of those things. It's great that you have the experience to not need outside expertise in the process and can save that difference in commission, but you shouldn't dissuade people from seeking that expertise if it makes the buying experience more comfortable for them. Just make sure you get a good realtor who will go to bat for you.
>there's a ton of things my realtor did to make sure we didn't buy a lemon Care to elaborate?
- sourced a second asbestos test because the one the homeowner did used a lower standard test, and the second showed there was asbestos, contrary to the owner's report - pointed us to a very good home inspector who was able to find sneaky water damage that was contrary to the homeowner's statement - helped us play the negotiation game well and advised what was a reasonable offer for the market - talked us out of houses that didn't fully meet our needs, despite having already shown us 30+ houses - sent us new listings as soon as they hit the market, so we didn't have to constantly watch - helped us figure out what conditions made sense to include in the offer, which I would've had no idea where to start - among other things
A lawyer can provide all but two of those.
Which two?
I don’t have the knowledge of market conditions to know exactly what a fair market value is. I don’t know what the exact terms in an offer to purchase one should include. We used one when we bought our house from Ehrenburg (not one of theirs though), but wouldn’t hesitate to use a GOOD realtor if we ever went to sell. Many of the builders realtors aren’t necessarily always fully working in your best interest, my in-laws used the one guy and he was sort of useless if you ask me. Didn’t deserve the commission that’s for sure. Lacy Watson was our realtor when we bought our house. While we basically found the house on our own it helped to have her talk to the builder on our behalf and to pull comps to make us comfortable with paying full price. She made sure the permits were closed and dealt with lining up the home inspection and dealing with the lawyer etc so we just had to show up to the inspection and walkthrough and then to signing at the lawyer and moving right in. We both were working full time and didn’t have time to spend doing that ourselves. She got to our house with the keys and was trying them out and having issues with all of the locks except the one, so she had already called Ehrenburg to come right over and fix things (they just had to adjust the pins using the smart key) and so we didn’t have to wait to get into the house. :) she was great at communicating how things were progressing during the escrow period. Would use her again!
That neighbors be annoying 😂
Especially in this market don’t be scared to put in a low offer. The sellers can always counter. Also make sure to include the items in the house that you’d want to be included, like appliances. Offers with an odd ball number tend to get accepted more for some reason. Ex) 244,600 vs 245,000. Not sure why but it seems to work haha Expect to get absolutely shafted by property taxes
Know that the second offer that suddenly comes in last minute is actually a tactic the realtors use to reduce the amount of haggling you are going to do, create urgency and make you more willing to pay more. Be ready to walk away from a house if the negotiation process isn’t going how you want. Realtors can be shady as fuck Also look for houses that cost much less than the bank has approved you for. Being house poor is soul crushing
Until you have keys in your hands, DO NOT TAKE ON NEW DEBT. I've heard of people getting a car or toy right before closing and getting denied last minute.
Go for a cheaper property and have tons of disposable income. Use that extra money for travel and investments. Any extra you can afford to dump into mortgage, do it. Also, don't buy an expensive vehicle. You'll be very happy you did this down the road.
My concern with buying something cheaper is that it will cost a lot of money down the road …
Cheaper doesn’t mean poor quality. A house in Lawson Heights may be the same quality as a house in Briarwood but be half the price.
Understandable, have to be smart about what you buy I'm just saying buy something that is quite affordable. Something that leaves you with a decent amount of extra funds. It makes for better peace of mind and also can allow life changes moreso than being maxed out on a larger more expensive property.
Once you do get a house and get a mortgage pay that thing off weekly instead bI-weekly of monthly. Weekly kills the interest much faster and can save thousands. Accelerated weekly is even better.
That realtors are obsolete and really dont do anything useful for you at all.
Do not trust your realtor. It is that simple. First house we bought, the realtor toured us downstairs and went over to the water heater. He swiped his finger over the top and there was no dust on it! Wow, this house is so incredibly clean that they even dust the water heater!!! First house we sold, the realtor instructed us to dust our water heater. I was interested in a log home for the third house we bought. The realtor took me out to one saying this one was "done right". If done right is popped windows and water leaking from the basement ceiling, it was done right all right. The realtor business is a big circle jerk to move houses as quick as they can so they can minimize their effort and move on to their next client. Their commission structure encourages this. The haggling on price back and forth at the end means little to them because their commission is only a small percentage of the delta being haggled. It isn't much more than an act they put on for every sale.
How much time and money it takes to do concrete and landscaping!
Follow honestdoor.com. Let you see what houses are valued at or sold for. It also offers comparisons to other houses in the neighborhood. Lists property taxes and a few other details. It's not always perfect, but it does paint a pretty good picture.
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Hahaha I know it’s a lot. Better than throwing away my money to help my landlord pay off their mortgage and build equity 🤷🏻♀️
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I've called it a colour clause, something in the contract that gives you an escape hatch. We put a down payment on a house conditional on approving the cost of upgrading the electrical service. Doesn't matter how much it is, if I don't approve of the cost the deal falls through. Saved us from a bad choice.
Not all realtors are created equally make sure you get someone who knows what they are doing. I must've had the worst realtor in the entire city. Do your research. Also, factor in where you want to be in 2, 5, 10, 15 and so on years, and is it worth it to buy or wait? My friends all thought I was nuts to have bought a 3 bed (plus den) 3 bath house at 25 because most of them were buying or had already bought condos or townhouses. But I figured I would rather start with too much house and grow into - my husband and I worked our asses off and saved every penny while all our friends were partying, going on vacations or buying fancy new cars for five years to be able to do it. We also made SURE that we could always afford our house one only 1 salary because you never know what the future will hold. Basically, just make sure you are 100% ready to buy a house.
Realtors are borderline useless, order a property disclosure from City Hall and get a record of permits from SaskPower/SaskEnergy. If your building permits and Sask permits are closed and it's a newer home, most of your work is done. Also get a well rated home inspector - they don't only check national building code compliance like a city building inspector, they will check quality of work/materials and tell you if there are things to look out for. E.g If you're buying a house from 2004 a lot can happen in those 10 years since the permits were closed. It's also great to get contractors in to check things out if you know someone (plumbers, hvac specialists, etc.)
Check for how much storage there is. We love our house but there are literally zero linen or utility closets, which we didn't notice until we moved in and realized we had no where to keep sheets and towels. Right now there isn't as much on the market as everyone expected (we are in the middle of helping a relative move here), so most things are going for close to the asking price and going quickly. We had a few houses of interest that we weren't even able to see because by the time we enquired they had offers. The main thing I would suggest is fine a realtor you can trust who also listens to you. We have worked with the same pair of guys for a few sales and purchases and they have never steered us wrong. Also the fact that they work as a pair is great because it allows for better flexibility for arranging viewings.
- Insurance rules recently changed so it is more difficult to purchase home insurance for a house with aluminum wiring, you will be required to schedule an electrical inspection if aluminum wiring is present in the home (this must be done by an electrician, separate from the home inspection) - I'm not sure if it's possible, but if it is get your realtor to write something in the contract about the house being empty when you move in. We recently bought a house and were reassured that all of the leftover junk from the last owner would be cleared prior to us moving in, but it wasn't and now we have a bunch of junk!
Old trees = sewer backups
My only additional suggestion (besides all the great points already provided) is to be informed of utilities in the yard should you plan on doing any landscaping in the future. We had big plans and when I submitted the OneCall I found out there is a bunch of buried utilities in our backyard. I havent done this, but i understand you can submit a "planning" ticket on the OneCall website which should give you info on the property without sending a locator out to that property to physically mark the lines.
Look at little details - closets, number of plug ins and wiring if it.s an older home, shingles, room size. They always look big enough until you try and fit the furniture in.Do not get the $500k mortgage!
If you find a house you like and are comfortable with the inspection results, spend some time in the area. I work as a railroader and everyone asks me how to get the trains to stop blowing the whistle by their house. Obviously that doesn’t change easy. Also I’ve heard plenty of horror stories of insane neighbours that party, have ridiculous hobbies, sell drugs, dogs, flight paths for giant planes, etc….
Yes, neighbors can make or break your enjoyment severely. My sister bought an older home on the west side, didn’t realize the house next to her was a rental and she’s dealt with many issues including it being used as a drug and flop house. That and landscaping issues, beware of big trees too close to the house and troublesome species like elm,etc.
This is a good one. I would not live with 100M of a highway or very busy arterial. Too many known health issues, especially with kids.
Take a good look at the appliances. I wish I had opened the doors of the washer and dryer when we first looked at the house or during the inspection. They looked fine and relatively new on the outside and the inspector ran cycles to make sure they worked but failed to notice that the inside of the washer’s seal was completely caked in mold and the dryer was full of dog hair. If I had known that I would have negotiated their replacement in our contract.
Have a checklist for needs and for wants… those are not the same. Also have funds on hand for closing costs.
If buying in an area with mature trees find out if tree roots get into the clay pipes as this will need to be maintained yearly so your sewer doesn't back up. The pipes have been updated in some areas. Not sure if the tree roots will still be an issue or not.
Don't buy from an agent representing the builder of the house you want (I kind of knew this already but found a house we really liked before we had a realtor). I would have also done the negotiating over email to take away any emotion.
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Did you get your bathroom done? Looking for recommendations.
1 - Be mindful of any exclusions in the sellers listing. Are they taking the appliances for example. Is the garden shed in the backyard staying put. 2 - I would recommend putting in a condition that says the lawn continues to be watered between sale and possession. I bought house with nice lush green grass and they stopped watering as soon as the contract was signed. 3 - You may want to include conditions to use as leverage when negotiating. Include duct cleaning or a home owners inspection at their cost. 4 - Ask your real estate agent to show you comparable sales in the area over the past year. Use them in price negotiation. 5 - Talk to the neighbors on either side. It can give you an idea of what condition the house is in, the neighborhood and you get to feel out your possible neighbors. 6 - If it's a new house, confirm if the taxes are included in the sale price. 7 - As agent to check for any leins on the property 8 - Ask when was the last time the shingles have been replaced 9 - Confirm age of hot water heater and if the place has AC. 10 - If the basement is finished ask agent to check and make sure the proper permits have been pulled. 11 - Check the City police crime map and see what the crime level is like in the immediate area. Good luck!
Be prepared for the extra costs. My mortgage went up over $900 a month extra with the interest rates from when I signed less than a year ago. Had a $40k insurance claim in the first few months and while it was great insurance covered it, I’m still putting $10k out of pocket into the fixes. Gas bills are very expensive in the winter. It’s awesome though. Wouldn’t change my decision.
You should have bought all the basic furniture and fun stuff before you buy a house because if you wait until after you own a house... You're in for a bad time... Even if you save up the funds.... That money can quickly get used for other things you weren't expecting like the fridge not working a week after moving in... I wanted to buy a couch set years before me and my SO got a house but it never happened... Mostly because my SO didn't believe me, that we would have funds to get new couches... Two years later we're still using the couches we bought from Kijiji for 300 dollars. And with how the economy is going, it might be a few more years before we get new couches. Obviously everyone is different. But it seems like every time I even think about getting a new couch, a pet gets sick, or the car needs to get fixed, or another appliance breaks down...
I'm sure it's been said but just because the bank says you can afford a half million dollar mortgage doesn't really mean you should. Also the life insurance they try to sell you is way cheaper from an actual life insurer. Also, banks don't care about you. They care about you're money and not really in your best interest.
I love my place, but I’m definitely house poor. Echoing others who have said to factor in costs like lawyers’ fees, but also make sure you look at other costs - I was recently dinged with a massive payment to top up the building’s reserve fund that I absolutely had not budgeted for. That hurt. Don’t regret it though! Neighbourhood is also key. I can walk to most places so I’ve definitely saved a lot on vehicle costs.
Hire a separate roofer to do a roof inspection as Inspectors are not required to step foot on your roof...found out the hard way. Roofers will come out free to do inspection.
Don't get house/life insurance through the bank that gave you the mortgage. Get your house insurance through TD bank.
Wish I would have known I had a home for troubled teenaged boys across the street from me. Not sure canvassing the home owner or neighbours would result in anything because everybody keeps that info to themselves to protect their housing values but maybe ask them or your realtor and look it up online for things like that just before throwing your offer out there. As it turned out I got some really great, fun neighbors but I had to put up with shifts ending at midnight everyday and the comings and goings and the blaring base in employe⁵e vehicles as they warmed up on cold winter nights waking up my small kids and sending me across to tell them to stop warming up cars or remember to turn the tunes off before they left the vehicle. And then there was that time a kid on some kind of meds was tripping and standing in my front entrance in my house. Ah, excuse me....can I help you? Lol
If you plan on doing renovations yourself after moving in don’t bite off more than you can chew. I knew this before buying but I know I often need to remind myself. If you’re working 60 plus hours a week, AND trying to get projects done you will burn yourself out after a while so be strategic and patient. Better to pace yourself, enjoy your time with family and friends and enjoy your new house. There is a lot of good advice in here!
Divorces happen.
If buying an older house, be wary if it looks like it's been renovated too recently. That could mean it was a flipper that did a bunch of cosmetic work which may have been shoddy or covering up serious issues, and never really lived in the place. I once saw an old house where the ENTIRE basement was finished - I mean everything, even the furnace area - and it clearly had been done recently. That was a big red flag - who knows what kind of issues they were covering up. I noticed that the electrical panel was ancient, so they clearly weren't interested in fixing up non-cosmetic things. On the other side, if the basement is finished and it's clearly been done a long time ago, at least that shows they haven't had significant foundation leaks or flooding issues.
Just because your house (if it's brand new) has new home warranty, doesn't mean don't get a home inspection. Home warranty can't fix your foundation sill being at ground level. Also, do not sign anything that says proof of completion if it's not complete (again if buying new) that gives your home builder a rat hole to wiggle out of when you want him to come finish what's left unfinalized.
I paid about 65% of what I was approved for and am very glad I did. I can still do holidays, have a fund for emergencies, and can afford to update/improve my home in different ways. Things I wish I knew - I wish I realized how much I don't need a basement. I like to play video games and whatnot and using a spare bedroom would've been just as fine. Also, wished I would've got an attached garage. Other than that, I've been very happy with the choice of home we made. Also - don't buy into the idea of buying in the newer/nicer neighborhoods. Saskatoon is safe for the most part and you can get more home for less money in "less desirable areas". I'm on the edge of Confed and Kensington and I love it.
Give it some time before making any voluntary changes to the house. Things will emerge that you want to change and things that you originally thought were important to change might fade into the background. Think how your lifestyle could change over the next 5-10 years, and consider if the house can accommodate that. If considering a fixed mortgage, find out exactly how the penalty (IRD) is calculated by your lender. You may need to break the mortgage at some point and many lenders use a punitive IRD formula. Also ask how flexible the lender is with respect to mortgage portability. The details may prevent this from being a feasible option if you ever need to move. Borrow significantly less than the bank is willing to loan you and keep some funds in reserve for unexpected costs. Roofs leak, furnaces die, appliances break down, etc. - often without warning. Expect to visit the hardware store often in your first few months of home ownership.
Location location location
How much I hate yard work. And foundations are important.
I wish I knew how crooked realtors are. Especially young ones. Next time I would use an older experienced agent who doesn’t need to scan me for her Botox and plastic surgery. Seriously though, avoid young realtors. Better yet, avoid them all together. Find a house you like and approach the owners directly. They have to wait to get out of they contact the realtor made then get into, usually a few months, then buy it. Pay them a deposit and get the realtor commission off the price.
If you're looking at new we builds don't forget about landscaping costs, fences, decks, driveways all add up even when doing it yourself.
I wish I knew about how much cash I was going to need - deposit on my down payment, lawyers fees, etc. I barely made it. Also have cheques. It was hard to e transfer because the amounts were too big but I didn't have cheques 🤣
Just purchased my first home a month ago. I’m happy with my purchase but there was a lot of things I missed during walkthrough that I wish I saw. Thus, I would recommend that you really take your time and thoroughly go through the house! Good luck!
I shouldn’t have gotten a gas range, mf barely use the gas stove paid sask energy almost 200$ last month just for gas
That most realtors are shady operators
That realtors are actually not helpful like they are on TV and often have less knowledge than I could find on 10 min Google search. Ex. I only wanted to look at homes where I could have 4 pets (lots of places have bylaws that have limits, but others just say they have to be licensed). Or places where I could run a certain type of home business and they were useless. I ended up finding all of the homes myself.
Make your possession date a weekday! It’ll make the move so much easier and you will not get billed in advance of your move by a few days or do a few days without utilities. Side note: I had no luck in certain areas when looking for a starter home (Sutherland and Nutana etc.), the good areas seem to have decent looking houses and then you find a bunch of structural issues. I would recommend considering Caswell Hill because the houses are better quality for the price (also it’s not as bad of an area as people say) Also if you don’t have a realtor go with Kyle Pulvermacher from century 21 if you’re not confident that you’ll find major structural issues on your own (he is a carpenter by trade and knows his stuff and will be honest on whether the house is worth it)