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Buying a Home

Every great home story begins with a single step. Whether you’re buying a house for your growing family or buying a property as an investment, we’ll guide you every step of the way, from discovering hidden gems to negotiating the best deal. Buying a home in BC starts with understanding the process, and our Buyer Guide walks you through the steps to buying a house with clear advice and local market insight, so you can make confident decisions from start to finish.

We are committed to guiding your journey through the buying process, whether you are a first-time buyer or experienced investor!

BC Home Buyer: Buying a home/ property will be one of the biggest financial decisions most of us will ever make. It can be a wonderful, exciting time – when done correctly. Avoid time-consuming, expensive and stressful mistakes when buying homes for sale by putting our expertise to work on your behalf! Fill in the form below, or give us a call, and let us guide you through a stress-free, enjoyable buying experience!

Steps to Buying a House

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Define your “Perfect Home/property”

Let’s collaborate to determine what you need! We can help ask all the important questions, to ensure you don’t miss anything. Your criteria will change as you view properties, so this is just a starting point!

Consider four characteristics of a good location: (1) Safe neighbourhood; (2) Good schools; (3) Convenience; and (4) Proximity to water and views. Our BC Properties for Sale pages are a great way to explore the pros and cons of each area! You can also look at the homes for sale, their prices and even view the actual Sold prices!

Once we have visited a few of the homes for sale, and you have shared with us your view on “the good, the bad and the ugly”, we are very adept at finding homes that you will really love. You’ll receive automated notifications when new homes matching your criteria come up, of course, but we go the extra mile and call you when something special comes on the market.

We are dedicated to helping you find your dream home. Your choices will be respected, we have the patience to search & show you as many homes as you want until you find the right one for you! Buying a Home/property should be fun and easy for BC Home Buyers!

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Find the perfect mortgage.

Before you start looking into buying a home, you need to know how much you can afford. Check our mortgage calculator to see how much your monthly payment will be.

How’s your credit score? In order to qualify for a mortgage you must have a good credit rating. You can go to Credit Karma to obtain a free copy of your credit score. If any information in your credit file is incorrect, take the time to get it fixed before applying for any mortgage loan.

Do you qualify for an insured mortgage? Mortgage insurance is available to both first-time and repeat homebuyers, through CMHC or a private mortgage insurer, and the maximum home price that can qualify is capped at $1.5 million. For a purchase price of $500,000 or less, the minimum down payment is 5%. When the purchase price is above $500,000, the minimum down payment is 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the remaining portion. Homes priced above the $1.5 million cap don’t qualify for mortgage insurance and require a down payment of at least 20%. You’ll also need additional funds to cover the property transfer tax, legal, moving and other closing costs.

BC Home Buyers: get pre-approval for a mortgage, so you know before looking how much you can afford. Do not change jobs just before applying for a mortgage. The lender will want to see that you have a stable employment history.

We will help you to contact mortgage professionals who have been very helpful to our past clients to ensure you get the perfect mix of interest rates, terms and conditions!

Buying a home, Buyer Guide, Buying a property, BC home buyer, Buying Process

KNOW the market and make offers with confidence!

BC Home Buyer: Knowledge is key to formulating a strategy to win your chosen property from the homes for sale at a good price. And the key to getting the knowledge you need to make the right choice is to have the right Realtor®. Choose us: Team Dana & Amar!

We will ensure you are thoroughly briefed on conditions in the broader market and your chosen neighbourhood, along with pricing of comparable currently available homes for sale, recent sales and listings that failed to sell and expired. Watch the Videos that give you information on the market trends every month. We will also share the history of the property, tax assessments, etc. Armed with this information, we will collaboratively decide our bidding strategy so you can move forward with confidence when Buying a property!
At the appropriate time, we will also obtain the Title of the property, Strata documents, Seller’s Property Disclosure, and make the necessary inquiries to the City Halls regarding to surveys, permits, and other facts that might influence your decision to proceed.

Buying a home, Buyer Guide, Buying a property, BC home buyer, Buying Process

Negotiate a great price

And now we come to the most critical stage: negotiations with the seller! We have extensive formal training and experience in negotiation – ask us for details. This background has enabled us to deliver some truly exceptional results for our clients who are buying a home, respecting your price, conditions and dates.
Our collaborative approach ensures that you will understand the latest market data, as well as our negotiating strategy, allowing you to move forward with confidence.

Get critical deficiencies repaired

Negotiations don’t necessarily end with the acceptance of your offer, either. For instance, property inspections may reveal unexpected and critical defects. Protecting your interests may require us to re-enter negotiations to have those defects rectified, or the price adjusted to reflect the true condition of the property. We will not shy away from strenuous negotiations on your behalf!

Buying a home, Buyer Guide, Buying a property, BC home buyer, Buying Process

BC Home Buyer: Move in!

There are literally dozens of tasks, documents and delivery deadlines involved in a Real Estate transaction. We coordinate these to ensure every last detail is attended to in a timely fashion, and to give you a smooth and stress-free move into your new home!
Experience the difference that our planning and project management makes! Buying a home/property doesn’t have to be stressful.
There are lots of resources available for Home Buyers. For instance, check out our Real Estate Blog, Professionals & Contractors or Real Estate useful links.
For more information regarding to buying a home you can also check out CMHC.

Please Provide Your Buying Criteria

Let’s begin your real estate journey right away!

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When comparing Properties for Sale through an MLS® Property Search, look beyond price, photos and basic property details. The condition of the home, strata records, title information, location, environmental concerns and any restrictions affecting the property can all influence its value and suitability. The appropriate due diligence depends on the type, age and location of the property you are considering.

A professional home inspection can help identify visible defects, maintenance concerns and areas that may require further investigation before a buyer removes inspection conditions. Depending on the property, this may include roofing, drainage, plumbing, electrical systems, heating and cooling, insulation, moisture issues, structure and other major components. An inspection is not a guarantee that every problem will be found, so additional specialist inspections may still be appropriate when concerns are identified.

For newer homes, review any applicable new-home warranty coverage, including the remaining term, warranty provider, available documents and any previous claims. Coverage can vary depending on the age of the property and the type of construction, so buyers should confirm what protections remain in place rather than assuming that a newer home is fully covered.

If the property is part of a strata corporation, review the available strata documents carefully before making a purchase decision. These records can reveal financial concerns, planned repairs, special levies, insurance issues, bylaws and restrictions that could affect ownership or future costs.

Important documents can include:

  • Current Form B
  • Bylaws and rules
  • Strata council meeting minutes
  • AGM and SGM minutes
  • Current budget and financial statements
  • Depreciation report
  • Engineering or building-condition reports
  • Insurance certificate and coverage information
  • Information about the contingency reserve fund
  • Notices of special levies or major planned repairs
  • Strata plan and any relevant amendments
  • Rental or occupancy information where applicable

The age of a home can provide important clues about materials and building systems that deserve closer investigation. Homes built before 1990 are much more likely to contain asbestos in materials such as drywall compound, textured ceilings, vinyl flooring, insulation, stucco and other finishes. Asbestos cannot reliably be identified by appearance, so testing by a qualified professional should be considered before renovation or demolition work that may disturb suspect materials.

Homes built from approximately the mid-1960s through the late 1970s may contain aluminum branch-circuit wiring. Aluminum wiring is not automatically unsafe, but improper or deteriorated connections at outlets, switches and other devices can overheat and may also affect insurance. A qualified electrical contractor should assess the system if aluminum branch wiring is present.

Polybutylene, commonly called Poly-B, was widely installed in Canadian homes from approximately 1978 to 1995. It is usually grey flexible water-supply piping and may be marked PB2110. Poly-B has a history of leakage and failure and can also affect insurance availability or coverage, so buyers should determine whether it remains in the home and investigate the cost of replacement.

Location affects much more than commute time. Transit, schools, shopping, recreation, future development, traffic and surrounding land uses can all influence how a property functions and holds its value. Depending on the area, buyers may also need to consider floodplain conditions, drainage, soil issues, radon risk or other environmental factors. Property-specific research is often more useful than relying only on general neighbourhood information.

Before completing a transaction, review the title, property documents and any charges or restrictions that may affect ownership or use. Buyers should also understand the form of ownership, confirm financing and insurance requirements, and review any tenancy arrangements if the property is occupied by renters. First-time buyers should check whether they qualify for available tax exemptions or other programs before completion.

Recently Sold Properties can provide valuable context when assessing current asking prices, but not every recent sale is a useful comparable. Sold Homes should be compared by location, property type, size, age, condition, lot characteristics and sale date. Reviewing several relevant Sold MLS® Listings alongside current inventory can provide a more realistic picture of market value than relying on a single sale or asking price.

To research recent sales, start with our BC Properties for Sale page and select the city you are interested in. From there, choose the dwelling type such as houses, condos or townhouses. On the resulting MLS® search page, switch from Active to Sold to view Sold MLS® Listings for that specific market. You can then refine the search to find Recently Sold Properties that are most comparable to the home you are reviewing. Comparing several similar Sold Homes by location, size, age, condition and sale date can provide much better context for market value than relying on a single sale.

Buying a property can involve questions that go beyond the individual home. Our Property Ownership Types page explains common forms of ownership in British Columbia, while our First Time Home Buyers guide covers programs and incentives that may be available to qualifying buyers. If you are purchasing a rented property, review the rules that can apply to Tenant Occupied Properties. You can also browse our Real Estate Blog for additional buying information and visit the BC Financial Services Authority for consumer-protection information about real estate in British Columbia.

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