Steps to Owning a Home: Where to Actually Start
"I want to buy a home, but I don't know where to start."
I hear that sentence every week, and if you are renting and feeling behind, you are not alone. The good news is that the path is shorter and simpler than it looks from the outside. Here it is, in the order we actually do it, with me guiding you through each step.
Step 1: Know what you can carry
Before any house hunting, we get a clear picture of what fits your life: your income, your debts, and the monthly payment you can carry with comfort, not just the biggest number a lender might approve. Heat, insurance, and property tax sit on top of a mortgage payment, and a good plan counts them from the start.
Step 2: Check your credit early
Your credit score decides which lenders will look at your application and what rate you can get. Checking it early means no surprises later, and if it needs a little work, we have time to improve it before you fall in love with a house.
Step 3: Build your down payment
For most first homes, the minimum down payment is 5 percent on the first $500,000 of the price and 10 percent on the portion above that. If this is your first home, a First Home Savings Account lets you save for it tax free, and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan can help as well. We will look at what you have, what you need, and how long it will take to get there.
Step 4: Get pre-approved
A pre-approval gives you your real price range and can hold a rate while you shop. It also makes your offer stronger, which matters right now in Newfoundland and Labrador, where good homes move quickly and many sell over asking. Sellers take a pre-approved buyer seriously.
Step 5: Shop with clear eyes
Only now do you start viewing homes, and you do it with a number you can trust and a walk away price set before emotions take over on offer night. When the right place comes up, you can move with confidence instead of panic.
Your first move takes about two minutes
The First-Time Buyer Check walks through these same steps and shows you where you stand on each one:
Answer a few simple questions, and I will review where you stand and reach out with your next steps. From there we go through the list together, one step at a time, until you are ready to shop.
Always in kindness, Tonia | The Mortgage Missus Inc.
Hopefully this helped bring a little clarity.
Mortgage decisions can feel overwhelming — especially with everything changing aroundus — but having the right information makes a big difference.
If you’re thinking about your next move, here are a few ways to keep going:
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Tonia Mercer, Mortgage Broker - The Mortgage Missus Inc.- Premiere Mortgage Centre Inc.
About the author,
Tonia Mercer is seasoned mortgage broker. She has been in the industry for 18 years, in 2021 she launched her own brokerage The Mortgage Missus Inc.. Recently, to provide a wider range of products to her clients she decided to partner with Premiere Mortgage Centre. She hit the ground running and is exciting about the opportunities the move will bring to her and her clients.
Tonia is passionate about financial education and believes that working with independent experts is the best way to get unbiased, professional advice. She has joined forces with local independent home and auto, financial advisor, legal, appraiser and real estate service providers. Effectively creating a concierge service for all things financial and real estate.
Tonia donates a portion of all mortgage revenue to Mercer's Mission, a street dog and cat feeding mission in the Dominican Republic. https://www.facebook.com/mercersmission
She can be reached at tonia@themortgagemissus.ca
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