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The Ultimate Guide to Canadian Real Estate for Beginners
If you are new to the country or new to Real Estate — buying, selling, and investing can get overwhelming. This is your ultimate guide to all things Real Estate.
Real estate basically has 3 segments:
Buying- Selling
- Investing
Buying is when you want to buy a property or a home for you to live in. You may want to look into Detached, Semi-Detached, condos, or Preconstruction according to your needs. We will get into the specifications as we go along.
Selling is when you already own a house and want to move on to another house, you can list your house on the market and potential buyers can approach you.
Investing is a combination of both buying and selling. You buy a property and wait for the price to appreciate, then sell it and buy another house. You can even fix the house with better interiors to get the most out of it.
Whether it’s buying, selling, or investing, you will need a Realtor to accompany you with the transaction. They will get you homes according to your needs if you wish to buy, they will list your house and get potential buyers if you wish to sell, or help you in both if you are investing.
There are different types of houses available in Canada, to help you understand, below is a gist.
Detached: Detached houses, as the name suggests are houses that do not share a wall with another house. They are also called independent houses. These houses are the most expensive where you get privacy from nosy neighbors and have a back and front yard for your little ones.
Semi-detached: Semi-detached houses share a wall with another house. They are usually two-storied buildings sufficient for a family.
Townhouse: Townhouses share a wall on both sides with another home. They usually belong to a community with similar or uniform houses. You may have limitations when you live in a townhouse. For instance, some communities won’t allow you to paint the exterior of the house as you wish to maintain uniformity.
Condominium: Condos or apartments are basically flats in a shared building with possible shared spaces like gardens or a gym. There are anywhere around 4-8 condos on a floor. It can be a single building or a part of a larger colony.
Be clear: Be very clear about what you are looking for. Set your expectations right, and make a checklist of all things you need from this transaction.
If you are buying, you want to be sure of how many rooms you need, what type of house are you looking for, your location, schools nearby, and access to basic commodities, set your objectives straight and then start searching. This helps to not be all over the place during the home searching phase.
If you are selling, make sure you want to sell, getting cold feet is not a good look. Ask yourself questions about why you are selling, what happens after the sale, are you ready to let go. Most importantly you’d also need to move to a better house while you’ve listed yourhouse for sale.
Get help: As mentioned earlier, you have to work with a Realtor or a broker to help you find your new home or to sell your old one. Be transparent with them, tell them about your expectations. Be open to their suggestions.
Be patient: Although Canadian Real Estate Market is hot, it’s possible you may have to wait a bit more to get or get rid of your keys. Be patient and be ready for what may come.
Get Financing: Before you search for homes, make sure you can afford them, and get pre-approved for a mortgage. Your Realtor or Broker will be able to suggest you some agents. Fix your credit score if you need to and have the down payment ready.
As a seller you also must pay both buyer’s and seller’s agent, keep that fee aside or a wise realtor would ideally help you evaluate and price your home, hence it’s prime to check your home’s worth with the experts. For selling, you may have to do some fixes around the house, be ready for those charges.
Happy real estate-ing!
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