Are You Fit to Buy?

Buying your first or any home is one of life’s most momentous events!

This is not only where you will be eating, sleeping, entertaining, providing a shelter for and raising your family, but is also probably one of the largest investments you will ever choose to make.

To assist you in buying your new home we have put together a comprehensive series of guides and instructive video clips that will help you in making informed decisions regarding buying your new home.

Our first guide entitled “Fit To Buy”, contains lots of useful information, worksheets and check lists that will provide answers to many of the questions that you probably want to ask:

• How do you successfully go about buying the home you want? What’s your plan?
• How much money will you need? What can you afford? Can you raise this amount?
• Should you buy in a new or an established neighbourhood? Which neighbourhood?
• Should you look for an apartment, townhouse, condo, single family detached home or mansion?
• How do you go about getting pre-approved for a mortgage?
• How do you decide on who is the right real estate agent to help you with your home buying transaction?
• Why do you even need a real estate agent!?

A-Z of Home Buying Costs
Buying a home involves more than just being able to make the down payment and pay your monthly mortgage. There are many additional costs initially that you need to be aware of to avoid any unexpected surprises. The following video and online guide will help explain further the mysteries and costs involved in:

• deposits
• mortgage loan insurance
• harmonized sales tax
• land transfer taxes
• mortgage life
• moving expenses
• down payments
• legal fees
• utility connection expenses.
• appraisal fees
• title insurance
• property insurance
• high-ratio mortgage insurance

Your Real Estate Agent
You are far more likely to end up with the home you really want working with a real estate agent than if you go it alone – and you’ll probably enjoy the buying process a whole lot more. The same goes for selling your Ottawa property.

All our real estate agents work in your best interests as detailed in your Buyer’s Representation Agreement to which we strictly adhere.

The added advantage of using a licenced and experienced, professional real estate agent is that you get the benefit of our insight, knowledge and familiarity with up-to-date market conditions as well as our intimate understanding of all the processes involved in successfully closing transactions.

We can:

• provide you with the inside track by giving you the lowdown on location advantages and disadvantages
• filter current inventory so you only have to think about properties that really fit your criteria
• provide you with valuable insights into comparable property values
• tell you about the evolution of neighbourhoods, school districts, transport and transportation routes so you know if the location you are looking at is on the rise or not
• discuss with you market dynamics such as buyer competition, levels of housing inventory, and more
• discuss with you different offer strategies and help decide which is appropriate for you, according to the market dynamics
• negotiate on your behalf
• arrange and schedule multiple viewings in one day
• and much more to make the home buying process more streamlined and efficient for you.

Our Real Estate Agent video below and online guide explain in even greater detail the advantages of using a trustworthy and reliable real estate agent.

Energy Fit
Every day more home owners tell me that energy efficiency is for them a one of the most important factors to think about when buying a new home in Ottawa. Clearly energy efficient homes offer great benefits, including:

• A healthier home
• More comfortable indoor environment
• More efficient and cooling and heating systems in your home
• Dramatically lowered cost of energy and utility bills
• More environmentally responsible.

Our Energy Fit Guide outlines the new government incentive programmes and manufacturers’ and utility company discounts designed to encourage home owners to invest in energy upgrades and retrofits.

It also looks in depth at the advantages of taking out an energy audit so that you know which aspects of your new home – heating, cooling, hot water and other energy systems – could benefit most by an energy efficiency upgrade. And explains how you could benefit from Ontario’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure Home Energy Savings Program which involves rebates of up to 50% or up to $150 off the cost of an audit.

Many of the upgrades identified by the audit may also qualify you for rebates from your provincial and federal governments for as much as $10,000 once you complete recommended retrofits.

Find out more by watching this short video or reading our Energy Fit Guide online.

At Homes to Buy in Ottawa, our aim is to ensure that your home-buying experience is the best, most enjoyable experience possible.

Enjoy browsing through our guides and please feel free to call us today to find out how we can help streamline the process and make it come out according to plan.

Contact Ray Smiley and Homes for Sale in Ottawa on: 613 818 1819

Office phone: 613 837 0000

Fax: 613 837 0005

Email: homes@raysmiley.com