If you’re getting ready to buy your next home, it’s important to understand how to protect yourself during the process. It’s easy for homeowners to educate themselves on how to buy their own homes and we have key things to consider in order to have a safe transaction.
Get pre-approved
Before starting your home search, it’s a good idea to get pre-approved so you know approximately what you will be able to spend on a home. With the market being extremely hot right now for sellers, homes are selling very quickly and having a pre-approval will help with not slowing down the process once you find a home you would like to make an offer on. Buyers, self-represented or otherwise, are also often asked about their pre-approval status prior to viewing homes in order to determine how serious they are about potentially purchasing the home.
Trilogy Mortgage offers an online, convenient, and streamlined approval process. Get pre-approved here.
Do your research
Buying a home is a massive purchase. Most likely one of the largest purchases you have ever made. It’s crucial to do your research to know what homes are selling for in the areas you are interested in. With many homes selling over list in the current market, making an offer is a completely blind experience and using the available data will help you determine the best offer to make.
Try to also narrow down your search based on location and how much you can afford. The transparent data accessible on Bōde can assist you with this. Check out Market data, Sold data, and Comparables to make informed decisions about your home purchase.
Consider your conditions
In today’s hot markets it’s becoming more and more common for buyers to make unconditional offers in order to be competitive. Consider what it means to give up conditions such as a home inspection, financing, or condo document review. Forgoing a home inspection could mean costly repairs. Giving up the chance to review condo documents could mean unexpected special assessments or reserve fund issues. And although you may be pre-approved, financing for a certain purchase amount is not guaranteed. It’s crucial for buyers to do their due diligence before making an offer not conditional on financing.
Breaking a firm deal means losing the deposit and potentially even facing legal action from the seller – especially if their home ends up selling for less than what you agreed upon.
Request everything in writing
A standard purchase agreement typically states that only items in writing are binding. It’s crucial for buyers to ensure anything discussed as part of the home purchase is included in the contract. Specifically, ensure all unattached goods are included on the purchase agreement and that dates, times and amounts are correct.
Throughly review your purchase agreement
Bōde makes the offer process simple. Once all fields are completed, a purchase agreement is generated for signature via DocuSign. It is still very important to read through the agreement to ensure all necessary information has been included before submitting your offer to the seller and/or their agent.
For more information, go to our blog on How to read a purchase agreement in Alberta.
Consult a lawyer
Ultimately, consulting a lawyer is the best way to protect yourself when buying your own home. In fact, consulting a lawyer is advisable even when working with an agent as they are not able to advise you on the legal aspects of a home transaction. The Prō Marketplace offers great choices for reputable lawyers in your local area. Lawyers can help throughout the purchase process, including with any contract questions. Find a lawyer here.
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