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Shopping for your first home (or planning
to have it built) is one of life’s biggest and
most exciting undertakings. Having your
very own place lets you experience the
freedom of no longer paying rent, the joys
of redecorating as you see fit and the plea-
sures of entertaining in your own backyard
— all thanks to an investment that could
pay off in the long run. Ready to become
a homeowner? Here are some tips to guide
you through the process.
BUILDING A NEW HOUSE
If you’ve decided to have the house of
your dreams built, or to build most of it
yourself, you need to:
•Establish your budget
•Get a mortgage loan
•Purchase land in an area you like
•Obtain all required building permits from
your local government office
•Have your blueprints drawn up by an ar-
chitect
•Sign an agreement with a building
contractor
•Hire a lawyer or notary
•Purchase a comprehensive insurance po-
licy
Unless you’re extremely versatile and plan
on doing everything yourself — which
is quite the stretch — you’ll need to rely
on the expertise of various tradespeople
and specialists throughout the project.
Building your first home
will
require pros from the
following fields, to
name a few:
•Excavation
•Plumbing
•Electricity
•Window and door
installation
•Drywall
installation
and finishing
•Ventilation
•Carpentry
• Insulation
•Roofing
•Masonry
•Landscaping
•Painting
•Staircase building
Avoid unpleasant surprises by doing
business with companies that are reco-
gnized by a legitimate building or home-
builder’s association. Ask for references
from your family, friends, colleagues and
neighbours: word of mouth can help you
find a trustworthy builder that will finish
the work on time and on budget.
A word of advice: if you’re offered a
discount on “under-the-table” (i.e. unde-
clared) work, never, ever accept it. Not
only are such transactions illegal, but work
that’s done off the books can’t be gua-
ranteed. That means that if it’s not done
correctly, your only option is to start over
with another company — a hefty price to
pay for an attempt to save a few dollars.
PURCHASING AN EXISTING HOME
Before you head out in search of the house
that will sweep you off your feet, make an
appointment with a mortgage broker to
check your loan admissibility. Then,
pinpoint potentially interesting neighbou-
rhoods by considering what elements are
important to you, such as proximity to
parks, access to major highways, presence
of young families and so on. Finally, drive
around those neighbourhoods and spot
the “for sale” signs!
Make your research more efficient by hi-
ring a real estate broker to find houses that
meet your criteria and to set up showings
at your convenience. He or she will also be
able to answer any questions you may
have about buying property. The more
knowledge you have, the less stressful the
process should be!
Once you have your heart set on a house,
you can move on to the next step: making
an offer to purchase. Your offer should be
contingent upon an inspection of the buil-
ding. The pre-purchase home inspection
will bring to light any major defects that
could be detrimental to the property’s
function, comfort, value or safety.
If the inspection results are satisfactory,
you can get back to your offer knowing
that you’ve done your due diligence. Once
you come to an agreement with the seller,
all that’s left is to make it official with a
lawyer or notary. Congratulations on your
new home!
Welcome home!
MOVING
Contact a reputable moving
company as soon as you find
out when you’ll finally have the
keys to your new home. If you
need to temporarily store some
of your belongings, look for a
storage facility that’s well lit,
adequately ventilated and secu-
rely monitored.
Are you ready to be a homeowner
FOR THE FIRST TIME?
Don’t forget
to get mortgage
insurance — it could
save you a lot of
headache in the event
of an emergency
or mishap.
