9 Tips For First Time Home Buyers In Edmonton-Warnings

9 Tips For First Time Home Buyers In Edmonton-Warnings

Buying your first home in Edmonton can be a scary experience, what if you do the wrong thing and lose money on your investment?

I put together this quick sheet for all of the new home buyers in Edmonton and area so that you do not make the mistakes others have made when buying your first home.

Please feel free to call our team to check the current real estate market in Edmonton before you make the decision to enter the market.

In recent years real estate in Edmonton has been a declining market and it is now the perfect time to buy a new home because of the low prices, right now it would be hard to lose.

9 Tips For First Time Home Buyers In Edmonton

9 Tips for first time Home Buyers in Edmonton

Buy when the market is down

I have seen so many people buying when the market is at its peak, and those are the people that are suffering today. They want to sell their home and get into something larger because of their growing family, but they can’t. The house they purchased in Edmonton is now worth less than it was when they bought it. So what do these people do?

Normally a person in this situation would stay living in the property, hoping the market goes back up. Or they rent it out. When they rent it out, they would not qualify for a large mortgage, so this can be an issue for some.

Don’t make this mistake, call us before you are thinking about buying a home in Edmonton so that we can let you know if it is a buyers market or a sellers market in Edmonton.

2. Use a qualified Edmonton Mortgage Broker

A small difference in the rate can make thousands of difference on your mortgage. When you use a mortgage broker in Edmonton, they pull your credit once and shop many lenders for you.

By doing this, they can pit the lenders against each other fighting for you to get the best rate.

3. Get an inspection by a licensed Edmonton Home Inspector

I recommend this always to every one of my clients. Home inspectors can’t tell you everything about a house, but they can help save you a lot of future problems. Some sellers hide things behind the walls, make sure your inspector has a uv gun.

4. If you are buying a condo in Edmonton check the financials

I recommend getting all of the condo documents upfront. Give yourself 2 weeks and have it checked by a professional condo document reviewer.

When you do this you can avoid disasters like special assessments. This is when the condo board asks you for money payable right away. I have seen assessment upwards of 30k per unit!

5. Plan for the future

Buying your first home in Edmonton is exciting. Make sure you are planning for 5-10years down the line. Are you planning on having kids and starting a family? Take that into account when you are considering space.

6. Buy a property that fits your lifestyle

If you are an executive that works downtown, then a downtown Edmonton loft may be the way to go. One of the regrets I have is not owning a condo or loft downtown Edmonton before I had kids. We made enough money for a nice place and we took taxis downtown often, but we never did this.

Make sure you know what you want before you buy!

7. Buy in a good area

If you are thinking of future re-sale, make sure you buy in a good area.

8. Lowball offers

When you are making your offers make them low enough that you can get a good deal, but also not too low. I have been in loads of negotiations where the buyers offer too low and it pisses the sellers off.

This creates an invisible barrier that can never go back up and this is not where you want to be in a negotiation.

9. Hire an Edmonton realtor that has your best interests

Hiring the right agent is very important for any negotiation. You will be spending a lot of time with this person, and they will have to negotiate on your behalf.

When i work with clients I am very specific about what their wants and needs are, I make sure they get exactly what they are looking for.

I also get them hooked up with industry professionals that will do a great job and save them money. These industry pros are lawyer, inspectors, mortgage brokers and more. They provide discounts to my buyers saving them thousands of dollars.

Who Are the Best Edmonton Mortgage Brokers and Realtors?