Getting started

Home ownership can be one of the most rewarding times on your life’s journey. Whether you are looking for a downtown loft or something bigger in the suburbs, mymortgagenow.ca is here to help.

Here are a few things to think of before you start shopping:

• Are you financially stable, employed?
• Are you able to stick with a budget?
• Do you know and understand your credit score?
• Is your debt manageable?
• Do you have the time to do regular maintenance on your property?
• Are you ready for all the responsibilities and expenditures that come with home ownership?
• Let us help you through this process.

Understanding your expenses

The first cost you will need to pin down will be how much do you have for your down payment, and how much will your closing costs and taxes be. You’ll need to have this in the bank. Now it’s time to figure out the budget for what it will cost to live in your new home, this budget will consist of your mortgage, property taxes, utilities, condo maintenance fees (if applicable), insurance, and general maintenance and repairs.

Mortgage eligibility

At this stage it’s time to start turning your dream of home ownership into a reality. You have your down payment accounted for, and now it’s time to estimate a budget according to your own accounting, how much house you can afford. You will need to audit your debt, income, assets, and credit rating. This process is not a mortgage application or even a pre-approval, this is the step that will allow you to budget and find that dream home.

Pre-approval

The pre-approval process is where is where you fill out your mortgage application, submit it, and your financial history is verified. This step gives you an accurate budget to start looking for your dream home.

This will nail down:

• The max you can afford
• Your mortgage payments
• Your mortgage rate for the term

The pre-approval will allow you and your realtor to find the prefect property in your price range. Bear in mind that there will be taxes and closing costs that you need to consider as part of your overall budget. Once you are pre-approved and once you have found the perfect home the seller will know that your financing should not be a problem; this can be very beneficial in today’s housing market. Just because you are pre-approved and your favourable rate is locked in, usually for between 90-120 days, you are not tied to a particular lender or even to that rate, if another lender comes by with a better deal and a preferred rate you and your mortgage agent can hop on it with no penalty.

After pre-approval there are a few things, you should watch out for, so you don’t run into any problems when it’s time to finance.

A) show your paper trail, if the money comes from savings the lender will want to see 6 months or more of statements to show where the money came from or if there has been any large sums deposited the lender will want an account as to where those moneys came from

B) avoid opening up more credit or making large purchases until after the sale

C) avoid having additional credit reports pulled.

Getting financed

Just because you are pre-approved doesn’t mean finance is assured. As you come into the home stretch it is vital to remember not to pick up any extra debt, switch jobs or do anything else that may interrupt your finances. Such moves could tank the deal and put your dream house out of reach.

Realizing the dream

Closing day! At this point all your hard work pays off. This is the day your lender gives your lawyer the money, and you pay your down payment and your closing costs. When all goes to plan you leave with a deed to your new home and the keys to the door, your dream is now a reality. Congratulations!