4 Ways to Make the Home Hunting Process Easier

Shopping for a new home can be intimidating. With so many things to do and think about, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some good tips for making the home hunting process a lot easier and much less stressful.

1. Get your mortgage arranged in advance.
You don’t want to find the ideal home on the market, only to face problems arranging a suitable mortgage. You might end up losing the opportunity. So, make mortgage arrangements in advance by getting “pre-approved”. Ensure your mortgage broker has your most up to date information re income, debts, employment verfication etc, this helps to ensure there are no delays or surprises.With that pre-approval, you can shop for a new home with confidence.

2. Clearly define the kind of home you want, and the neighbourhood you want to live in.
You can’t view every home that’s on the market. If you try, you’ll burn yourself out! So, write down a clear description of the kind of home you want. How many bedrooms? Big kitchen? Pool?

Don’t forget to include the neighbourhood. Rural, suburbs or close to downtown. Close to . . . shopping, parks, public transit, specific schools?

With this information, we can quickly create a shortlist of properties that meet your criteria.

3. Take good notes.
After viewing a few homes, you may easily start to forget the details. Was it the first property that had the large elm tree in the backyard or was that the fourth property you saw? If you take good notes, you’ll be better able to make decisions later on about which homes to shortlist.

4. Take care of yourself, and your family.
Eat right. Pace yourself. Don’t try to view too many homes in one evening or on one Saturday afternoon. For most people, this is the biggest investment you will make, so take your time and ask us to keep you up to date on the status of properties you have viewed or are interested in.

Here are some useful tools to help you. Whether that be for looking up schools for a specific propery or school boundaries, understanding what is around a property, land transfer tax and more.

Want more ideas for finding the right home, Contact us

Do you have Real Estate questions? As experienced Ottawa REALTORS^® we would be pleased to help you.