These 14 Tips Could Save You Thousands Of Dollars If You Are Looking To Buy A Home

Everyone says homeownership is the ultimate dream. However very few people give you tips to save thousands of dollars when you are looking to buy a home. This is where we come in.

Plenty of people everyday and everywhere across Canada buy a house or investment property without considering some unique strategies to save money. When you are in a competitive housing market, like we are in now, you probably want to make the most of the bid you put in.

Sometimes you you will find yourself in a competitive offer situation and your budget is tight. If this happens you will want to ensure you can save money on the back end. By saving money on the back end we mean you can find thousands of dollars in savings to offset your asking price.

There are many ways you can find savings when buying a house and we plan to let you in on just a few to help you!

14 Tips Could Save You Thousands Of Dollars If You Are Looking To Buy A Home

14) Have at least 20% of your down payment saved up. This will have you avoid CMHC costs which could add up to thousands of dollars depending on the price of the house.

13) Find an experienced Real Estate Agent in the area you are looking. By finding one who is experienced in the area that you want to purchase, you can have confidence that they know what the previous sales looked like.

12) Hire a competent home inspector. You can look through your yellow pages or online to find one, but that doesn’t ensure competence. Talk to your agent and seek out the best, someone who has experience and knows what they are talking about.

11) Always look at the comparable sales in the neighbourhood. When you see what homes have sold for in the neighbourhood you can try and justify to the seller why you are asking for thousands off asking price.

10) Don’t buy the biggest house on the street. If you are looking at purchasing a home for a decent value then the biggest house on the street may not be what you want. The value of the other smaller homes will most likely bring the value of the big house down.

9) Use a licensed Realtor. When you use a realtor to purchase a home you are using someone who is insured. That means if anything goes wrong with the purchase, you have someone who is insured. This could mean the difference of thousands of dollars, should you have to pay.

8) Sell your existing home before you look to buy. If you can do this then you will be in a better position to negotiate. If you have to go into the purchase of a home with a home to sell, you will most likely pay more for a home with the condition that you have to sell your home first.

7) Look at what the house is assessed for and when the last assessment was done. Property assessment is used to determine the amount of property taxes you will end up paying. By choosing a house with a lower assessed value you could end up paying much less in property taxes even if the house is selling for more.

6) Hire a Real Estate Lawyer. Most lawyers can put together a real estate deal without any issues, but if you choose one who specializes in real estate you may be able to save thousands should problems arise.

5) Negotiate your mortgage interest rate. When you go in to see your mortgage broker you will most likely be able to negotiate an interest rate that is below the posted rate at the institution.

4) Always ask for all the appliances. However, we don’t mean asking for the couch and dining room table, you can though! Always ask for the fridge, stove, washer, dryer and deep freezer if they have it. A large percentage of people will want to buy new appliances when moving or they just won’t have the room if they are downsizing. This leaves a golden opportunity to snag some of those appliances on the cheap or for free with the house when you buy.

3) Look past the paint and decorations. When you buy a house you have to remember that you aren’t going to buy their mess. What we mean by this is that if the paint colour doesn’t match what you want or carpeting is there instead of hardwood then look past it. You may be able to snag a good deal because a house shows bad.

2) Accelerate your mortgage. If you are in a financial position to do so, which will be determined when talking to your mortgage broker or financial adviser, then this can save you thousands. By accelerating your mortgage you will be paying less interest. When you are paying interest on hundreds of thousands of dollars, every payment coming off the principal and not being paid to interest will save you money.

1) Buy a 3-6 year old house instead of brand new. If you can afford brand new and absolutely want to be in a brand new house we understand.

However, if you love the neighbourhood and want to save thousands of dollars you can do so by purchasing an almost new home. Most of these brand new subdivisions have multiple homes that are exact same, hence the term cookie cutter home. These developers will charge you a mint on finishing your basement and adding central air and central vacuum.

When you buy a home a few years older you can take advantages of those savings. Also by purchasing an almost new home the listing price will most likely be lower than the same house brand new with none of the features.

The way it goes is that the mentality of it is why would someone pay more for a used house than a brand new one. This is where you can save thousands, if not 10’s of thousands of dollars.

Hopefully these tips help you the next time you are thinking of buying a home.