Insider Tips for First Time Home Buyers – Part 3|5

Welcome back and thanks for coming back to check out Part 3 of Insider Tips for First Time Home Buyers. This tip is all about the incentives you should be taking advantage of – Let’s check them out! CREDITS The first incentive you will take advantage of is the credit towards your land transfer tax. You’re entitled to up to $4,000! REBATES Incentive number two is your income tax rebate of up to $750. You will actually get a credit on your taxes of up to $750 of the year that you purchased your home. MORTGAGE When you’re shopping around for mortgage, a lot of financial institutions have programs geared specifically to the first-time home buyers. It could be something like a reduced rate, rebate, or a gift card of some sort to a store that might help you furnish your new home. Keep in mind that rebates and gift cards can come at the expense of a higher rate, so make sure do your research. RRSP’S Last but not least is the Home Buyers’ Plan. This allows you to withdraw up to $35,000 per person for the downpayment on your FIRST home. You repay it in equal instalments over 15 years, interest-free! Many people struggle to save a down payment. If you haven’t been using your RRSPs, consider topping up your RRSPs by taking out an RRSP loan in advance. After your funds have been in the account for 60-days, you can withdraw those them for your purchase. It’s a great way of getting a good ROI, there are income tax savings and RRSP loans are pretty easy to get.  BUT, if you do get an RRSP loan, make sure that the mortgage gets approved taking that into account. You definitely don’t want to screw up your credit rating before closing and you don’t want to have your debt servicing too high and then not get a mortgage because of your RRSP loan. Stay tuned for the next part in the Insider Tips for First Time Buyers series.

Insider Tips for First Time Home Buyers – Part 2|5

Thanks for coming back to check out Part 2 of Insider Tips for First Time Homebuyers! Let’s get right into it. UNDERSTANDING WHY YOU SHOULDN’T USE THE SELLER’S REALTOR Using the seller’s realtor is kind of like using your ex-spouse’s divorce lawyer to settle your litigation. It’s just not a good idea anytime. Period.  It would also make you wonder; Whose best interest does that realtor really have in mind? Is it the seller’s, who they have the legally binding contract with? Is it you as a buyer? OR, is it their own paycheque? If you’re planning on buying a house, get out and start the process early. Find a realtor that you’re comfortable working with, and especially one that will represent you and your best interests.  If your Realtor has a house they have listed that you’re interested in, find out if they have a colleague that can assist either you or the seller with the offer process to ensure that there is some degree of separation. Now you can move on to part three of this series.

Insider Tips for First Time Home Buyers – Part 1|5

Insider Tips. Everyone wants them and we’re here to bring them to you! This is part one of five in our Insider Tips for First Time Home Buyers. DON’T FALL FOR THE STAGING! This is a HUGE rookie mistake. The purpose of staging is to make the space look amazing, connect with buyers, hopefully, get them to fall in love with the home and even pay more money for the property. The goal is to try to envision the space without it and look at the property as it actually is. But, don’t forget about your needs and your wants – things like location, room sizes or configuration of the layout for example. Those are all things that may be important to you today and in the future, so don’t overlook them by getting caught up in the pretty things that come with staging. Sweet, simple and to the point.  Being able to see past the fancy furniture and décor is important; the opposite is too… look past dirty, smelly houses to see the guts of it … this is where you can often score a deal. Check out PART TWO in this five-part series after you check out the video below.