Get prepared
We sort out your needs, your wants, and your dealbreakers, then land on a budget you're comfortable with. A lender will approve you for more than that number.
You'll do this a handful of times. I do it every week, and before you sign anything you'll understand what it means for your money.
These three steps come from more than a hundred purchases.
We sort out your needs, your wants, and your dealbreakers, then land on a budget you're comfortable with. A lender will approve you for more than that number.
We go see real places, and I help you make sense of the options so you can choose the right home. When you find it, we write an offer priced off what's selling right now, with the conditions that keep you protected.
This is where we check what we're buying. Inspection, status certificate, the lawyer, the lender, then the keys. When there's pressure to drop the inspection to make your offer look stronger, I'll tell you what that risk looks like on that specific house.
Three things people are surprised by, in the order they hit you.
Five percent on the first $500,000, ten percent on anything above that, up to $1,499,999. At $1.5 million and over it's twenty percent, because mortgage insurance isn't available.
Most people multiply the whole price by five and budget $32,500 for a $650,000 house. The real minimum there is $40,000.
Land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, the inspection, and adjustments. Ottawa has no municipal land transfer tax, so you pay the provincial one only, and as a first-time buyer you get up to $4,000 of it back. See the full breakdown →
Nothing. My commission comes from the seller's side. If a seller offers nothing, I don't get paid on that house, and you'll hear the same advice from me either way.
I'm not worried about any single commission. I want to be the person you call for every move after this one.
"He was calm, informative and had our best interests in mind. He walked us through every step and I never felt like I had to guess what to do next."
This runs the same numbers for the price you're aiming at, so the figure you plan around is yours rather than an average.
Or work out your price right now with the budget calculator →
Half an hour, no cost, and you don't need to have decided anything first. Bring the questions you think you should already know the answer to.