Being guided through the process of buying a property: a wise decision

First, you must estimate the amount of money your financial institution could loan you to buy your new property. Secondly, you need to estimate the initial amount that you will put down when the loan is granted. Known as the “down payment,” this deposit reduces the amount of your debt.

If you have at least 20% of the purchase price of the house you are interested in, you may be eligible for a conventional loan and thus avoid the costs associated with mortgage loan insurance. If this is not the case, you will probably be subject to a mortgage default insurance premium. This premium can be added to the amount which is to be financed. The lower the down payment, the higher the premium will be.

In addition, there are some additional expenses you need to be aware of: mortgage transaction fees (inspection, appraisal, etc.), property taxes, moving expenses, home insurance, renovations, and service fees, to name a few. After considering all these steps, with our help, you can proceed with the search for your dream home.

Have you found a home you like? Then you are ready for our broker to draw up a Promise to Purchaseagreement with you. In this manner, you are committing yourself to the seller to purchase his property at the price and under the conditions included in this agreement. Does the seller accept your promise to purchase? If so, he is committed to selling his property to you. Certain conditions must, of course, be respected both by you and by the seller (financing, inspection, etc.).

When the promise or counter-proposal is accepted, with the help of our broker, you must verify that the conditions contained therein are respected: pre-purchase inspection, receipt of all documentation related to the property, and obtaining your mortgage financing, among others. You must also ensure that you respect the deadlines set out in the promise to purchase. At the very end of the process, you must sign the deed of sale before taking possession of your new home. As you can see, this whole process will be greatly simplified with our involvement.

In the Lachine and Lasalle areas, it takes a minimum of 45 days (or more) to find the property that meets all your needs. But it is the visits to the houses or condos that increase the duration of the buying process. Market conditions can influence the time it takes to find the ideal home.

In a booming market, you should consider prolonging your search. According to some studies, the typical buyer actively searches for a property for 10 to 12 weeks and visits an average of 10 houses and the completion of the purchase conditions adds to the duration of all these steps. We estimate that this stage takes between 10 and 14 days. In addition, we strongly recommend an inspection of the house you are planning to buy. The estimated time to complete this step is around 10 days. By working with our team, you will be well advised to ensure that all these steps are carried out following the industry standards.

There is no fixed percentage to be obtained when negotiating a lower sale price of a property. In fact, each sale is unique and has its own characteristics. In the end, what matters is not the reduction you obtain compared to the starting price, but the actual price at which you can buy your house or condo.