Now that you’ve made your decision to buy a home, whether it be buying a home in Mississauga, Milton, Oakville, the search process is now a shopping adventure. Determine what you want or don’t want in your house, neighbourhood, etc. Do you want to buy a house in Streetsville? Lorne Park? What kind of Mississauga homes for sale are appealing to your family? Detached home in Mississauga or condominiums in Toronto? Searching online makes things easier because you can see all the different options available on the market.
The shopping process isn’t as long as you may fear. After setting out standards and things that you want or don’t want in your house, your real estate agent should refine the search to houses that match your requirements. The buying process has been simplified.
Now to go see the qualified list of homes that fit your requirements, you should see 6-7 houses at most in one day. It’s easy to fall “in love” with houses that look nice or is in a nice neighbourhood. Wait until you see all the scheduled showings before making a haste decision. Bring a digital camera and take pictures of the good and bad of each property. Take a picture of the front yard (including the house number) so when reviewing the pictures, you know where the pictures of each property begins and ends.
Take notes of each house you see. Make a list of features, colours and designs of each house. Immediately viewing each property, rate them 1-10 so you can get the best memory of the houses you’ve seen. Notice the surroundings and neighbourhoods. Are there large buildings beside your house? Are there parks nearby? Schools or commercial buildings?
After viewing the qualified properties, try and preview the top few properties that stood above the rest. Refining the search even more is important because this will be the largest investment you’ll ever make. Having said that, you can always find a better home later on if your goals and requirements change (ie. baby, job, family, etc).
Buying a house is a buyer’s choice, not the real estate agent.
Your real estate agent should help refine your search, set up the showing appointments, find important information on the properties, and ultimately help you feel confident in the property that you want to buy.
So therefore, find a real estate agent that acts in your best interest!