Buying My First Home in Calgary
Buying my first home came with a lot of different emotions. We were excited but also nervous and stressed. In today’s blog post I will share everything I felt and learned as I navigated the process of buying my first home.
My name is Julia Carvalho. I am 22 years old, and I just bought my first home in June of 2021.
How it started…
I have always known I wanted to buy a house sooner than later. I hated paying rent - it felt like I was throwing money away and not doing what I could be to be building my own wealth. I knew that if I purchased a home that at least I would be paying my own mortgage and not someone else’s! My boyfriend and I saved our money hoping we would buy a house in 2021… but we were unsure if we would meet the other requirements of purchasing a home.
My Worries…
As first-time home buyers, many concerns crossed our minds as we ventured into this new world of homeownership:
We were both young immigrants who recently became Canadian Residents, who were still trying to figure out life in this new country.
We worried about stories we’d heard about hidden fees and scams that can happen in the Real Estate and Mortgage process
We worried we wouldn’t find the right home, and if we did, we worried we wouldn’t be able to afford it!
The Money!
When it comes to obtaining a mortgage to purchase a home in Alberta, we had to figure out the differences between using a bank and using a mortgage broker. My family had used their bank, it seemed that everyone felt more comfortable sharing their personal information with the bank they were currently working with.
My boyfriend and I liked the idea of working with a mortgage broker because we were able to connect with her via phone, text and email and she made herself available on evenings and weekends. We also liked the transparency that came with working with a broker - we were able to obtain quotes from multiple lenders and make sure we were obtaining a competitive rate.
For many of the same reasons, we reached out to our Realtor, Sean Galway, from REPYYC Re/max First who had done an AWESOME job helping our family purchase their home last year. We knew we could trust his word and whoever he recommended to be part of the biggest purchase of our lives. Sean recommended Renee Huse from Spire Mortgage Team, and it was the best decision ever to engage her for our mortgage application.
With Renee & Sean representing us, we obtained a great purchase price for our home and a very competitive mortgage rate. All our worries went away the moment we video chatted Renee: the security and affirmation she gave us while we explained our financial information and long term goals helped make the home buying journey together enjoyable and stress free.
Looking for homes (the fun part)!
Let me tell you the house market was crazy in Spring 2021. Due to low mortgage rates and people confined to home during COVID, many Canadians decided to rework their housing circumstances this year. It made it very difficult for us to find a home that would work for us. Yes… we were picky but remember this is the house you will supposedly live in for 25 years! We wanted to make sure that it checked a lot of our boxes!
Some of the properties we wanted to see conditionally sold in less than 6 hours, this did not even give us time to get a viewing. When we were able to see the homes, we made offers with a dozen other people that were interested in purchasing the property. The whole process can be overwhelming, and it might feel like you are not getting anywhere. With Sean Galway by our side to represent us as a realtor we knew we were in great hands, and we would find our home sooner than later. Let me tell you, he had extraordinary patience and perseverance as he lead us through the home search.
Eventually, we saw a house online that had just been listed for sale that morning. We could not risk losing this home, so we made a time for a viewing as soon as possible. We made an offer, and it was accepted! We were conditionally the “owners” of this home!
The whole process took us about 1 month of daily research and saw around 15 homes to find “the one.” Now it was time to solidify that mortgage!
The Condition Period:
After your offer gets accepted, you will have to send in your “deposit.” Your realtor will be able to assist you with this step. This deposit it FULLY refundable if you decide not to “waive” your conditions of financing and home inspection. These are 2 key conditions that should be included in every home purchase.
If you were “pre approved” for a mortgage, there should not be much work left to obtain the mortgage approval now. Your mortgage broker will be able to assist you to make sure that your “live deal” makes it to the lender right away. It takes about 5 business days to hear back from the lender. Remember that when you’re pre approved, you should have a comfort level that you will be approved for the mortgage, but when you choose a property the lender has to confirm that they will lend to you for that specific property.
A Home Inspection is when an inspector comes to the home to analyze the structural and mechanical integrity of the home you want to purchase. This is a key point of the conditional status: you can back away from the deal should any significant issues arise during the inspection. We utilized Jason Chow Home Inspection as he was the one who did the inspection for my parents’ home as well. Jason is so detailed, he explains everything as he goes and will teach you some new things about the home you are purchasing as he moves through the inspection. He provided us with a detailed report at the end of the inspection, it helped us to understand the home we were purchasing and made some great points.
With our mortgage in place and a successful home inspection - we decided to “waive” our conditions and move forward with our home purchase.
Firming up the deal and signing at the lawyers office.
For all real estate related purchases, you will need a lawyer. We utilized Summit Legal Group- Sean Green who provided an excellent service. Sean was so thorough during the appointment and makes sure all the answers get answered. He gave us tips and made sure all documents were in order to make sure all funds would go through on closing day without any issue. We wanted someone who would be transparent and straightforward with anything we needed to watch out for, and Sean Green was our go to. He had previously represented my family during their purchase and once again, the process was smooth.
What we learned
Although our home buying process was great, we feel like we learned a few things along the way and might do a few things differently next time. We wanted to share a few of our key takeaways so that any first time home buyers reading this blog might think a little harder about a few of these points!
1. Bank vs Broker
This is your very own decision. Relative to our parent’s purchase, we noticed a few advantages of working with a broker. Your broker will be always available for a call to answer any questions you might have. You are their priority, and they will do their best to fairly and transparently represent you. You do not need to make appointments at any bank, and every time you call, you’re dealing with the same person. They take the time to know you and understand your specific situation and long term real estate goals. We feel that the option to submit our deal to multiple lenders ended up with a superior rate. Working with Renee at Spire Mortgage Team gave us access to over 200 lenders, if we needed them. We’re happy that because our rate was low, our monthly payments are low and we’re putting the maximum amount of money back into our OWN pockets each month.
2. Variable vs Fixed rates
We were persuaded by our own selves to go with a fixed rate because we wanted the security of having the same rate for 5 years. Without even looking at the variable rates, we made the automatic, impulsive decision to go with a low fixed rate. Learning more about mortgages and rates, we feel maybe we should have spent more time researching variable and fixed rates. I would encourage you to do some due diligence before making a knee jerk reaction to fixed rates. Variable rates come with lower payout penalties and are currently the “cheapest money” in the industry.
We would not change any of the people we chose to represent us: our realtor Sean Galway with REP YYC Re/max First; our broker Renee Huse with Spire Mortgage Team; Jason Chow for our home inspection; and our lawyer Sean Green with Summit Legal Group. These individuals made the process of buying a house more comforting and less overwhelming and we would not be happier with the timing and energy they invest in their clients.
