Step 1 — Is Homeownership Right for You?

Buying a home is one of the biggest financial and lifestyle decisions you will make, so it pays to make an informed decision by first looking at the main advantages and disadvantages of homeownership.

Step 2 — Are You Financially Ready?

In this Step you will find a number of simple calculations that will help you evaluate your current financial situation and determine how much house you can afford and the maximum price that you should be considering.

Step 3 — How Much Will It Really Cost?

After you have calculated the maximum home price you can afford, you will need to calculate the up-front costs and expenses associated with buying a home to make sure you are financially prepared.

Step 4 — What Should You Buy?

Before you start searching for a home you need to think about your current and future housing needs and what characteristics are important to you in a home.

Step 5 — What Professionals Should You Call On?

This Step describes the roles played by the professionals you will call on in the homebuying process: real estate agent, mortgage broker, lawyer/notary, inspector, insurance broker. This guide for newcomers tothe Canadian housing market, written in clear English, has everything needed tounderstand how to rent or buy a home.

Step 6 — How Can You Find the Right Home?

If you have decided that you are ready to start your search, this Step offers information on ways to find the home that is right for you, useful tips for your search and Home Hunting worksheets.

Step 7 — Ready to Buy?

Once you find the home you would like to buy, you will need to present the vendor with an Offer to Purchase or Agreement of Purchase and Sale. This Step describes the Offer to Purchase process.

Step 8 — The Final Steps

Describes the final steps in the homebuying process: things you will need to do on closing day, and how to hire and work with a moving company.

Step 9 — Is There More to Homebuying?

The real financial responsibilities of homeownership begin when you take possession of your new home; you will need to budget for mortgage payments, ongoing operating costs and an emergency fund.

Step 10 — Tips on Home Repair and Maintenance

This section offers useful tips for new homeowners on home repair, maintenance and renovations, and discusses the importance of security and fire safety. Also includes a practical Maintenance Calendar.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT AGENT FOR YOU:

MUHAMMAD HUSSAIN
CELL: (416) 318-5264
EMAIL: Kamranhussain@rogers.com

Most mortgages have the option to allow payments to be made on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This option may be desirable for two reasons. The first is it can save you money as you can expect to pay off your mortgage about 4 years sooner. This can save you dramatically over the life of your mortgage. The other reason why these options are so popular is that if your employer pays you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you can simplify your budgeting by making the payment line up with the way you paid.

FOR FURTHER DETAILS CONTACT AGENT FOR YOU:

MUHAMMAD HUSSAIN
CELL: (416) 318-5264
EMAIL: Kamranhussain@rogers.com

Paying extra amounts on your mortgage can make a big interest saving over time. When we select a mortgage company, privilege payments options are something that we look for. A 20% privilege payment will allow you to pay off up to $20,000 per year on a $100 000 mortgage. It is important that the privilege payment also be flexible to allow you to pay smaller payments on the mortgage and as often as you wish. An extra $1000 periodically paid on a mortgage can help you become mortgage free faster.

When you require a mortgage for more than 75% of the purchase price of a property, that mortgage must be insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) or GE Mortgage insurance. The premium charged by these company`s decreases as the down payment increases. When you finance your property at 95%, a premium of 2.75% is added to the mortgage. By increasing the down payment to 10% of the purchase price the premium can be reduced to 2.5%. If you can put down 25%, you can avoid any additional insurance fee. Depending on your situation there are ways that you can structure this financing to avoid the CMHC or GE insurance premium.

As mentioned above, when you put a 25% down payment on your purchase you can avoid the CMHC premium. More importantly the larger the down payment, the lower the amount of interest you will pay over the life of your mortgage. It is important to note that it may not be wise to stretch yourself to increase your down payment and end up borrowing on credit cards or a line of credit at a higher rate.

The options for mortgages available can be very confusing for most mortgage shoppers. Terms for mortgages vary between variable and fixed rate, 6-month terms to 10 year terms. Taking a variable or floating rate mortgage can have savings. Typically the shorter the term or guarantee of the rate, the lower the rate will be. This does not always happen, depending on the market place and the economy, but history has shown that short-term rates tend to be lower than long-term rates. The up side of variable rate is the strong potential for interest rate savings. The down side is the fact that you are accepting the interest rate risk without a guarantee. If you are considering a variable rate mortgage you need to look at your own risk tolerance, and your cash flow available to deal with potential increased payment. Considering projections of rates and where we see interest rates heading can also be important in this decision. Make sure you talk to an expert when you are making this decision.