Ultimate Guide to Buying Your Dream Home

Choosing your dream home is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make in your life. Finding a home that complements your lifestyle, income, and preferences is no easy task. Buying a house in Vancouver can be stressful and confusing. With so many different types of homes to choose from in the city, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. Instating the help of a knowledgeable Real Estate Agent to make the process run smoothly.

Whether you’re a first time buyer, or simply need advice, here’s a guide to help you understand the home buying process.

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE HOME BUYING PROCESS

1. Get pre-approved for a home loan
2. Choose a Realtor
3. Make an offer
4. Conduct a home inspection
5. Remove subjects
6. Hire a lawyer or notary
7. Completion and legal ownership
8. Gain possession and move in

You can, and will, hire people to help you with many of those steps. But something very important happens between step 1 and step 2 – you need to do your research.

Doing your research before you even start your house hunt is critical if you want to find ‘the one’. The main thing to distinguish in your research are your needs versus wants. These are some things you’ll want to consider so that you can find your dream home with ease.

WHAT KIND OF HOME DO YOU WANT?

Are you interested in single family, condo, or townhome? What about the age of the property? Do you want something that is move-in ready, or are you prepared to do some renovations in order to stretch your budget? Do some research on what type of features different homes offer so that we can narrow down your search.

PROPERTY SIZE AND LAYOUT

The trick when finding your dream home is figuring out how much space you truly need. There’s the obvious thing like the number of bedrooms and how many cars can be parked on the property, but not all square footage is created equal. Get into the nitty gritty details.

Do you want your main floor to be open plan, or individual rooms? Do you prefer a galley kitchen, or do you want an island space for entertaining?

Focus on a layout that works best for you.

CONSIDER THE COMMUTE

Do you need a car to get to work? Are you going to be taking transit? Are there any career changes in your near future that could alter this element? This is a particularly important thing to consider in 2022 as we emerge from a post-pandemic state; are you working from home or going back to the office? Perhaps a bit of both? Do a test run before committing to a certain area that you may be unfamiliar with.

NEIGHBOURHOOD COMMUNITY

Consider your lifestyle today, and where you think it may be in the future. With such a large investment it’s important you find a neighbourhood that suits your needs. You’ll pick up a lot just by visiting the neighbourhood. Walking, shopping, and spending time in coffee shops talking to the locals will help you decide if it’s a good fit for you.

WALKING SCORE

How important is it to you to be walking distance to things like schools, groceries, and entertainment? Think of what you want or need to be close to.

Walk score is a statistical measure that you will find readily available on all property listing sheets. Points are awarded based on the distance to amenities in each category. Amenities within a 5-minute walk are given maximum points.

NON-NEGOTIABLES

Separate your needs from your wants as you go through all of the above details. Your budget is going to be highly influential in choosing your list of non-negotiables, so it’s important to be realistic. If you are a first-time home buyer, your first purchase may not be your dream home, but consider options that have potential. 

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Do you have your dream home written down on paper? You can now take your list of parameters to your Realtor who will be able to refine the search based on your needs. This will save you from countless weekends being spent at Open Houses and frees up your evenings from private showings because you will only be looking at properties that match the minimum requirements of your dream home.