The next step is a careful look at your finances with your lender. At The Moore Group, we work with a team of mortgage brokers who are experts in their field, handling thousands of transactions per year. The first step is to meet with them and get a clear view of what you can afford. This will take into account the expenses of owning and operating a home as well as current and future interest rates.

During this stage, we recommend starting an online home search with your REALTOR® using very broad criteria. This helps you to become familiar with general pricing in the market and start to get a sense of what you like.

We know that there’s no chance that this wasn’t step one for you, and we love that. But now that you have the dollars and cents figured out, it’s time to revisit that list now that you know your exact budget.

Once you’ve seen some inventory online, you might also be more clear on deal breakers— condo vs house, turn-key vs fixer-upper, garage, finished basement, etc, so it’s also time to tighten up the criteria on your online search and shift from seeing trends to seeing homes that are real contenders for you.

Then the fun part starts— it’s time to go see some houses!

Touring houses can be fun, tiresome, exciting and demoralizing all at once. We get it. Trust your gut, communicate with your REALTOR® and try to enjoy the process. Sometimes it takes one tour, sometimes it takes twenty tours, but eventually, you will find the right home.

This is where your fun and friendly REALTOR® suddenly turns into all business. There’s lots to consider and it is critical to get it right.

First up, how much cash do you need? Your deposit amount is a cheque you submit with the offer; usually $5000- $25,000 depending on the purchase price of the home. Your downpayment amount is the percentage of the home you are paying for with your own cash, which amounts to the payment you made as the deposit plus another payment just prior to possession. So if you are purchasing a home for $450,000 with 10% down ($45,000 total), you will give a deposit of $10,000 with the offer, and then provide the rest of the 10% ($35,000) at closing.

If your offer is not accepted, or you do not satisfy your conditions, the deposit money is returned to you.

Secondly, what are you asking to be included in the sale? Appliances and window coverings are usually standard—but not always. Your REALTOR® will discuss this with you in detail.

Next, possession day. Believe it or not, possession dates have broken up a lot of deals. This is again why you need a savvy and skillful REALTOR®. to navigate this for you.

Conditions are up next. There is no limit to the number of conditions that can be placed on an offer, but the two that are most common are financing and inspection. You will have had a plan in place with your REALTOR® about the best strategy when it comes to these conditions long before you are putting pen to paper on an offer.

We specialize in crafting offers that are desirable to the vendors that still meet your needs as a buyer, but some offers do get rejected. In our experience, every time that happens, the buyers end up finding something they like better and end up feeling grateful that other offer didn’t work out.

If you made a conditional offer, you will then have the number of days you agreed to in the offer to satisfy your conditions. Your REALTOR® will guide you through this process but do not delay, as there is no guarantee that the vendor will give you an extension if you have not organized your satisfaction in time. Once you satisfy your conditions, the deal becomes a final sale and you can celebrate!

The countdown to possession is busy but exciting. Our office will have sent you checklists for changing your address, as well as our recommendations for movers, lawyers, locksmiths, etc.

• 4 weeks ahead: Book your movers. Gather cardboard boxes & start packing one box a day.

• 3 weeks ahead: Arrange home insurance. Set up service calls for internet/TV etc for possession day.

• 2 weeks ahead: Make sure you have an appointment booked with your real estate lawyer for a few days before possession date. Arrange your mail forwarding with Canada Post and start working on your change of address

• 1 week ahead: Re-confirm your movers, kick the packing into high gear.

Closing: This is a meeting with your real estate lawyer a couple of days before possession. You will need to have home insurance set up before this meeting. The lawyer will give you the total amount of money you’ll need, which will include the balance of your deposit, the amount of property tax on the home for the portion of the year that you’ll own it, your CMHC premium (if applicable), your land transfer tax, and your legal fees and disbursements. You’ll have to get a certified cheque for this amount; once you’ve handed that bad boy over to the lawyer, you’ll collect the keys and get ready to move!

Possession Day: Take gas and hydrometer readings, check that all appliances work (let us know ASAP if not!), move in and enjoy. We highly recommend champagne and pizza for your first dinner in your new home. Congrats!

The single most important thing when you’re buying a home is the location, location, location, and location.

Here’s why:

1.     Good neighbourhoods will be good investments. You can get lucky in a transitional neighbourhood if the neighbourhood improves and values go up. But it can go the other way as well, and gambling with the family home and your biggest asset is pretty risky.

2.     Your lifestyle is important. Driving to work, school, or to visit friends and family gets old a lot faster than people think it will. Every year we do dozens of home purchases for people that want to move closer to work or school. Your future self will thank you if pick a house in a location that is truly going to work for your family both short and long term, avoiding another move down the line.

3.     Another rule of thumb in real estate is that it’s better to be the worst house on the best street than the best house on the worst street. Real estate values rise like a water level—your house’s value is linked to the value of the houses around you, so your home’s value will rise at a faster rate if the houses around you are better than yours. Buying a house that is below-average also gives you room to invest in the home by making improvements to build equity.

You just bought a new home! Congrats!! This time is busy and exciting. Here’s a timeline of what to do to get ready.

4 weeks ahead: Book your movers. Gather cardboard boxes & start packing one box a day.

3 weeks ahead: Arrange home insurance. Set up service calls for internet/TV installation for possession day.

2 weeks ahead: Make sure you have an appointment booked with your real estate lawyer for a few days before possession date. Arrange your mail forwarding with Canada Post and start working on your change of address.

1 week ahead: Re-confirm your movers, kick the packing into high gear.

Closing Day: This is a meeting with your real estate lawyer a couple of days before possession. You will need to have home insurance set up before this meeting. The lawyer will give you the total amount of money you’ll need to bring to the appointment (in a certified cheque), which will include your down payment, property tax, CMHC premium (if applicable), land transfer tax, and legal fees and disbursements. Then you’ll collect the keys and get ready to move!

Moving Day: When you get to the home, take photos of the readings on the water, gas and hydro meters, and then check that all the appliances are working and that everything that was included with the sale is there. Once everything is clear, focus on moving in and unpacking!

The next week: Set up accounts with Manitoba Hydro and Winnipeg Water and Waste and provide the readings you took on possession date. Work on your change of address ( https://www.themooregroup.ca/blog/2019/02/13/2019-2-13-changing-your-address-in-manitoba ).

Otherwise, meet your neighbours, and enjoy your new home.

One of the hardest things about buying real estate is knowing when to go for it.

Over the years, I’ve seen countless people wait on a home only to wake up the next morning ready to write an offer-- only to find out that it sold last night. The other thing that can happen is that in the meantime there’s another offer in the mix, which means that we’re now in a position of having to compete for the home, ie: pay thousands more for the home than if we had just written the offer before someone else came to the table.  

The reality is that “sleeping on it” can result in either losing a home or having to pay more to get it.

So how do you become more decisive? Well, it’s easier said than done, but after all my years in the business, I have some suggestions:

First, you need to check in on your expectations. The biggest barrier to being decisive is the idea that you’re going to find a home that is 100% perfect. One of the biggest secrets in real estate is that no house is ever 100% perfect, even with an unlimited budget. Even if you love it, you really wanted a 6-car garage instead of 5, you wanted it facing West, not North West, and it’s a 15 minute commute from work, but you wanted the commute to be under 10 mins.

No matter what, something won’t be right on every home. The first step to being decisive is to quit asking yourself “is this home perfect” and start asking “does this home make sense?” If the home makes sense, then this could be the one. 

Secondly, focus on the macro features of the home, not the micro details. Layout and location are the most important, paint colour and countertops are not. If the macros make sense for you, then we might be on the right track.

Thirdly, ask yourself what is the worst thing that will happen if you buy this house. Forcing yourself to name the concerns can really help to put them in context. Sometimes the process stops here, but often you realize that the fears are either manageable or they are unlikely enough that they shouldn’t hold you back.

Lastly, visualize yourself living in the home. What does breakfast look like? How about Thanksgiving dinner, or a child’s birthday party? If you’re getting excited about what your life would look like in this home, then we’re really on the right track.

I’m not a fan of “sleeping on it” for the same reasons above- the risk of losing a good home or having to pay more for it. But I’m not a fan of rushing decision-making either.

If you just saw a home that you’re seriously considering, rather than “sleeping on it,” I recommend “eating on it.” Go for lunch or dinner, without your kids or other influences. Ask yourselves these four questions:

1.     Does the house make sense?

2.     Do the macro features of the house work for us?

3.     What is the worst thing that will happen if we make an offer on this house today?

4.     What would our life look like if we bought this house today?

That discussion should take you about as long as it takes to have a meal together.

If the answer at the end of the meal is yes, then call your realtor and start working out the mechanics of the offer.

If the answer is no, then back to the drawing board.

If you are seriously considering the home, make sure you loop your realtor in for their opinion. Recall that your realtor has seen thousands of homes, and their entire job is to be familiar with availability, value, and costs in real estate. If they tell you “this is a good one,” they mean it. Sometimes it does really help to go back again for another look. If you’re not 100% sure, ask your realtor to book you in for another showing.

However, if after all that you’re still not clear, ask yourself this fifth question: How will we feel if we wake up tomorrow and find out the house is sold? If you wouldn’t care, there’s your answer, but if you would be sad or disappointed, that’s also your answer.