What First Time Home Buyers Should Know About Mahogany
Buying a home can be scary. No matter how much you want to spend or where you are. Mahogany homes for sale are varied and a lot of what’s to offer are for first time home buyers. Whether it’s a condo by the lake or a front attached garage home. There is usually a Mahogany home for all price points and comfort levels.
First time home buyers should first think of their budget. Whether you’re buying a Mahogany home or anywhere in Calgary. You can’t start the process unless you know how much you can spend. Take a look at our mortgage calculator to give you a very rough idea.
The calculator is nice to get a rough idea. But you need to see a mortgage specialist to get pre-approved. This puts your mind at ease as a firs time home buyer. There area lot of Mahogany homes for sale and they all fall into many price levels. You get peace of mind by knowing your maximum budget and making sure you don’t offer more then you can afford.
There are also a few things first time home buyers should know about buying a home in Mahogany. What are deposits? Should you do inspections and what other conditions? Houses for sale in Mahogany are newer but you should make conditions and terms to make sure you get what you paid for. What about RPR’s? How long is the process in general?
This isn’t an exhaustive list on what first time home buyers ask us the most. But it’s a great start. We’ll touch on most of these points later in this article and explain things so you can be confident in buying a house in Mahogany.
Expectations. We’ll touch lightly on this but the conversation needs to be started. There are a lot of expectations from first time home buyers and sometimes people get disappointed. A lot Mahogany homes for sale can be on the upper side of many peoples budget. Getting your expectations aligned with the market is important. Plus expectations on timelines and what your real estate agent can and can’t do.
Let’s dive in and get your home buying journey started in the beautiful lake living neighborhood of Mahogany… or anywhere in Calgary.
Budget When Looking For A Mahogany Home For Sale
We know it’s a boring topic that most people don’t want to or like to talk about. Budget. Setting up a budget for your first time home purchase will ease a lot of stress and shorten the time to getting that first home.
The first thing you should do to see if you can afford any Mahogany homes for sale is to check a quick and simple calculator. Like this one. Just put in the price of a few homes you’ve seen on our Mahogany Homes For Sale website.
Let’s say $400,000. Then enter the down payment you want to put down. Usually 5%. So let’s put in $20,000. Then an interest rate. Go to wowa.ca/mortgage-rates. Pick a fixed rate or variable. Most firs time home buyers pick fixed and 5 years. Put that in and finally the amortization period. Enter 25 years. That’s typical.
At the bottom of the calculator you should see the monthly payments. Now this isn’t exact but it should give you a VERY good idea on how much you’ll pay for that price. It’s a great start.
Once you have an idea you can adjust things until you get the monthly payments and maximum house price you can afford. The next step is to speak to a mortgage specialist.
A mortgage specialist will take your financial information and get your pre-approved for a mortgage. This is the amount they are pretty confident you can get a loan for. Again, this is not 100% and people to get rejected once they apply but it’s rare. This is a must do step.
Without the pre-approval you are going to waste your time, get frustrated and waste all the people involved in the processes time too. Please get this done as step 2.
Call any mortgage person you like. It could be a big bank, credit union, a mortgage website or a mortgage broker. All are fine options. Choose what works for you. You want the best possible numbers for you. Some people need a certain interest rate and others need a longer amortization. We’ll touch on these topics more in another article.
Once you have the pre-approval you can be very confident that you can afford almost any Mahogany homes for sale. And if the numbers come in low. There are many other Calgary communities that might suite your budget.
One last thing about budgets. Mahogany homes for sale can be pricey. It’s a lake community and it’s won community of the year many times. You might be tempted to use your ENTIRE budget. Don’t. Try to stay 10% below to give you some cushion.
Things happen in life and you don’t want to end up working just to have a home and can’t enjoy life. If you are pre-approved for $400,000 try to only use $360,000 of that for your mortgage. 10% less. Its nice to have a cushion in case things don’t work out.
A well planned budget with a pre-approval can really get you started on the right foot and take some of the stress and scary factor away from buying your first home.
What Mahogany First Time Home Buyers Should Know
There are a lot of things going on in a real estate transaction. Most of them are handled by your real estate agent and lawyer. That’s the good news. The bad news is there’s thing you need to know about purchasing your first Mahogany home.
First thing is a deposit. You have to have cash on hand to put down as a deposit. That means liquid money in a bank account ready to put down. It’s up to you how much you want to put down as a deposit. 2-3% is a good range for most transactions.
A certified check is the best way to give this deposit to the selling real estate agent. As long as you don’t waive all your conditions for buying a home then you can get your deposit back easily. But if you waive conditions then you could lose your deposit.
What are conditions you ask? Conditions are items on the sales contract that you need to satisfy. Like a financing condition or inspection condition. Many Mahogany homes for sale are newer but an inspection is a great idea.
You can get someone to look over the home and make sure everything is in order. A financial condition is also a great idea. This gives your mortgage specialist time to get your finances in order.
There are also conditions that make the seller wait until your home is sold before the sale is final. A condition to look over condo documents if you’re buying a Mahogany condo. And you can add many others. The main thing is that the sale of the home isn’t final until the buyer waives ALL conditions.
Even if you waive 3 of 4 conditions and not the last one the sale is NOT final and you can get your deposit back. If you waive them all then you are on the hook for the home and have to finish the sale.
Conditions are there to protect the buyer and make sure you have everything in order so the sale goes through. We strongly advise on the financing condition at the least. This protects your deposit in case your mortgage isn’t approved.
Something similar to conditions is terms on a sales contract. Terms are like conditions but less severe. What we mean is that if the terms aren’t followed the sale still has to go through. While conditions ALL have to be waived for the sale to go through.
A example term would be something like… Let’s say you bought one of the beautiful Mahogany homes for sale. But you notice the seller has a couple of large dogs and the carpet is dirty but in good shape.
You could put in a term that says the seller will professionally clean the carpet before you take the home. If they don’t you can keep $500 dollars.
That would be a simple term. It has to be written much more clearly than that so your lawyer can execute it. But you get the idea. Another term could be that you want access to the house 3 times before possession date (the date you take the home as yours).
Terms can be almost anything. As long as both parties agree. It’s a great way to add little items that aren’t deal killers but are important.
Mahogany Homes & Your Expectations
When looking for those perfect Mahogany homes for sale there is one crucial thing that needs to be talked about and discussed. Expectations. After selling hundreds of homes to first time home buyers in Mahogany and Calgary we noticed something. Expectations are very high.
Expectations from the real estate agent, the lawyer, the inspector, the mortgage broker and even yourself. This can make the first time home buying process difficult for you. When expectations get trampled on you feel terrible and almost no one is satisfied in the transaction. The best way to counter this to set realistic expectations.
There are a few expectations you should think about. Once you’re pre-approved you need to set your expectations on what kind of home you can afford. Mahogany homes for sale aren’t the least expensive in Calgary so you cold be priced right out of that community. Or maybe you can only afford a condo but want a double attached garage.
A formula for dissatisfaction would be wanting a home you can’t possibly afford or maybe even need. Staying in your budget and looking at Mahogany homes that make sense for you.
Another expectation is from your real estate agent. They want you to buy a home and be happy with the outcome. Customer service is everything to most agents. But that doesn’t mean they are on call 24/7 or will call you back instantly.
Most real estate agents work with many clients at once. Being realistic in what a Realtor can do for you is key. This goes for lawyers, mortgage specialists and inspectors.
And finally your expectations with yourself. Be easy on yourself and the whole process. We’ve seen clients stress out and get upset with everything.
From their significant others to the lawyers. If you got some of your ducks in a row as mentioned above you should have a fun and easy time looking for a home.
Looking For Homes For Sale Should Be Fun
Looking at homes with your real estate agent and going through the whole process should be fun. Especially for first time home buyers. There will be stressful times along the way. A good Realtor will make sure those are at a minimum.
No matter where you look for a home. Whether you buy a Mahogany home for sale or in Auburn Bay or another amazing Calgary community. Keep in mind that this process should be fun and exciting. Keep an open mind and listen to the professionals you hired to help.
Just remember to budget and get pre-approved. Education yourself on the basics of deposits and conditions so you’re prepared to make an offer. Lower your expectations a bit on yourself and the professionals you hire.
Being a first time home buyer can be scary and stressful but it doesn’t have to be. It can be fun and exciting. It’s up to you how the whole process works out. Good Luck!