Purchasing a house has two speeds, very slow and then super fast. Just be prepared for how quick things will move once you find a place to make an offer on. If you have a friend who knows anything about building houses, have them do a casual inspection on top of your paid home inspection. They will probably notice very different things. Also good luck!
This can't be stressed enough. All the other crap is pretty easy and straight forward IMO…
interest rates, house prices, what you can afford and such.
But, you get a house that has an issue you may not know about it till you go to sell and
they new buyers are smart enough to hire their own inspector. DON'T ask you agent to get
an inspector for you. A good inspector is more important than a good RE agent. While I
haven't been screwed yet, there were some things I've found in my present house that I
would have been a bargaining chip when making an offer, or reducing the price on the offer
I originally made.
Your house will cost you at least $200,000 (probably closer to $400K), spending $200-
300 for a proper inspector is nothing. If he/she finds a major issue or even a minor
one that would make you not want the house, it's worth it.
Remember a inspector that is hired by a RE agent is working for the agent (for all intents
and purposes). Basically an inspector that finds a lot of issues will not be hired by
that agent again, and if he makes a habit out of it, no agent will hire them.
Remember your agent wants to sell you a house, they want to make a sale. They really
don't care about saving you money, just giving you the "perception" that they did.
Do your own research…mls.ca is a good place to start. Look at what people are asking
and what kind of houses they're asking. Make your offers accordingly. Read freakanomics
to give you a better idea of RE agents incentives and motives. They're not malicious
just greed driven.
The less you pay, the less they make.
The average person will spend more time researching ski's or a new phone than they do
a house purchase. It's seems so overwhelming most people put all their faith in their
RE agent and think he/she will do everything to help them. While most RE agents aren't
as greasy as car salesmen, their motives and incentives are.
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"i surf because, i"m always a better person when i come in"-Andy Irons
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