Articles-Buying your first home. Is it your dream home?

Walk this way!

Stepping stones are needed to reach your dream home! If you build upon it, it will come. Dreams are made up of individual stepping stones and your first home does not have to be your DREAM come true- to make the ultimate fantasy home part of your reality. Everyone who has ever set out to buy a house invariably begins with an ideal in mind. A cute, clapboard cottage behind a picket fence; a rambling ranch-style waterfront house; possibly a geodesic dome. It's the dream home that resides deep within the human psyche.

But how do you get it on a limited budget?

START by getting a realistic, real-estate agent's advise. Jaclyn will start you on the right path to this journey! This is not to burst your bubble, but rather help you gain leverage, one step at a time!Too many times a young couple starts out with the idea of a dream home and one of the sad jobs of a realisit real-estate agent is to make people see the market for what it is, what it can offer, and where YOUR entry point lies!

Often buyers wants to buy more than they can afford. Getting preapproved, working out mortgage details, insurance guidelines and monthly or weekly payment options, are all perfect places to start your search. Knowing what you can afford before you start looking, is an excellent preliminary step!

Limited funds should never stop a buyer from seeking a gem of a home. Limited funds should never stop a buyer from seeking a gem of a home

Once finances are in order, Jaclyn will start by researching the market, giving you prospect matches often 24 hours before they go on mls.ca.. It is key to note it doesn't have to be a dream home the first time around. A first home is not for life. It is a path upon the journey. It's all about moving up. Our first car isn't our dream car, is it?

Some people want places that are completely renovated, but buying a house that needs work is often the way to go. If a first-time buyer gets a home that needs some renovation, he can spread the work over a period of time and make it into a dream home, realizing a great return on their investment.

Many buyers face a dilemma. They know they can buy in the city and get the benefits of living in the city, such as not having to commute to work. Buying in Toronto you are faced with double land transfer taxes.Alternatively, they know they can get more bang for the buck outside the GTA. So location is always a factor you should consider when looking for the right house. Knowing what you can afford is crucial befor you begin to seek out the right property. Consider as well, your dream home today, is going to be quite different from what it will be tomorrow - and it should be.

You shall evolve, family structures, jobs, preferences, areas, shall all change. First-time buyers, with a strict budget, and a wish list of the characteristics they want in a house, should consider removing what can be added later. Changes and add ons, can be completed in a few years as finances permit. It's better to have a nice house in the location that you want, and to add things like a sunporch or bigger baseboards or to pull up carpeting and replace it with hardwood.

Homeowners are the ones who put the dream into the house.

Homeowners are the ones who put the dream into the house. You buy it for sizeand the rest, you personalize. Otherwise, you're buying someone else's dream. Size does not always matter! Create your budget and be ready for the commitment. Dream homes exist in all price ranges. I encourage first time buyers to buy the smallest fish in a large pond and then work on the house, rather than buying a white elephant that has been over-renovated for its location.

Buying a house that is well within your means will enable you to have enough cash to improve the property. Once you make the improvements, the house will become a dream home.You will create the leverage you need to move on and start on the next stepping stone in this ongoing journey

CREATE LEVERAGE!

Start with one step at a time and gain leverage each stop point along the way to finally reaching a realistic DREAM HOME, you can afford and comfortably grow old in. Location, timing, patience, and smart buying and selling, are all key ingredients in this recipe! If your appetite is ready to take a bite out of the first step to your dream, call Jaclyn for reality in realty!