Buying home or condominium is certainly one of the most rewarding experiences most of us ever have; it's also one of the most challenging.

If you're buying for the first time, the process may seem overwhelming. Even if you've been through it several times, every move is different, and presents new challenges.

One clear advantage of enlisting the help of Stephanie Simone, an experienced Caledon real estate agent, is simply that you don't have to "go it alone."
Stephanie delivers the highest level of real estate service. Let Stephanie Simone assist you with your search for your home or condo.
Stephanie will help you establish what you can afford and help you identify your price range.
Help you determine your needs and the features you will want to look for in a home or condo.
Inform you of current Caledon real estate market conditions as you search for your home or condo.
Assist you with aspects of your offer to purchase.
Assist you with details involved in closing the sale.

Every home purchase is a big step, no matter how often you move. It helps to be well informed so you're in a better position to make the right choices.

Making An Offer
When it comes time to make an offer, Stephanie can provide current market information and will assist you in drafting your offer.

Stephanie will communicate your offer, sometimes known as an Offer to Purchase*, to the seller, or the seller's representative, on your behalf. Sometimes there may be more than one offer on a property coming in at the same time. Stephanie can guide you through this process.

Offer to Purchase: a legal document which specifies the terms and conditions of your offer to purchase the home.

The offer can be Firm or Conditional

Acceptance of the Offer: your Offer to Purchase will be presented as soon as possible. The seller may accept the offer, reject it, or submit a counter-offer.

The counter-offer may be in reference to the price, the closing date, or any number of variables.

The offers can go back and forth until both parties have agreed or one of you ends the negotiations.

Planning a Move
Book the movers. You can choose to have the movers pack everything, or just the breakables, or you can pack yourself.
If you rent your present home:
Give necessary written notice to your landlord and make arrangements for the return of any monies you have on deposit.

At your "new" home:
Make arrangements for the gas and electric utilities, water softener, telephone and cable TV to be connected on the day the sale closes.

General:
Get “Change of Address” cards from the post office and send out well before moving day. Have mail forwarded to your new address.
Cancel any contracted services and pre-authorized cheques.
Inform gardening, dry cleaning, garbage pick-up, newspapers, magazines, and other home services. Arrange for service at your new address.
Obtain a letter of introduction from your current bank branch to help establish new accounts. Transfer trust or bank accounts and securities.
Cancel or transfer social, athletic, civic, religious or business affiliations and memberships.
Arrange for transfer of medical, dental, prescription and optical records.
Change the address on your driver’s license(s) effective the day of the move.
Collect all items out for cleaning, repair or storage. e.g. fur coats, dry cleaning.
Make special arrangements for the moving of perishables, such as plants.
Make special arrangements for the moving of your pets.
Dispose safely of all flammable liquids as it is illegal for movers to carry them.

Moving Costs - Vendor's Costs
Legal Fees: range from 1/2% to 1% of the sale price of the property plus disbursements. A Real Estate lawyer will provide you with details.
Real Estate Commission + 5% GST on commission.
Discharge of Mortgage: May be a penalty of three months' interest, the interest differential between an old and new mortgage or a combination of the above. Check with your lending institution.

Moving Costs - Purchaser's Costs
Legal Fees: Range from 1/2% to 1% of the sale price of the property plus disbursements. A Real Estate lawyer will provide you with details.
Disbursements: Include  Tax Certificate, Zoning Reports, Engineering Report, Sheriff's Certificate, Registry Office searches, deed registration, mortgage registration, copies, postage, long distance calls, etc.
Land Transfer Tax*:
  If under $55,000 multiply by $5 per $1000 (e.g. $40,000 x $5 per $1000 = $200)
  From $55,000 to $250,000, multiply by $10 per $1000 then subtract $275 (e.g. $200,000 x $10 per $1000 = $2000 - $275 = $1725)
  From $250,000 to $400,000, multiply by $15 per $1000 then subtract $1525 (e.g. $400,000 x $15 per $1000 = $6000 - $1525 = $4475)
  Over $400,000, multiply by $20 per $1000 then subtract $3525 (e.g. $500,000 x $20 per $1000 = $10,000 - $3525 = $6475)
*Special taxes apply to non-residents.

Survey: If no recent survey is available, a new one will cost approximately $700 - $1000. Fees for different properties vary.
Arranging the Mortgage: appraisal fee of about $200 plus administration fee of about $200 - $300. An up-to-date survey may be necessary.
Adjustments: Money owed pre-payment of taxes, hydro, gas, fuel oil, etc.
Home Inspection: Will cost between approximately $250 to $400

Most mortgages have the option to allow payments to be made on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. This option may be desirable for two reasons. The first is it can save you money as you can expect to pay off your mortgage about 4 years sooner. This can save you dramatically over the life of your mortgage. The other reason why these options are so popular is that if your employer pays you on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, you can simplify your budgeting by making the payment line up with the way you paid.

Paying extra amounts on your mortgage can make a big interest saving over time. When we select a mortgage company, privilege payments options are something that we look for. A 20% privilege payment will allow you to pay off up to $20,000 per year on a $100 000 mortgage. It is important that the privilege payment also be flexible to allow you to pay smaller payments on the mortgage and as often as you wish. An extra $1000 periodically paid on a mortgage can help you become mortgage free faster.

When you require a mortgage for more than 80% of the purchase price of a property, that mortgage must be insured by Canada Mortgage and Housing (CMHC) or GE Mortgage insurance. The premium charged by these company`s decreases as the down payment increases. When you finance your property at 95%, a premium of 3.75% is added to the mortgage. By increasing the down payment to 10% of the purchase price the premium can be reduced to 2.5%. If you can put down 20%, you can avoid any additional insurance fee. Depending on your situation there are ways that you can structure this financing to avoid the CMHC or GE insurance premium.

As mentioned above, when you put a 25% down payment on your purchase you can avoid the CMHC premium. More importantly the larger the down payment, the lower the amount of interest you will pay over the life of your mortgage. It is important to note that it may not be wise to stretch yourself to increase your down payment and end up borrowing on credit cards or a line of credit at a higher rate.

The options for mortgages available can be very confusing for most mortgage shoppers. Terms for mortgages vary between variable and fixed rate, 6-month terms to 10 year terms. Taking a variable or floating rate mortgage can have savings. Typically the shorter the term or guarantee of the rate, the lower the rate will be. This does not always happen, depending on the market place and the economy, but history has shown that short-term rates tend to be lower than long-term rates. The up side of variable rate is the strong potential for interest rate savings. The down side is the fact that you are accepting the interest rate risk without a guarantee. If you are considering a variable rate mortgage you need to look at your own risk tolerance, and your cash flow available to deal with potential increased payment. Considering projections of rates and where we see interest rates heading can also be important in this decision. Make sure you talk to an expert when you are making this decision.