Home Buying Guide
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Finding The Right Home Cont'd
Buying on your own or with a real estate agent. You may prefer to find your new home on your own. Check newspaper ads regularly and follow up with calls and visits to those builders who sound promising. A great resource that most builder’s offer these days is a website that generally includes community information, amenities, model floorplans, photos, virtual tours (great way to view their showhome models before visiting them), programs and services, and more. Drive around in your chosen area(s) and look for "for sale" signs. Most importantly, visit builders' model homes to get a good impression of what is available in your price range. Talk with builders and their sales representatives. Take notes and compare. Once you have decided on a builder and a model, you will usually work directly with the builder and/or sales representative on the offer (with guidance from your lawyer).
Working with a real estate agent can reduce some of the initial research time. Most builders will pay a "finder's fee" to real estate agents, however, many builders prefer their clients to work directly with them or their sales representative when the time comes to prepare an offer.
Get The Home You Want. You should consider carefully what you need and want in a new home. Then make a list of what you "must have" versus what is "nice to have", always keeping your financial resources in mind. Discuss your priorities, needs and dreams with your builder and sales representative. They will be able to make suggestions to help stretch your budget and get you the greatest value for your money.
- How many years do you plan to live in your new home? Do you expect the number of people living in the home to grow over the years, or to decrease?
- How big must your home be? How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need? Ideally want?
- Do you plan to rent out part of the house to a boarder or tenant?
- Examine your lifestyle. Do you need areas for formal entertainment? An eat-in kitchen? Bedrooms that are isolated from the main living areas? Which rooms do you spend the most time in?
- How much storage space do you need?
- Do you need a finished basement with work or play areas?
- Does anyone in the household have special needs that must be addressed, such as mobility challenges or environmental sensitivities (allergies)?
- Do you wish to upgrade some of the builder's standard choices for flooring, kitchen cupboards and bathroom fixtures?
- Are there "special features" that you have always dreamed about? You don't want to exceed your budget when making decisions about your new home. At the same time, it is wise to look ahead if you intend to stay in the house for a number of years. Installing a skylight or a great window, for instance, is much less costly when the house is first being built than five years later.
Source: Calgary Region Home Builders' Association
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