Step-by-Step Guide to Buying a Home in Calgary

By Jason Todd, Calgary REALTOR®

Buying a home in Calgary is more than clicking through listings online. Below is the full flow from mortgage pre-approval through possession day, plus the prep pieces that keep you from wasting time or writing weak offers.

Browse live listings on Calgary MLS Search, or read How Selling Works if you are buying and selling at the same time.

How Do I Buy a Home? Here's the Basic Flow

We will get to the key elements of buying a property, but here is basically how it all flows.

1. Get pre-approved and choose your REALTOR®. After speaking to your mortgage broker you know exactly how much you are approved to spend, and you have researched and chosen the best REALTOR® for you.

2. Sign the documents to make it all go. Here is some of what will need to be filled out initially:

• Consumer Relationship Guide - This shows the different types of relationships you can have with your REALTOR® when buying or selling. It also explains the duties your REALTOR® has to you and the duties you have to your REALTOR®.
• FINTRAC - This form validates your identity for the Government to ensure you are not financing terrorism or attempting to complete a real estate transaction to launder money (for real).
• Exclusive Buyer Agreement - This form is the meat and potatoes of how your relationship with your REALTOR® works.

3. Build your want-and-need list. The forms are done; now we create your want and need list. I will set up a saved search and start sending you listings from communities like McKenzie Towne, Mahogany, Seton, Cranston, and Auburn Bay.

4. Tour homes. You hit the streets and begin walking through potential properties. Since walking through multiple properties helps you further narrow your search down (and is key to knowing what properties are worth), you walk through as many homes as you can stomach.

6. Find the one and write the offer. Eventually you find the one. Now, you and your REALTOR® put together an Offer to Purchase to specifically lay out your terms for buying the home.

It is normal to make an offer with basic conditions attached. The most common condition is Subject to a Home Inspection, which allows you time to hire a professional to inspect the home and ensure nothing is wrong. The second most common condition is Subject to the Buyer Securing Financing - your bank agrees with the home's value and gives final approval of your financing application by a certain date.

7. Offer accepted. After some quick back and forth, your offer is accepted and you move on to getting the home inspected while your lender lines up the financing.

8. Close and get the keys. Once those conditions are lifted, we fast-forward to about a week before possession day when both parties sign documents with their designated lawyer. On possession day, when the seller's lawyer verifies funds have been received, you get the keys.

Know Your Budget

You cannot go shopping if you do not know what you can spend. So, call your mortgage broker.

First you run through your overall financial picture with your broker to get a rough budget number. Then you submit all of the required documents needed to get a precise budget number. Never start shopping until you have submitted all of the required documents to your mortgage broker. This will save you and your REALTOR® a ton of time and headache.

Once the documents are in, it is best practice to get a letter from your broker stating you are fully pre-approved. That goes a long way toward making stronger, more confident offers. Use the Mortgage Calculator for a starting point, then talk to your broker for the real number.

Find the Right REALTOR®

There are more than 7,500 REALTOR®s in the Calgary area, and just under 20% of them do over 80% of all recorded sales. Your first logical step is to find a REALTOR® in that 20% category. Since there are no specific sales statistics made public, how do you do that?

Start with a Google search like Jason Todd Calgary REALTOR. What comes up? Do they have Google reviews? Do they have a website? Do they have social media links? This easily searchable information presents a great snapshot of how serious the agent takes their profession.

Find at least two well-reviewed agents with a professional online presence and call them for a quick chat. Then, as low-tech as it sounds, go with the one that feels right to you. Trust your gut.

What Do You Want?

How many bedrooms do you need? Do you need to be close to a certain school? How close are you to work? Do you need a garage? This is a big long-term purchase that requires you knowing exactly what you need in every category imaginable. Take your time, think it out, be patient as you search. You will find the right one.

Make an Offer

Eventually you find the one.

You wisely got pre-approved so you know you can afford it. You went through every aspect of your life and are confident this home fits your family. You have looked through many homes, so you know what to offer and what to expect your final price to be. Basically, you have done everything right.

Now, you and your REALTOR® put together an Offer to Purchase. Wondering what a place is worth before you offer? See What Is My Home Worth? for how I pull comps in southeast Calgary.

Get Ready to Move In

Now that the offer is done, you begin preparing for possession day. Make sure you have lined up your utilities and internet install and have set up your home insurance (and proof of it sent to your lender). You will visit your lawyer one week to ten days before the big day to sign all of the documents. On possession day, when the seller's lawyer verifies funds have been received, you get the keys.

Questions Along the Way?

The Hey Jason series answers common buyer and seller questions with local MLS® data. Browse Ready to Buy in Calgary or drop me a note if you want help setting up a saved search.

Jason Todd | Calgary REALTOR® | (403) 255-5555 | jasontodd.ca