The first question you're bound to ask is, "How much home can I afford?" That depends on a number of factors:

• Your selected location. Are you set on a specific area? Downtown? The suburbs? A rural setting?
• Your preferred type of home. Detached? Semi? Duplex? High-rise? Link? Townhouse? New or Resale? There are a variety of home styles you will want to explore.
• Your income. After all, it's not just the mortgage you have to take into account. There are property taxes, utilities, and in some cases condo or strata fees. As a general rule of thumb, your monthly home-carrying cost should not exceed 30-35% of your income.
• Market conditions Is it a buyer's, sellers or balanced market?

There are also additional costs to keep in mind. It's a good idea to work out exactly what you want and what you can afford before you begin the search. Be specific! After all, you don't want to suddenly come to the realization that your dream house has come with a nightmare of bills and expenses. Stick to looking at houses in your price range. The more you've thought it out, the better your RE/MAX agent can meet your needs.

A part of deciding just what you can afford can be accomplished by meeting with your bank or a mortgage broker and negotiating a pre-approved mortgage. There are many types of mortgages and many different terms. Research all of your options. This ensures that there are no surprises once you're ready to make an offer.

Once you've figured out your monthly expenses and what you can afford, you can start your search. It could happen that the first home you see is the one you want; or you might look at home after home with none of them catching your interest. Rest assured, the home you're looking for is out there, and when you find it, you're ready to make an offer. If your offer is accepted, the next steps are closing and moving into your new home.

Purchasing a home is easy once you put your plans into action. Now, click on one of the navigator buttons and we'll help you get started.

What Can I Afford?

There are two types of costs in buying a home -- the initial amount you will need for your purchase and the ongoing costs of paying back your mortgage along with monthly operating costs.

The largest one-time cost is the down payment. It usually represents 5-10% of the total price of the property.

Typical One-time Expenses:

• Mortgage application and appraisal fee
• Property inspection (optional), due at time of inspection
• Legal fees, due at the time of closing
• Legal disbursements, due at the time of closing
• Property survey (sometimes provided by seller), due at the time of closing
• Land transfer, deed tax or property purchase tax, due at the time of closing.(in Quebec within three months following signing)

• Mortgage interest adjustment (if applicable), due at the time of closing
• Home and property insurance, at closing and ongoing
• Moving expenses, due on the date of move
• PST on High Ratio mortgages
• Realty Tax Holdback

• Mortgage payments
• Maintenance (this could be condominium fees, or allocated maintenance fees)
• Property and content insurance
• Property taxes
• Utilities

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