FAQs About Real Estate & Mortgage’s

First of all, when you use a real estate ‘agent’ in a transaction, you are actually using the brokerage. The ‘salesperson’ acts on behalf of the brokerage, so if the term was to be used properly, the ‘agent’ is the brokerage itself. The salesperson, however, is the individual you use. So to clarify, the salesperson is the person you deal with, and the agent is the brokerage they act on behalf of.

Banks and other lenders want a show of commitment and fallback toward a loan. They want a large portion of the loan to be paid upfront, and the rule of thumb is 20% or more for a mortgage. If you do less than 20%, legally you'll have to get Default Insurance, which essentially is insurance on the portion of the loan you didn't put down. For example, if you put down 15%, the default insurance will insure the other 5%

That is a tricky question. The first thing to think about is the price range of your home. For a $350,000 home, you'll need about $70,000 for the down payment, in addition, you have moving costs, closing costs, and potentially commission costs. If it were me, I would have 20% or more for a down payment plus an extra $10,000-$30,000 to cover any additional costs that may come up. Better safe than sorry. Also, any extra money saved could also be used to reinvest into the house, so if you ever sell it could be worth more.

A credit score is a way banks and lenders are able to determine if they are safe to lend to or not. The credit score is based on if you are paying for your loans on time, as well as the frequency of your payments. If you are late or you pay the day before your loan is due, that will give you a poor score. If you pay early, or in frequent payments instead of a lump sum at the end of the month, your score will go up. Your credit score will follow you, so be mindful of making your payments and not taking on debt you cannot pay back as it may affect you down the line if you want to take out a mortgage.

Commission costs are generally a % of the sale price of the home (usually around 5% total), a fixed amount, or a combination of the two. In addition, it can be incremental. For example, 2.5% from $150,000 to $249,999, 1% from $250,000 to $800,000, and so on.

Technically speaking you do not, all you need is a lawyer. However, lawyers may not have the correct expertise or ability to properly help you with the various wants and needs you may have from scheduling showings to advertising the property. To have peace of mind in a real estate transaction, use a real estate salesperson.

Generally speaking when a salesperson represents you (technically it's the brokerage doing so) there are two options: being a client or a customer. The client has full fiduciary obligations like a lawyer would give, and other expertise. With a customer, you do not get fiduciary obligations and will get limited services.

This question depends on what you are looking to do with the money. Let's assume both costs the same monthly.

When you are renting, you are essentially paying the cost of someone else's mortgage to live in their space, but you have all the money you would have had to invest into the property in your pocket to potentially invest elsewhere. With that being said, you also have more flexibility when it comes to how long you want to lease the property. However, remember any money you put into the costs per month you won't get back.

With buying a home, most of the money you put towards it you will get back (minus interest and other costs). The property you are in is technically yours as long as you make your mortgage payments, and if the value of the home goes up it’s to your benefit. The downside to it, it requires lots of money upfront plus you have to make a decent income to be able to afford it. In addition, when buying a home you can't simply pack up after a short time and move on, you'll have to stay in the home for a number of years and not have access to the funds you initially put into it.

Conclusion: Rent if you want the flexibility of moving and if you have other things to invest in with the money you have saved. In addition, you are okay with losing the money you spend on monthly rent.

Buy a home if you want something for more of a long-term investment, and are willing to commit to something for 2 to 5 years. Remember most of the money you put into a mortgage you keep when you sell.

The two best resources you have available, comparable houses online and a professional home appraiser. Compare at least five or more homes in your area that are similar in as many ways as possible when using online resources. You can come to a value on your own technically speaking, but a professional appraiser or registered salesperson is always good to use for a valuable opinion.

If you are located in Canada, Realtor.ca is a website for public listings. Use the prices as a baseline, and if you have any questions speak to a registered real estate salesperson.

That is a complicated question. The ‘market’ has a lot of variables that are affected by current trends, interest rates, supply and demand in specific areas. Depending on the area you live in, you have different trends (For example, a large city may have more demand than supply, whereas smaller cities may have more supply than demand). Speak to a registered Real Estate Salesperson or do your own research to learn what trends are currently in your area and what the market looks like right now.