Thinking of Buying?
Steps and Tips For Your Villa Purchase:
1. Be informed about all the villa developments that might work for you.
The best tool I can offer to inform you of all your villa options is the 'Villa Developments' tab on this website. This tab alone was hundreds of hours in the making, designed to give you a quick overview of all the bungalow villa locations in and around Calgary. You might consider driving to some of the developments that appeal most to you to get a feel for the locations and surroundings. In each case, the street address is listed under 'Villa Developments', with a brief description, an exterior photo and an aerial or satellite photo. Please let me know which ones interest you most and I will set up an active search to notify you immediately when listings pop up in your favourite areas.
2. Have your ducks in a row.
Financing. If you need to speak with a mortgage specialist to confirm you will be approved for any financing you are looking for, then I recommend doing this in advance. It will help you negotiate with more confidence. Being pre-approved, will give the Seller confidence as well that you are a serious buyer. Even so, this can be a condition in a Purchase Contract.
Sale of Your Current Home. If you need an evaluation on your current property to have a good idea of its value, please let me know. To be clear, I sell every kind of residential property, so I would be happy to provide you with a market evaluation on your current property. We will discuss whether you prefer to sell first or buy first, or buy conditional to the sale of your current property, and I will explain the implications of each approach.
Deposit. You will of course need to have some funds available for your Deposit to Purchase, which will go into a Trust Account related to the listing agent's office. Typically the Initial Deposit is provided within a 3-day period.
Lawyer for Closing. You will need to choose a lawyer for the final details of the transaction. I can recommend some local lawyers if you wish.
3. Let Me Know When You Are Ready to Start Looking at Properties.
The fun begins when we start opening doors to villas, any one of which might be your next home :)
Under the 'Villas For Sale' tab you will find a sub-tab entitled 'Become a Client'. This is an easy way to communicate that you would like to have Brian become your agent.
4. Understand What You Are Potentially Buying.
Condo or HOA Status. I will gladly take the time to help you understand whether the development you are considering is a Condo Development or an 'HOA' (Homeowner Association). This has some implications on what kind of home insurance you will need after you have purchased.
Inspection Condition. It is wise to put an Inspection Condition in a Purchase Contract. This will help you understand clearly the condition of the home, and can avoid unwelcome surprises.
Condo Document Review Condition. You can have a professional document reviewer read all the condo documents on your behalf and make a recommendation to you. They will evaluate things like the Reserve Fund Study, the Minutes from Board Meetings in the last 12 months, the Financials, and the Bylaws.
5. Invite Family Members to Call Me If You Wish.
Everyone's situation is different. Some villa buyers like to involve their adult children in the search and purchase process. If that is true for you, please let me know in advance, and then have your family members call me. With your consent I will answer their questions. This spares you the role of communicating everything I say repeatedly to various family members. But to be clear, I will take all my instructions from you, the home purchaser.
6. Timing Your Purchase
Not everyone has the luxury of strategically buying when the market is slower. Most people simply buy when their previous property has sold, which is understandable and normal. But it is helpful for buyers to understand there is a fairly common pattern to sales activity in the Calgary real estate market. In a nutshell, within the typical calendar year, selling is best in the spring and fall while buying is best in the summer and around Christmas (July/August and December). In the summer other buyers are distracted by the sunshine, and in December, Christmas preparations take the focus. This means you generally have fewer other buyers to compete with at these times.
However, this is quite irrelevant if you are keen on a certain villa development where new listings are infrequent. You may need to simply respond to opportunity when the right listing comes to market. We can talk lots more about these kinds of market dynamics as we look at homes together. I look forward to those conversations with you.
