Connect

Find us on...

Dashboard

Login using...

New Search X

Home Buying Blogs – Calgary

Home buying advice for Calgary, Alberta residents.

Found 81 blog entries about Home Buying Blogs – Calgary.

How to Use conditions When Buying a HomeA condition of purchase is a stipulation a buyer makes to a seller that must be met before finalizing the home sale. Some buyers submit their Offer to Purchase with no conditions, meaning they buy the property as-is, but this is generally only done when purchasing obvious fixer-uppers or if there's a particularly hot market where a buyer has to do so just to remain competitive. Most people have at least a few conditions that they present to a seller during the negotiation period, so buyers should understand how they work before they begin to structure an offer for their City Centre home.

Financing

An offer to buy normally comes with a financial backing of either cash-in-hand or a letter of pre-approval from a bank. While a bank's pre-approval

8,060 Views, 0 Comments

5 Things to Know About Lenders Mortgage InsuranceHome buyers who make a down payment of less than 20 percent are usually obligated to pay insurance for the mortgage itself. With this information, borrowers can understand how lenders mortgage insurance works, and what they can expect to pay for a home in East Calgary or elsewhere.

How Does Mortgage Insurance Differ from Home Insurance?

Mortgage insurance is typically called "Lenders Mortgage Insurance" simply because it is designed to protect the lender in the event that the borrower defaults on the mortgage. Home insurance exists to protect the homeowner and the items inside the home. Mortgage insurance is typically obtained by the lender, and the lender has the option to pass on that cost to the borrower. Many lenders expect home buyers to

3,762 Views, 0 Comments

What to Know When Buying a New HomeLike most major purchases, home buying is a major step in the buyer's life. Between the financial responsibilities, the negotiations, and the seemingly endless numbers of homes to tour, it's common for new home buyers to be unsure about how to get started. However, once buyers know the basics, they'll be far more likely to choose a home that works for them at a price they can afford.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

Managing Your Finances Before a Home Purchase

Home buyers need to know their price range before they can do anything else. How much a buyer can afford is not necessarily as intuitive as it may seem, so buyers are encouraged

17,025 Views, 0 Comments

Buying a Home in Rural Canada For every similarity that rural and urban homes have in the home buying process, there are a handful of important differences to be aware of. Rural areas offer a lot of benefits, but you have to be prepared for the lifestyle and challenges that come with rural living.

These four questions can help you to quickly establish the nature of the rural homes you may want to buy.

What are the Limits on Construction?

In many cases, buying rural property means that you have fewer limits on what you can do with the space. Without a homeowners association or even neighbours nearby, you may be able to get more creative in building up your home.

However, you should still look at the zoning and ordinances of the area. If you plan to keep horses or

2,799 Views, 0 Comments

Looking for Issues in Potential HomeHome inspections are a common part of home buying. But are they really necessary? In almost all cases, the answer is yes. Sometimes your lender will insist upon it. Your home is an investment to them, and they don't want any surprises that will lower the value of that investment. Insurance companies also sometimes require inspections to locate problems which might be a big enough threat to the home their policy is protecting.

But beyond that, house inspections are just incredibly useful, potentially saving you huge repair bills and the headaches that go with them. And, overall, it's really a drop in the bucket in comparison to what you're paying for your new North Calgary home.

What a Home Inspection Is

What is a home inspection? What does a

8,573 Views, 0 Comments

How to Prepare to Buy a Fixer Upper

Buying a home that needs some work is a good way to save money, but it can also hide unexpected costs or complications. It's possible to get a wonderful home, or to go broke making unanticipated repairs. These tips can serve as basic guidelines to assess the potential value in a fixer-upper before buying it.

Consider the Neighbourhood

Keep in mind that one person’s version of paradise is another’s fixer-upper. The view depends entirely on the buyer, and the buyer’s view relies a lot on the neighbourhood. Take the time to look around the area and see how owners take care of their properties. If the neighbourhood is trending upscale with the most expensive upgrades in every aspect of the home, they will probably have to pay more to maintain

4,775 Views, 0 Comments

Home for Expanding Household Buying a home for a family can be a challenge. To meet the needs of a growing, changing family, a home must be flexible in its layout, large enough for many generations, and safe for everyone from children to older adults. 

Home Amenities That Benefit Families With Children

Open Floor Plan

In a typical open floor plan, public spaces like the living room, dining room and kitchen are open and connected, with few or no walls in between. For parents of small children, there are many advantages to open floor plans. Adults at work in the kitchen can oversee children playing in the living room, dining room and beyond. In addition, open floor plans allow families to spend time together as they work on separate activities in separate spaces. For

2,275 Views, 0 Comments

How to Determine if a Condo is Right For YouCondominiums offer many benefits to buyers looking to move out of a rental and into property ownership. Condo living is ideal for anyone downsizing or looking for a property with minimal maintenance. For people asking themselves, “What is a condo?”, a condominium or "condo" actually refers to a specific type of legal ownership versus a style of construction, states the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC). Potential condo buyers can find condominiums in low-rise residential buildings as well as stacked townhouses, townhouse/rowhouse complexes, and both duplexes and triplexes.

Approximately one million Canadian households own a condominium. The popularity of this type of home continues to increase due to various benefits a condo offers

3,491 Views, 0 Comments

Symptoms of a Housing BubbleUttering the words "housing bubble" is enough to make any real estate agent or interested real estate investor shudder. It conjures up images of the great real estate bubble burst of the new Millennium, which ushered in the Great Recession and brought along with it one of the worst housing markets in history.

Fortunately, most housing bubbles are not this drastic and these real estate phenomenon is actually more common than most people think. These are the common signs and symptoms that are associated with a housing bubble.

Cost of Living Increases Faster than Wages

Inflation is often a warning sign of many economic conditions, including a housing bubble. When the cost of living rises faster than wages, people are often forced to rely on

3,507 Views, 0 Comments

Multi Generational Home Buying When you walk into a person's home, you expect to see the young kids running through the house playing games. One spouse may be cooking the family dinner in the kitchen while the other is in the home office finishing up work before the weekend arrives. Yet family dynamics have changed over the past decade. It is no longer frowned upon to see the thirty-something young adult still living at home with their parents or find the aging parents living out their retirement years with their adult children, and when several generations live in one household like this, it is what is called multigenerational living.

Multigenerational homes have now become the norm.

Reasons for Multigenerational Households

There are several factors spurring the

9,697 Views, 0 Comments
CalgaryHomes.ca