Planning to buy your first home in the Greater Moncton Area? How exciting! But hold on a minute. Are you 100% ready to start looking for homes? Do you know all the steps involved in buying a house? Are you ready to be a homeowner? Let us guide you through the buying process, from the help available to first-time homebuyers and the mortgage pre-approval process to getting the keys to your new home.
First-time Home Buyer Programs
Many buyers often ask about the first-time home buyer programs available to them. Please note that the well-known first-time home buyer incentive is no longer available. That change was made on March 31st, 2024.
Hold on! This doesn’t mean there is no help available for you! If you are purchasing a property for the very first time in New Brunswick, you might be eligible for some programs and mortgage options. Find out more about home-buying programs and incentives right here.
Steps to Buying Your First Home
Step No.1: Get pre-approved
First of all, it is important to know how much you can afford to spend on a home AND how much money you need to set aside to purchase your home in New Brunswick. This is called getting pre-approved. This involves taking a close look at your finances, including your income, debts, and expenses. This step should NEVER be skipped, whether you have a big down payment or lots of equity coming from the sale of another property.
Pre-approvals are done with a mortgage specialist or mortgage broker. If you are not sure who to work with, you can ask your REALTOR® or family and friends for recommendations.
You will receive a pre-approval letter once completed.
Step No.2: Find your REALTOR®
Secondly, you should always have a fellow REALTOR® to purchase a property in Greater Moncton. No matter the amount of expertise you have in the domain, having representation to help you search for homes, negotiate and fill legal contracts can save you lots of time and money in the end.
REALTORS® guide you through the current home-buying market and ensure that your interests are represented. The cherry on top is that buying with a REALTOR® is free! The commission is paid by the listing agent when a property is purchased.
Step No.3: Start house hunting
You can start making a list of your criteria from highest to lowest priority, AND must-haves versus nice-to-haves features. (Unfortunately, the perfect home does not really exist, which is why you might have to compromise on some things to get other features that are more important to you.)
Once your criteria are selected, sit down with your REALTOR® to review your list, make some adjustments if necessary and start your online search. You will then be sent a client portal through MLS® that will update automatically once new listings go online.
A portal has all homes for sale in your selected criteria, which you can select as favourites, potentials or delete. Your REALTOR® also has access to it and can see your favourite properties.
It is never too early to get you set up on an automatic email portal to keep an eye on the listings that are currently available. By doing so, you will have a better idea of what is available on the market and what you can get within your price range.
Step No.4: Make an offer
Found the home of your dreams? Great! Let’s write an offer. All mandatory forms, including the purchase and sale agreement, will be filled out and explained to you by your REALTOR®
Offers usually include a purchase price, closing date, and conditions to be fulfilled. Once your offer is sent to the seller’s agent, it’s negotiation time: Your offer will be either accepted, refused or countered.
Step No.5: Fulfill the conditions
Step number five is to work on the conditions that need to be fulfilled before the sale can be completed. Those conditions are put in place in order to protect you and ensure that you are making a good investment. They have to be met within a certain date that both you and the sellers have agreed on, failing which the deal becomes null and void. In New Brunswick, it is common to allow 10 business days for the buyer to fulfill conditions.
Here are some common conditions that you may encounter:
- Home inspection
- Financing
- Appraisal
- Security Deposit
- Water test
- Insurance
- Property Disclosure Statement
Step No.6: Close on your home
Once all conditions have been met, you can close on the sale and take possession of your new home. You will need to hire a lawyer practicing in New Brunswick and finalize the purchase by signing legal documents in person at their office. This is known as closing.
On the morning closing day, you will do a final walkthrough of the property with your REALTOR® to ensure that any repairs or changes that were agreed upon during negotiations have been completed and that the house is in the same state it was when you last saw it.
Once the walkthrough is done and satisfactory, all of the paperwork has been signed, and the payment has been made, the ownership of the property will be transferred to you.
A common practice in New Brunswick is that your REALTOR® will drop the house key at your attorney’s office, and you can pick it up once you get a call from your lawyer confirming that the transaction is completed.
The very final step is to move in and enjoy your new home!
By following these steps, you can help ensure a smooth and successful home-buying experience.
If you are looking to purchase a property in the Greater Moncton Area and don’t have a REALTOR® yet, I would love to chat with you. Contact our team of professionals or email directly at Jenny@brunswickroyalrealty.com.
