When we were searching for a home two years ago, we quickly found out that the process was nothing like the one that you see on TV when you’re watching HGTV.
You don’t see three homes and make a decision between the three.
There are many homes on the market but finding the right one is a very difficult process. Between problems with foundations and odd situations where the current owners refused to leave the home that they were trying to sell when we were looking at it, the process took a lot longer than we had expected and we had to look at dozens of houses.
We did end up in the perfect house, so this work was worth it. Here is a small, short version of a few of the houses we looked at.
The First House
This house was actually what kicked off the search for us. Our Realtor told us about this house because it hit everything on our wish list:
large lot
two stories
good bones
great neighborhood
3 bedrooms upstairs
The basement was partially finished and it had a huge workshop and a carport which could easily be closed in. The best part is that it backs onto a strata park so that nobody could build behind the house. Really, it was perfect and we fell in love right away.
The problem? It was out of our price range.
Now, our Realtor showed it to us anyway because:
a) it was a buyers market so buyers have more negotiating power, and
b) it had been on the market for 3/4 of a year and that gives the buyers even more negotiating power and
c) it wasn’t that far out of our budget.
We made an offer for $10,000 under our budget because we would need funds left over to finish the basement into a suite, and the owners counter-offered $1,000 less than their asking price.
We weren’t going to play that game and we really couldn’t come up any farther so we asked for final right of refusal on the property and walked away.
The Next House
If possible, I liked this house even better than I liked the other one. This house was amazing. Don’t get me wrong, it was god awful ugly on the inside (I’m talking turquoise carpet), but with a little interior decorating and minor renovations, the house had SO MUCH potential.
This house had a:
huge lot
nice neighborhood
quiet, no-thru street
3 levels (sprawling)
potential for a suite
The problem? It didn’t have good bones.
The foundation was cracked and the fix would cost $26,000.
This was actually a huge point of frustration for us. We felt completely misled because when this issue was disclosed, they told us it would cost $15,000 to fix ($7,000 if the my husband did the carpentry work).
We got a quote on it (we made an offer subject to a reasonable quote) and it cost substantially more.
At that point, we had gotten a $26,000 quote, they will have had to disclose that to other future potential buyers, but the seller and the listing agent were the worst to have to deal with during this process.
The listing agent wouldn’t give us the answers to any of our questions until we made an offer.
When we did make the offer (with all of our subjects), he didn’t even present it to the owner for almost 24 hours.
When our Realtor tried to follow up, the listing agent was never available, always completely unprofessional, and she would have to phone him time and time again to get a response.
One time, we counter offered and he didn’t tell us what the owner’s response was for two days. His excuse was that he was having a dinner party when we submitted our counter (and he’s a Realtor?)
When we walked away because of the high cost of repair, it was a huge weight off of our shoulders not having to deal with these people anymore.
It All Comes in Time
We ended up finding the perfect home a few months after we saw the initial two houses. The house we ended up in is far better than the ones that we looked at and liked earlier in our house hunting process and we’re glad that, in time with patience and persistence, we found the perfect place.
The house hunting process was a bit strenuous for us, as we saw far more than the three houses, but it paid off.
Just under two years ago, we moved into our first home.
We moved on a rainy December day just after Christmas. We have loved home ownership ever since, even the hard work (yard and property maintenance, re-shingling the roof, and painting not exempt).
We got a great deal on our house as the market was in a funny place when we bought. That being said, we definitely gave our bank account a good run for it’s money when we were going through the motions of home buying.
Here are the costs that we bore from the purchase of our first home:
Inspections
We had a home inspection ($504), an insulation test for asbestos ($300) and an inspection for an oil tank on the property ($100). We also had a WETT test for our wood burning fireplace ($100) and had the chimney cleaned while we were at it ($100).
The total for all of these various tests and inspections was:
$1104
Down Payment
The down payment was a pretty big chunk of change, and hands down the biggest withdrawal from our bank accounts to date. Because we bank with Tangerine (back then it was ING Direct), it was difficult to get the bank draft in time, but by the skin of our teeth we made it by transferring the money into my husbands RBC account.
The total down payment was:
$20,500
Land Transfer Tax
Typically for first time home buyers, Land Transfer Tax is waived. We still had to pay a portion of land transfer tax, though, as we were $5,000 above the maximum, bringing the tax down to:
$1,320
Home Insurance
We, of course, had to go buy home insurance to .. well, insure our new home! Tenants insurance is only $300/year, and we let ours expire a few months prior to moving in, so this was a whole new expense.
We opted for earthquake insurance and the whole shebang (seriously, we’ll have an earthquake sooner rather than later and I’d rather be well insured then screwed over).
The company for which I work gives us a 20% discount on home insurance through an affiliate company, which is very helpful. With earthquake insurance and home insurance, we had to pay:
$1694
Gas
This is worth mentioning, because it did add up to quite a lot of money. We saw dozens of houses before landing on the perfect home, and we had to drive for hours to see them. Then, we’ll have to spend a lot of money on gas to drive back and forth upon moving.
On extra gas, we spend around:
$150
Life Insurance
Life insurance isn’t something we had prior to buying our home simply because we didn’t really need it.
When we bought our house, we got life insurance for the boy because if anything happened to him (God forbid), I would really struggle.
I am already covered through work, so we didn’t bother covering myself.
In total, a yearly premium for life insurance was:
$365
The total amount that we ended up shelling out during the home buying process was:
$25,133
In out-of-pocket, extra cash. Some of these we have to pay for every month (insurance) and some were one-time expenses.
This might give you a good example of how much you’ll have to pay in down payment, closing, and home hunting costs when you go to buy your next house.
Even though my husband and I are years away from moving, I find myself playing around with local real estate websites all the time. I need to stop since it’s a total time-waster in more than one way. One thing I have learned from both playing on these websites and going through the process myself of buying a home (and partaking in the whole house-hunting process) is that I am amazed at how many people don’t bother to make their home appeal to the buyer or do anything to get their home ready for selling it.
I honestly think some people go out of their way to make their home as unappealing as possible, as if they don’t actually want to see their house which is sort of insane.
Through my diligent house hunting process and internet stalking browsing, I have noticed a few common trends among the homes that are unappealing to me. If you plan on selling a home, please remember these basics:
Clean
I seriously cannot stress this enough. There is nothing more revolting than walking through a home and have it be dirty. I would rather trip over crap everywhere than feel grime literally sticking to the bottom of my feet. If you can’t clean or don’t know how to do it well, pay someone. You’re trying to sell your home after all. Prospective home buyers notice everything. Clean every tiny nook and cranny because someone will notice.
Curb Appeal
This doesn’t have to be major bucks but people do want to be proud of the house they plan on turning into a home. Mow the lawn, clean the yard in general keep everything neat and tidy. If you can afford to do a little sprucing up, great, but at the very least maintain tidiness.
Get Rid of Your Crap
While I personally don’t think it’s necessary to put away every single personal detail, picture or memory when showing your home, I do think you need to scale back the clutter in a major way. If your house is on the market you’ll likely have to pack anyway so start with the nic-naks. People want to envision their stuff in the space, not yours.
Freshen the spaces up. Choose neutral colors and speak to a professional for guidance. It’s 2014 and home buyers have finally figured out there are neutrals beyond beige. Neutralize everything but don’t be super boring.
I have walked through homes and have been left with a positive impression because of the nice paint job. I don’t know many people who actually enjoy painting so buying a home that had it recently done will be a positive.
Don’t Smoke in Your House
I could find my dream home, but if it was a home someone had smoked in there is a 99% chance I wouldn’t buy it. We’re talking about ripping up flooring, hiring professional cleaners, painting every square inch and praying it would be gone. Not worth it. I will find another house.
The house hunting process is something people put a lot of effort into, you as a seller have the ability to make it easier by following these very simple points.
What’s the craziest thing you’ve seen when looking for a new home?
