Thinking of a house

They must not be great friends if you wouldn't talk to them first....

Gudkov wrote: ↑ Hi everyone,

We are a young professional couple thinking about our first investment in a house. We would like to determine our financial capacity and our investing opportunities in the Toronto region. I would guess that speaking to a mortgage broker to determine our maximum allowable mortgage limit would be a first step and taking that information to a real estate broker to determine what houses we can afford, would be a second step. Could anyone please advise how do we find which mortgage broker to go to, as well as how to find a real state broker (i have plenty of friends who are in the industry so i can ask them as well). Any input is much appreciated!

Thank you,

OP

jonnyb wrote: ↑ They must not be great friends if you wouldn't talk to them first....

Thanks for the 0 feedback provided, I am trying to get advice from all possible resources. Why did you even bother commenting...

I would first go talk to your friends who are in the industry, if one is a broker then they can assist you with the first part of your question and also telling you how much house you can afford. Your friend who is an agent can then assist you with finding a place.

Make sure to upvote!

Gudkov wrote: ↑ Thanks for the 0 feedback provided, I am trying to get advice from all possible resources. Why did you even bother commenting...

In between your first and second steps (once you get your pre-approved mortgage amount, but before you get an agent), you may want to just look around realtor.ca to try to get a sense of what locations and houses you can realistically afford (keeping in mind list prices =/= sold prices). Shopping around can help avoid any sort of sticker shock when the realtor tells you what you can actually get.

Otherwise, I think you're good, and should ask your friends in the industry.

EDIT: Off-topic, but I also agree with jonnyb's first post. It's kind of odd that you'd look for advice from strangers on the internet before asking for advice from your friends that are actually in the industry.

Actually I think it's a good thing you don't want to use your realtor friends as relationship can go downhill once you mix money/business and friendship.

Regarding finding a realtor, I think they are plenty of resources online to do some of the initial leg work yourself. However, if you don't want to do that, be very careful before selecting a realtor, especially those that want you to sign a Buyer Representation Agreement (BRA) before showing you what they will do. At least, limit any BRA you sign to a particular time (Not more than 3 months). When I bought my house, I actually did a lot of the search myself. You feel less pressured. And if you find houses being sold by owners directly, there is more room for negotiation than if you come with an agent.

As for budget, go see your bank for a pre-approval or you can actually get a mortgage calculator online to get a rough estimate of your budget. Later on you can find a mortgage broker once have signed an agreement to buy. There are plenty of them you can find; you just need to find the one which brings you the lowest rate with the best terms and conditions. Best of luck.

There are a few very helpful mortgage brokers on the Official Mortgage thread: official-mortgage-rates-thread-351105/