Note: this is a guest blog, written by Nishka Riley Mortgage Team.
If you’ve purchased a condo or a townhome in the past five years, you’ve been fortunate enough to ride a very successful wave in real estate. And with houses shifting to more of a buyers market, you might be wondering is now the time to make a move up? The short answer is a resounding YES, and in this post, I thought I’ll give a quick overview of how my team guides clients through the process of going from owning a condo/townhome to owning a home.
Can We Afford It?
It’s the million dollar question, and most people get sticker shock when looking at housing prices. Instead of focusing on the purchase price, we have our clients focus on the monthly cost and how it fits into their budget. During the budget discussion, we look at current expenses as well as future ones. We also have a conversation around life goals, with the intent of making sure that there is a balance between financial goals and quality of life. We’ve all heard the expression “house poor” before. It’s not a fun place to be, but with a bit of planning, we can make sure it doesn’t happen, which leads to my next point.
If the monthly payment figure is outside of their budget range, then we usually recommend looking at homes with a basement suite. The average basement suite on the North Shore rents for close to $2,000 month, and we can even use that income to qualify for the mortgage. If clients are stressed out about the prospect of becoming a landlord, we recommend Ina’s property management group, Boost Rentals. Boost guides our clients through the process of finding great tenants, and if the clients are super busy, they can delegate the entire landlord responsibility to Ina’s team.
After going through the initial budget step, what clients find most surprising is making a move up to a house with a basement suite often has a net monthly payment only $500 - $900 more per month than what they are currently paying living in a condo!
Wow! That’s sounds amazing how do we do it!
This is where the rubber meets the road, and getting started is easier than most people think. All you need to do is follow the three steps below:
1. Talk Ina and get a market valuation on your condo/townhome.
2. Next is to make an appointment to sit down with your mortgage advisor who will then work with Ina’s market valuation figures and figure out what your purchase price range is for your new home.
3. From there you are back in Ina’s hands looking at homes and neighbourhoods that fit within your budget.
The good news is since our mortgage team works closely with Ina, the process is much more streamlined which saves you a lot of time. We do all the calculations to figure out how much money you’ll have from the sale of your condo to determine your down payment, and then we’ll work backwards from the down payment to figure out your purchase price. From there we present three to four mortgage options to find the perfect fit financing solution to make sure your life goals remain intact. Clients often comment on how easy the process feels because everything is laid out so clearly. To make things even easier, we can help you arrange home insurance if you need it!
Usually making a move up is often a very stressful and tricky transaction to plan. However, given the current market conditions, the timing to make a move up couldn’t be better. Having an active sellers market on condo/townhome side while experiencing a buyers market on the home side puts you firmly in the drivers seat!
So if you are tired of living in a strata and want to have the freedom and space that comes with owning a home, all you have to do is give Ina a call. She has a team standing by ready to guide you through the entire process!
Can We Afford It?
It’s the million dollar question, and most people get sticker shock when looking at housing prices. Instead of focusing on the purchase price, we have our clients focus on the monthly cost and how it fits into their budget. During the budget discussion, we look at current expenses as well as future ones. We also have a conversation around life goals, with the intent of making sure that there is a balance between financial goals and quality of life. We’ve all heard the expression “house poor” before. It’s not a fun place to be, but with a bit of planning, we can make sure it doesn’t happen, which leads to my next point.
If the monthly payment figure is outside of their budget range, then we usually recommend looking at homes with a basement suite. The average basement suite on the North Shore rents for close to $2,000 month, and we can even use that income to qualify for the mortgage. If clients are stressed out about the prospect of becoming a landlord, we recommend Ina’s property management group, Boost Rentals. Boost guides our clients through the process of finding great tenants, and if the clients are super busy, they can delegate the entire landlord responsibility to Ina’s team.
After going through the initial budget step, what clients find most surprising is making a move up to a house with a basement suite often has a net monthly payment only $500 - $900 more per month than what they are currently paying living in a condo!
Wow! That’s sounds amazing how do we do it!
This is where the rubber meets the road, and getting started is easier than most people think. All you need to do is follow the three steps below:
1. Talk Ina and get a market valuation on your condo/townhome.
2. Next is to make an appointment to sit down with your mortgage advisor who will then work with Ina’s market valuation figures and figure out what your purchase price range is for your new home.
3. From there you are back in Ina’s hands looking at homes and neighbourhoods that fit within your budget.
The good news is since our mortgage team works closely with Ina, the process is much more streamlined which saves you a lot of time. We do all the calculations to figure out how much money you’ll have from the sale of your condo to determine your down payment, and then we’ll work backwards from the down payment to figure out your purchase price. From there we present three to four mortgage options to find the perfect fit financing solution to make sure your life goals remain intact. Clients often comment on how easy the process feels because everything is laid out so clearly. To make things even easier, we can help you arrange home insurance if you need it!
Usually making a move up is often a very stressful and tricky transaction to plan. However, given the current market conditions, the timing to make a move up couldn’t be better. Having an active sellers market on condo/townhome side while experiencing a buyers market on the home side puts you firmly in the drivers seat!
So if you are tired of living in a strata and want to have the freedom and space that comes with owning a home, all you have to do is give Ina a call. She has a team standing by ready to guide you through the entire process!