Get Pre-Approved

IF YOU MAKE meeting with your bank’s mortgage specialist the first step, you’ll learn how much you can afford to spend, based on your personal income and financial situation. You’ll be surprised at how confident you feel. Doing this even before you contact a real estate agent gives you several advantages:

• It lets the real estate agent know you are serious about looking for a home;
• It saves time with the real estate agent, because you can let him/her know exactly how much you can afford to spend;
• It narrows your focus in your search, saving you time;
• It saves time in eliminating conditions on an offer (which, in a busy market, can be an advantage over other offers).

Choose a Real Estate Agent

WHEN YOU’RE in the market for a house, your real estate agent can be your best ally, because s/he has access to information about almost all the houses listed for sale at any given time. What a resource!

How do you find the best agent for you? You can ask for recommendations from your bank representative, family, friends or neighbors. You could look for signs on houses for sale in the neighborhoods you like and note the names of the agents on these signs. Many agents specialize in one or two neighborhoods and so are keenly aware of the market in those areas. They’d make a good choice if you can’t get recommendations from elsewhere.

However you do it, get the names of two or three possible agents and interview them, exploring these topics with each:

• What are his/her qualifications? Is this person a professional real estate agent? (This is essential.);
• Does this person work full-time as an agent? (You want one who does.);
• How long has s/he worked as an agent?;
• How well does s/he know your neighborhood(s) of choice?;
• Is this person a good listener?;
• Can s/he supply you with references? You should feel free to check them out.

Elisabeth de Reiter, a real estate agent who has worked throughout the Toronto area for 30 years, says that the two most important qualities to look for in an agent are honesty and integrity.