First Time Home Buyer – Ask a Vancouver Mortgage Broker

First Time Home Buyer

Being a first time home buyer can be a scary yet exciting venture. For many people, buying a home is the most significant investment they will make.

As aVancouvermortgage broker, I can tell you that if you plan carefully and get all your ducks in a row before you buy, the process can be very rewarding. You’ll be able to create your living space in way that suits your lifestyle, and the possibilities are endless. The best thing is that you won’t have to ever bother with landlord hassles again.

Purchasing real estate is a superb investment. Home prices do tend to follow the overall economic trends of the economy but they are not like the fickle fortunes of the bouncing stock market. Also, unlike the stock market, when you’ve made a profit on your home you won’t have to pay the government any taxes like you do on capital gains.

How can you profit on being a first time home buyer. There are 3 ways you can make money as first time home buyer.

First, you can make money through increasing property prices. The second way is to add value to home by adding square footage space, or through home renovations. The third way you can make money on your home is simply by making your mortgage payments which pays down the mortgage and increases your equity.

Another handy advantage is that when you increase the equity in your home, you can also borrow against your home by taking out a second mortgage. You can use this second mortgage to reinvest in a second property, buy that dream cottage on a lake, or send the young ones through college or university.

What a First Time Home Buyer Needs to Consider

The first thing you need to think about is whether you feel comfortable about your current job stability. If you or your partner were to lose their job, would you still be able to make the mortgage payments?

The first step is to ask yourself how much you can afford. One good tip is to use a mortgage calculator such as what you’ll find on my site. You can play around with the different costs of homes, types of mortgages such as fixed or variable, and amortization periods to get a rough ballpark figure of what your mortgage payments might be relative to the cost of the home you want to buy.

The prices of homes ofVancouverneighbourhoods do vary, but your choice may also depend on such things as access to services such as schools or daycare, public service or proximity to where you work. The type of neighbourhood may also factor in your decision where you want to buy.

The next thing to consider is how much you can put down on a home. If you put down less than 20%, you will have to take home mortgage insurance such as through CHMC (Canada Housing and Mortgage Corporation). This is an added expense on top of your mortgage payment.

You can opt to get a second mortgage to make up the down payment difference such as through a home equity line of credit or a HELOC which may be cheaper than mortgage insurance.

Ready to Become a First Time Home Buyer?

If you’re a novice at buying a home or even if you’ve done it before, the best people to talk to is aVancouver mortgage broker like myself and your realtor. A mortgage broker can guide you through the process and help you with the paperwork, and best of all it doesn’t cost you a thing to use our services.

You might be tempted to go straight to your bank, which many people do, but you’re not going to find the best mortgage products which is something I specialize in. You might have had some prior credit issues, or maybe you’re self employed, and these are issues that can cause some problems but I might have the ideal solution for your particular circumstances.

Being a first time home buyer does take a bit of thought and planning, but home ownership is one of the best investments you are likely to make. If you need help in buying your first home, then please give me a call because I can help you through the process.