Defining What Is Important To You
As a Calgary first time home buyer, it is important to buy the best home or condo for your present and future needs. Short term thinking can satisfy your immediate needs but leave you looking for a new home in a couple of years as your lifestyle and needs change. Getting professional advice can save you thousands of dollars over the years. Crystal helps you define what is really important to ensure your first Calgary home serves your needs not just for today but for years to come.
Define your Calgary real estate needs and wants
With so much available, how do you decide what type of home or condo to buy?
First, consider your lifestyle. Do you like to entertain at home? Do you need space for a home office? Do you or are you planning to have a family? Do you have pets? Do you have a physical condition that makes stairs an obstacle? Do you have an aging relative who will live with you? You’re going to be living in this day and night for some time; make sure it suits your specific needs. Then consider your wants. A fireplace is very important to some buyers, while efficiency matters more to others. Some love low maintenance vinyl siding; others hate it. serious cooks may want a fabulous kitchen; advocates of high tech entertainment systems might prefer a larger den.
While the list could be endless, the key is to find the balance between needs and wants that work for you.
The benefits of working with a professional Calgary REALTOR®
Think of a professional Calgary real estate agent as your employee who has only one task to perform and doesn’t get paid for it until you are satisfied with the result. That task is to find you the best Calgary home you can afford with minimum hassle.
While you’re at work or spending precious time with your spouse, family or friends, your Calgary real estate agent is busy scanning all the new Calgary listings, pre screening Calgary homes to see if they meet your needs, making appointments with dozens of other agents or sellers and monitoring the changing Calgary real estate market.
Your Calgary agent has access to more Calgary listings than you can find on your own and is the first to learn of new Calgary listing; this knowledge base can be a real asset to you in a fast moving market. And when it comes time to make an offer, a Calgary Realtor can provide sound advice about the most advantageous terms or conditions and can be of invaluable assistance in negotiating the best deal. A good Calgary agent is literally your eyes and ears, always hunting for the perfect Calgary home with an open mind and a critical eye. That kind of dedication and objectivity can be vital to your satisfaction. Keep in mind that working with a Calgary real estate professional cost you, the buyer, nothing. It is the seller if the house who pays your agents commission and the experience and service are of no cost to you you as the home buyer.
How Calgary Real Estate Agents view a Home for sale
Once your agent has identified a Calgary Home that meets your basic guidelines (three bedrooms, neutral colors, large yard, a finished basement, for instance), she is able to quickly decide whether it merits further consideration for you. How does she do that? It’s quite simple, really. Experienced agents look beyond the cosmetic merits of properties and consider structural components that could become serious financial liabilities over the longer term.
Are the asphalt shingles curling, for example? If they are, you’ll need to replace them soon. The probable cost? About $5,000, depending on the size and style if the home. How old is the furnace? Hotwater Tank? Checking the serial number usually tells the age. If it’s more that seven years old, prepare yourself for an expense any day. Is the basement floor seriously cracked? ( small cracks are a normal) That’s rare in Calgary and usually indicates a structural problem such as badly poured footings. The cost of repair? You don’t want to know. As you tour potential Calgary homes with your agent, ask her about such things. This crash course in structural assessment will allow you to be a more informed Calgary first time home buyer and it could very well save you a small fortune over the years.
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