First-time home buyer guide for Greater Vancouver

Buying a first home in Greater Vancouver is a sequence, not a scramble. Buyers who get into trouble usually do the steps in the wrong order: they fall for a home before they know what they can borrow, or they remove subjects before the inspection has been read. This guide sets out the order Nadia walks first-time buyers through, from the first conversation to the day the keys are handed over.

Step 1, Get pre-approved, not pre-qualified

A pre-qualification is a phone estimate. A pre-approval is a lender actually reviewing your income, debts and down payment, and holding a rate for you, typically for 90 to 120 days. Sellers and listing agents can tell the difference, and in a competing-offer situation it matters. Nadia refers clients to mortgage professionals she has worked with on real files, so the pre-approval is one you can rely on when it is time to write.

Step 2, Know the whole budget, not just the price

The purchase price is the big number, but closing day has others. In British Columbia, budget for:

• Property transfer tax (1% on the first $200,000, 2% up to $2 million, 3% up to $3 million, and higher above that). First-time buyers may qualify for a full or partial exemption depending on the price.
• Legal or notary fees, usually a four-figure amount.
• Home inspection (a few hundred dollars for a condo, more for a detached home).
• Appraisal fee if your lender requires one.
• Adjustments for prepaid property tax, strata fees or utilities.
• Moving costs, and a reserve for the first repairs every home needs.

Step 3, Separate must-haves from nice-to-haves

Write two short lists before the first showing. Must-haves are the things you will not compromise on: number of bedrooms, a commute limit, a school catchment, a pet-friendly strata. Nice-to-haves are the things that would make you happy but would not make you walk away. The lists keep decisions honest when a beautiful kitchen tempts you to forget that the second bedroom is missing.

Step 4, Search with someone who sees the whole market

Public portals show what is listed. A REALTOR® with MLS® access sees the listing history, the days on market, price changes, previous sales of the same home, and the strata documents before you drive across town. Nadia previews homes for her clients so that showings are spent on real candidates, and she will tell you plainly when a home is not the right one, even when it would be an easy sale.

Step 5, Write an offer with conditions that protect you

In most markets an offer should be subject to financing, subject to inspection, and for a strata property, subject to review of the strata documents (minutes, bylaws, depreciation report, financials and the Form B). Those subjects are your exit if something surfaces. Nadia's job during the subject period is to make sure every document is read and every question answered before the conditions are removed and the deposit becomes firm.

Step 6, From firm deal to keys

Once subjects are removed, your lawyer or notary prepares the conveyance, your lender funds the mortgage on the completion date, and possession follows, usually a day or two later. Nadia stays involved through the final walk-through and hands you the keys herself. Then the good part starts.

Talk it through first

A twenty-minute call is enough to map your situation onto these steps and to know whether now is the right time. There is no cost and no obligation. Call or text 604-440-6295.