Edmonton Real Estate Blog

Buying a home is probably one of the best things you would ever do in your lifetime. It’s fun but also a bit scary at the same time as there is more to it than just browsing the internet and viewing a couple of open houses over the weekend. Believe us, we know. We’ve been there. Speaking from experience, my fiancé and I just recently bought our condo. There’s a ton of things to consider when buying a home for the first time and here at Team Leading Edge, we always like to help people in need-people like you. We broke down to bite-sized pieces all the essential things that you need to consider. Read, absorb and digest the information as it may help guide you in taking the right path to home ownership.

1. HOME SIZE VS LOCATION: We couldn’t stress more the importance of being decisive on day 1. Before you start searching the internet for that dream home, determine first what’s more important to you, size or location?

   More often than not, you will be torn between choosing a house that has a higher selling price but is located near your favorite establishments and a house that has a lower selling price with bigger living space BUT is a bit farther out of your favorite hangout place.

   Making this choice early on in the buying process will provide you with peace of mind and help you avert “buyer’s remorse” once everything is done.

   

2. MORTGAGE QUALIFICATION: Knowing the amount of mortgage you are qualified for should be your next top priority. You may believe you are qualified to borrow $400k but the lender might determine that you’re only good for $300k. Recognizing your mortgage qualification would basically narrow down your choices of homes.

   Check out our article on how you could boost your mortgage chances.

   

3. DURATION OF HOME LOAN: Quite a number of first time homebuyers prefer 30-year home loans while others chose to stick with 15-year mortgages. 30-year home loans usually have higher interest rates than 15-year loans. The main reason behind the high interest rate is because it will take longer for the lender to recoup the money loaned to you. Since Alberta is one of the best performing regions in the country, you may see very competitive interest rates out in the market. Review each one out to find the best interest rate for you.

   

4. SPEAKING OF RATES-KNOW HOW RATE THE INVENTORY: Once you reach this stage in the process, you can be sure that you’re on the right track!

   Being prudent in the selection process would help you avoid an expensive mistake. Here’s how you could rate the inventory of the houses that you visit so you could make an informed decision at the end of the day.

• Begin with taking photos of the house numbers and facade so you could easily identify individual houses.
• Take a piece of paper with you or use your mobile device to write down notes about significant features of the house such as the floor plan, room design and colors.
• Remember to check out the neighbor’s house. Would there be any possibility that it would cause problem in the future? Is it blocking any view?
• Also take note of the neighborhood, is it conveniently located to any near establishments that might be crucial to you?
• Shortly after leaving the house, rate it between the scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the best.

  

5. STOP BEING FINICKY! Okay, I just had to put it in here. I’ve had quite a number of clients that had been too picky and ended up with not so good deals. Since most first time homebuyers have limited resources, it is best to be open for compromise. You may have to make some home repairs or put up with ugly decorations. The idea here is if it’s just some minor inconveniences that you could easily fix, take it.

   Ask yourself, how important is it for you to have your own home now? Or would you still continue to rent for x number of years? Stop being finicky.

Equipped with this essential knowledge, we are confident that you could and would make the right decisions. To get you started in finding your future home, Team Leading Edge provides high speed access to the finest MLS real estate listings in Edmonton. It is there that you could browse through all the available houses and condos for sale in real-time.

You may also call the team at 780-634-8151 anytime you would like to schedule a viewing of your next home.

Time for us to fill up your daily dose of house feeds. Today we feature the world’s 5 most bizarre and amazing houses. The Cliff House article by Business Insider was the idea inducing factor for this piece and with Halloween right around the corner this could go on as an inspiration for your next Halloween home design. (Well, if you’re thinking of buying a home before Halloween, we might just have something for you in our Edmonton MLS Real Estate listing, remember to check it after.)

1. Cliff House by Modscape Concept (Australia): The title speaks for itself, this concept house hangs at the edge of a cliff in the outskirts of Australia. It’s a five story house that features 3 bedrooms, living room and a kitchen with the center piece being the floor-to-ceiling windows overseeing the vast ocean. The bottom area supports the Jacuzzi and barbeque making it an amazing getaway home from the hustle and bustle of the city. I’d say Tony Stark would love it.
   
2. Free Spirit Sphere (British Columbia): Designed by Tom and Rosy Chudleigh, this house is the definition of bizarre. Average weight of the sphere is 1100 pounds and the overall experience would depend on the wind speed of your (tree) location. Just imagine what would happen if you were in there and the wind was blowing at 80 mph! Scary! A great upside to this kind of house is its Eco-friendly design.
   Yup, the Ewoks from Star Wars would surely be delighted with this!
3. Leaf House (Brazil): Speaking of Eco-friendly design, this house in Angra dos Reis, Brazil ranks at number three as it was designed to look like a flower with six petals each cleverly covering the different sections of the home! The open design by Architect firm Mareines + Patalano is perfectly suited for the hot and humid climate.
4. House of Stone (Portugal): Experience the Flintstones lifestyle! This amazing house is the textbook definition of living off the grid. Built in 1974 between 4 boulders, this house features a swimming pool carved out of one of the rocks and fireplace-not bad!
   Here’s a look at the interior.
   
   
5. Bubble House (France): Located in Tourrettes-sur-Loup, France, this bizarre looking house was designed in the 70’s for a fashion designer (which explains it) named Pierre Cardin, the architect was Antti Lovag. Its bizarre structure and amazing concept officially made it a historic monument by the French Ministry of Culture.

It would really be interesting if we ever listed a home for sale in Edmonton that looked any one of these houses.
So, there you have it! We hope you got your fill of house feeds this Thursday morning and don’t forget to subscribe to our blog and do check out the list of amazing houses for sale on our Edmonton MLS Listings.