Buying our first property: the hunting phase

This is part 2 of a 3-part series on my advice on buying your first property based on our experience. In this blog post, I talk all about the hunting phase of finding the property that suits your needs and goals! In the first part I talked about the things to consider before buying a house in order to be well prepared. Buying a house is a big investment, and at the end of the hunting journey, it is important that you feel happy and comfortable with your final choice.

Once we had set our minds on the type of investment we wanted to make and our budget, we started the hunt with faith and << kè poze >>. The first time around, when we started our search we were stressed and hurried because we were not prepared in terms of knowing what was needed in the process, and being stressed to find something quickly. So take all the time you need to be prepared before jumping into the hunting phase. Once you've done your homework in the preparation phase, here are a few things to consider in the hunting phase:

1. Set up your search criteria: What are your top 5 must-haves?

Before starting our search, our real estate agent urged us to each write down our 5 must-haves and to compare notes. Why? Because finding THE perfect home that checks all the boxes is damn near impossible - especially in this market! So before you start spending hours online searching through the inventory, know what you are looking for in order to make the search more targeted and efficient. In addition to your priorities, you might want to narrow the search area to 2-3 neighborhoods. That alone can take some time to figure out, but usually your budget and type of property you're looking for will be the determining factors.

Source: houselogic.com

The following were our top priorities:

1. A backyard - This one is all me, haha. I wanted a space for BBQ parties, a fire pit and a vegetable garden ( you know what they say: Happy wife, happy life! So Oli let me have this one as #1 with no fuss);

2. 3 bedrooms (master, guest room, potential kid's nursery);

3. A driveway (a garage was bonus) - Worrying about street parking during the cold and snowy winter months was a big deal breaker. We are too Caribbean for that!;

4. Public transport friendly for work - Then the pandemic happened and working from home became the new normal. The guest room doubles as an office, and since there is no kid yet, the second room is my office for now;

5. Good neighborhood life : access to services including schools, parks, and enough green spaces.

Setting priorities means that if a listing is missing any of your top 5 criteria, you pass and move on. Anything else becomes a nice-to-have and can be used to rank the listings you are interested in.

And one last thing: try not to include design aspects into your top 5 because these can be changed with renovations, UNLESS doing renovations is a big no-no for you. It really is about what is best for you (if buying alone) or you and your partner.

2. All real estate agents are not created equal: vet them!

Like I said earlier, buying a home is a big investment, so you want the best team of professionals by your side. We went through 3 real estate agencies before we found a good fit. That's not to say you won't find yours at the first interview, but don't just pick an agent just for the sake of having an agent. Always start if referrals if you can find any and here are some qualities to keep an eye out for:

• Resourceful: You want someone that can get you connected with the right professionals to make the process as smooth as possible. Do they know mortgage brokers, building inspectors, contractors, or other professionals that can give you professional advice but most importantly, reduced rates.

• Location specific expertise: A great Montreal agent may suck at finding properties in Brossard. So look for someone with experience not only in the location you are interested in, but also in the type of property (single family, condo, etc..) you want.

• Good negotiator: this comes not only with years of experience, but also with the person's character. Pay attention to how they analyze a listing, their comments on the pricing. Do they have your best interests in mind?

• Professionalism: Do they take their job seriously? Do they respect you as a client and give you the time and attention that you deserve?

If you can avoid signing an exclusivity agreement, than you could also choose to work with more than one agent. But I find that dealing with one person at a time is less complicated.

3. How to compare listings

Only evaluate and compare listings that match ALL of your must-haves. For single-family homes, you simply need to rank the homes based on your check-list of must-haves and important nice-to-haves.

Beyond your list of preferences, the financial components of the property are also very important in the case of a multi-family unit that will bring in revenues. Rank your findings based on a commom index. A good one is the net revenu multiplier (multiplicateur de revenu net in French). This index the mortgage payments you will need to make; are you able to bypass the mortgage insurance fees? What are the potential revenues from tenants (multi-family units)?

Final words: Don't rush the process and work as a team!

I won't lie, the process can be stressful, frustrating and long. especially in a seller's market like right now, in and around Montreal. Heck, sometimes the process is short and sweet too! It really depends on the market. Like everything great and worth your while, you just need to get to hunting and trust the process. Put in a little prayer too and have faith that what you are looking for will come your way.

If you are going through buying your first home with a partner, my advice is to work as a team. You can always lean on friends and family for advice, but at the end of the day, every decision must be aligned with your vision and your partner's vision (also the size of your pockets lol) - no one else's! So take decisions together and make sure you are both comfortable with each and everyone of them throughout the process.

Oli and I would crush our numbers together on potential houses (shoutout to my brother in law for that Excel sheet!), make a list of houses to visit, and gang up on our real estate agent when they weren't doing their job lol. We would encourage each other when the process was overwhelming or we would bitch together about missed opportunities. Mind you we were planning a wedding at the same time... in the middle of a pandemic! Enough to make us go mad, but working as a team and relying on each other to do our part and be supportive is what I think got me through it.

Happy hunting!

With love,

Cyn