Buying a home in Victoria takes time. You need to narrow down your search by neighbourhood, housing style and budget; all while ensuring you are protected through the offer, negotiation and closing process.
Here are a few tips and resources that we hope will help with the process:
- Set your budget – understand the costs of purchasing and maintaining your home and set a budget that works for your lifestyle. Don’t forget to calculate in maintenance costs, taxes, and insurance as well as costs associated with the purchase like property transfer tax and closing costs.
- Think about timing – do you need to sell your existing home before buying the next one, is moving before the start of school year important.
- If a mortgage is required – get pre-approved to ensure a strong negotiating position
- Use our Greater Victoria Real Estate Neighbourhood Guides to help identify areas that are right for your lifestyle. Consider proximity to amenities, schools, work, recreations facilities, affordability, etc.
- If possible narrow down your search by focusing on homes that have the architectural style or layout that you want
- Prioritize your must haves. It is unlikely that your home will deliver every item on your wish list. Understanding what your trade-offs you are willing to make, and which ones your will regret before starting your search will make the decision process easier
- For homes that may be contenders make note or use the House Hunting Check list from the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) to keep track of things like: type of heating, quality of finishes, overall condition, etc. that may affect your final decision