11 Steps to Afford Your First Home and Beyond! Series: Part 11 of 11
Overview and Tips on Getting Pre-approved for a Mortgage
My goal is to help you realize your dream of owning a home! This is a decision that requires a lot of research and insight, and I am here to provide you with the right tools to succeed.
This is the final part of our 11 part series and I hope you will have found valuable insight within the articles. If you want to read the previous step, please click here and if you want to see all the parts, please take a look at the Tips & Strategies page.
11. Think Single Family and Multi-family Property
If you’ve made it this far in the series I commend you. Your ability to act in the last section of this article will be highly dependent upon what financial stage you’re at; however, it’s worth considering even if you’re just starting off in the property market and can only afford a condo right now. A simple way to break down most common property types is to think about the differences between apartment style condos; town houses; and single family detached houses. You’ll often hear realtors say that single family detached houses outperform other products in the real estate market and that’s because they do! Let’s look at an example, taking the Canadian national average in the year following 2020, the average condo and townhouse both gained 12.17% and 23.37% respectively. However, this is still outpaced by the national average for a single family detached house which grew by an incredible 28.56%! The bottom line is that if you’re trying to find a property type that will give you the best long-term return on investment, a house is the best way to go. Now naturally, among houses, multi-family homes or houses with more than one legal suite, typically perform better than single family homes. Those homes are attractive to most buyers because they provide a rental income stream that can help cover the mortgage. As a result, they are widely sought after and tend to fetch a premium in the market. So, it’s apparent that if you can afford to buy a house, a multi-family home will be the best bang for your buck. However, as we’ve discussed before, not everyone can afford to do this in one fell swoop. So what about the rest of us?
Well, before we even get into financial planning, I want to acknowledge that every home buyer has unique circumstances and needs. If you are planning to move to a new city in 2 years, buying a home might not make sense for you. Alternatively, you might just be starting a family and a big house might be more than you want or need. So it’s important to keep in mind that whatever purchasing decision you make, you should be comfortable and happy with it, because it’s you that has to live there at the end of the day.
Now, that aside, let’s say that your ultimate goal is to own a house, but you can’t afford it right away. In that case, you’ll want to put together a game plan for how to get to that goal. This is where a good realtor and mortgage broker can really help you out. By leveraging their skills and expertise, you’ll be able to develop a realistic plan to achieve your unique goals based on industry knowledge and practical strategies. In most cases, unless you expect to be able to afford a home in the next year, you’ll probably be looking at buying a starter home. Between a condo and a townhouse, a townhouse will typically gain more value over time, but both will help you convert rent into equity, allowing you to pay yourself instead of your landlord. So in many cases the townhouse may be a better investment to help you build toward your financial goal of owning a house. However, let’s say that you actually want to buy two properties. In this case, a more expensive townhouse is going to require a bigger down payment than a cheaper apartment condo, and the monthly mortgage on the condo will actually be less. So, in this case, you might be better off buying the cheaper apartment condo and putting that additional money you save toward building up a down payment to buy a house. Again, every circumstance is different, so finding skilled and knowledgeable advisors will be key to your success at every step of your journey. Whether you’re buying your first condo, or upgrading to a multi-family home, make sure you find the right people to back you up.
Finally, if you are looking for some help in making your next step in the real estate market or you know someone who could use a trusted advisor, don’t hesitate to reach out. Even if you’re not ready to make your first move, but you’re just looking for a little advice – I’ll be here to offer guidance. I love helping people every day in making one of the most important decisions in their lives. At the end of the day, my goal isn’t to sell you a home, but to help advise each person on what’s best for them based on their unique circumstances. If I can be of any service, please reach out by phone or email and I will be honored to help you.
This was the final part of our series, but stay tuned for more Tips & Strategies!
I am a Victoria based local realtor with eXp Realty. My commitment to honesty, integrity, loyalty and hard work have been important pillars for me because they drive a high standard of excellent service for my clients. Helping you realize your dream is my goal!
I service Vancouver Island, but my focus is on: Victoria, Sooke, Saanich, Malahat, Shawnigan Lake, Cobble Hill, Duncan, and the rest of the Cowichan Valley.
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