Home Buyer's Guide for Oakville, Burlington & the GTA

Step 1: Research

Do you already know where you want to buy? If you want a condo, townhome, or single-family home? Which features do you like and dislike? What’s available on the market now? If you answered no to any of these questions, now is the time to start researching. In addition to looking for homes that interest you, also take note of any changes in asking prices. This could give you valuable insight into housing trends in specific neighborhoods and help you when the time comes to make an offer.

Step 2: Decide on Your Budget

Notice we said to decide on your budget—not determine how much the mortgage company will give you. In many cases, a mortgage company will pre-approve you for more than you’re comfortable spending, which is why you need to determine the monthly payment you feel comfortable with before talking to a lender. This likely includes doing a full household budget and taking into consideration what changes other than a mortgage payment will occur once you move into your new home. If you’ve lived in an apartment or with roommates, you may overlook new expenses like garbage, water, or HOA fees that could easily blow your budget.

Step 3: Get Prequalified

Just because you think you can afford a certain payment every month doesn’t mean the mortgage company will agree. Just as they may approve you for too large of an amount, they may also approve you for a lesser amount or deny you a mortgage altogether. Lack of time at a job, insufficient credit, past bankruptcies, or other financial issues can cause major problems when trying to secure a mortgage. Before you get your heart set on a home, talk to a mortgage professional to find out what amount you can qualify for. This will also be an advantage when you make an offer on a home, as some sellers won’t entertain offers from those who aren’t already prequalified for a loan.

Step 4: Choose a Real Estate Agent

Can you shop for, look at, and ultimately make an offer on a home without a real estate agent? Technically yes, but why would you when it costs you nothing for agents like us to take much of the stress off your shoulders? Not only will we help identify properties you might be interested in, arrange showings, and ultimately handle the offer process, but we also have knowledge of the market that you don’t possess. Finding the perfect home can be a daunting task, this is where our expertise and wealth of knowledge come into play. Let us show you around some homes that meet your dream home criteria so you can find the one that's right for you.

Step 5: Find the Right Home

This should be the most enjoyable step of the entire process (other than moving in!). We will arrange showings of homes you’re interested in that are within your price range. Take notes about what you like and don’t like, and make sure to pay attention to details. Turn light switches on and off, open and close doors, and run the faucets in various rooms. Don’t limit your inspection to the home itself. Make sure to take time to explore the neighborhood and keep an eye on traffic at certain times of the day, the parking situation, and how close it is to necessities like schools and grocery stores.

Step 6: Make an Offer

Once you have selected the perfect home, work with your agent to craft a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes on the market. Depending on what the home is listed at and whether the current environment is a buyer’s or seller’s market, your offer may be below, at, or even above the asking price. We will be able to help you negotiate if you receive a counteroffer and reach an agreement. At this point, the house will go into escrow.

Step 7: Have the Home Inspected

In most cases, your offer will be contingent on having the home inspected to ensure there is no major structural damage or large repairs needed. We can help you arrange this, and you can schedule it within days of making an offer. If there are no major issues, the process goes to step eight. If there is, you can renegotiate your offer based on what needs to be fixed, or you can withdraw it.

Step 8: Financing

Now is the time to go back to the mortgage lender who pre-approved or pre-qualified you and choose your mortgage. You will be presented with various options based on your unique financial situation, including fixed-rate, variable-rate, 15-year, 30-year, or special programs such as VA loans or FHA loans. Work with your mortgage lender to select the option you feel the most comfortable with.

Step 9: Get a Home Appraisal

Your lender will have your new home appraised so they have their independent value of it. The appraisal is to ensure that all parties involved are paying a fair price for the house.

Step 10: Finish Paperwork

No one looks forward to all the paperwork involved in buying a home, but it’s a necessary part of the process. Fortunately, everything will be arranged by your lender and title company and, when you’re finished, you’ll know you are the legal owner of your new home.

Our Testimonials

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Jordan K.

Gianna is an amazing real estate agent! We worked with her to purchase an investment property. She understood our needs and gave us the right listings in a timely manner. We found the place we wanted quickly and were able to se...

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We had a fantastic time working with The Schiralli Team! What impressed us the most is that Gianna was able to answer all our questions before we even asked them. She was always one step ahead and very proactive. The client exp...

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I had the pleasure of working with Gianna over the past few months as I sold my too-big-for-me townhouse and downsized to a smaller condo. I really appreciated Gianna's advice and guidance (and patience) at all stages, and was ...

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When I asked for a recommendation for an agent in Toronto to help me purchase my first home, my only specification was that I was looking to work with someone whom I could ask my (countless!) questions without feeling inexperie...

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Mary Ann was very knowledgeable, attentive, professional, and made selling our family home an easy process from start to finish! Her advice was sound and resulted in a quick sale, with a solid offer. - Fred

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Gianna was extremely helpful in helping us find and purchase our first home. She was quick to book showings at desired listings and make recommendations about other listings and neighbourhoods that were in-line with our needs a...

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Gianna was an absolute pleasure to work with. She is knowledgeable, trustworthy and was incredibly accommodating with my particular situation. Gianna was kind and a true professional. She was helpful in explaining the sale proc...

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We cannot say enough great things about the Schiralli Team! We bought our first home with Gianna and now a few years later we just sold that home and bought a new home with her. She made the process easy with amazing communicat...

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Mary Ann and Gianna were recommended to us by a friend, and we couldn’t be happier with our decision to work with them. With little information on the Oakville market, and as first time homebuyers, it was important for us to wo...

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Gianna and Mary Ann were incredibly responsive and organized through our first home search process. Gianna was quick to book our showings and was able to secure us an off-market view at what ended up being our dream home! Thank...

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Working with Gianna on the sale of my condo and purchase of my new home was a real pleasure. She is professional in every capacity, and provided me with comfort and confidence throughout the entire process. These are major life...

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Submitting this testimonial is important to us after I listened to stories of significant risk and stress of others in a similar house-selling market. The knowledgeable and confident advice was the center-point of our experienc...

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Mary Ann and Gianna Schiralli did an excellent job guiding us through our first home sale experience. What impressed us most was how well they helped us manage our expectations and educated us on market trends which ended up be...

Joe Galea

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