10 Simple Steps for Buying Your First Home!

Thinking about buying your first home can seem quite overwhelming and stress provoking, but with a little bit of preparation it can become a reality!

Here are 10 helpful hints to prepare for buying your first home:

Step 1 – Build a Budget

Step 2 – Investigate Mortgage Options

Step 3 – Choose a Realtor

Step 4 – Choose a Lawyer

Step 5 – Look at Homes

Step 6 – Submit an offer

Step 7 – Choose a Home Inspector

Step 8 – Finalize the Deal

Step 9 – Prepare to Move

Step 10 – Closing Day!

For more details about each step, for more information and for great tips about the home buying process, Genworth Financial Canada has published a great article that is well worth the read  if you are considering purchasing a new home –  to view the article click here.

I hope this information helps you in your home buying adventure! Please don’t hesitate to call The Jamie Dann Team at 1-877-252-5242 if we can help explain the home buying process to you or if you have any Real Estate questions – We are here to help!

Until next time,

The Jamie Dann Team

Are The New Mortgage Rules a Good or Bad Thing for First-Time Home Buyers?

Some of you may know that in July of this year major changes to the rules regarding Canadian mortgages were put into effect by the Canadian government. These new policies included a decrease in the maximum amortization period from 30 years to 25 years for mortgages insured by the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, that lenders could allow home equity loans for up to 80% of a property’s value (reduced from 85% previously) and that homes worth more than 1 million dollars were no longer eligible for government insured (CMHC) mortgages (for example, anyone wanting to buy a home worth more than $1 million must now have a down payment of at least $200,000).


For first-time buyers the biggest change was the shortening of the maximum amortization period from 30 to 25 years. Now, is that necessarily a bad thing? Perhaps not as this will force borrowers to pay back their debt sooner, thereby ultimately reducing the amount of interest they'll pay over the life of the loan, saving them thousands of dollars in interest costs over the life of the mortgage. However, the flip side of the coin is that the borrower’s mortgage payments will be larger as more debt gets paid back with each payment.

Some experts say that the new rules may help prevent first-time buyers from stretching themselves too thin, will allow them to build equity in their home faster and become mortgage-free sooner.

There is a great article in The Star which addresses the pros and cons of the new mortgage rules in Canada for first-time home buyers, to read the article click here.

Hope all of you first-time buyers find this article interesting and informative. If you have any questions about how the new rules may affect your new home purchase, please don’t hesitate to give us a call – we are here to help!

Until next time,

The Jamie Dann Team.

Using RRSP's To Fund Down Payments...

Hi All:

The Canadian real estate market is in the midst of a busy year. For first time buyers, the biggest challenge is often how to come up with the down payment. While it's possible to buy a home with as little as 5% down, the ideal recommendation is to put at least 20% of the purchase price toward the down payment. How can you come up with these funds?

When helping client's solidify a savings plan, financial planners often advise, "Pay yourself first." When it comes to buying a home, first time home buyers may want to consider the suggestion, "Borrow from yourself first." This can be achieved through the application of your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) toward the down payment of a property.

Canadians who have never owned a home, or who haven't owned their primary residence for at least the past five years, may qualify to withdraw up to $25,000 (tax free) from their RRSP to put towards a home through the government's Home Buyer's Plan. Home buyers withdrawing funds from their RRSP under this plan do not have to pay income tax on the amount withdrawn as long as the funds start being repaid into an RRSP two years after withdrawing the funds, are repaid at a minimum of 1/15 per year, and are completely repaid within 15 years.

If you would like a copy of the Home Buyer's plan, please email us at admin@jamiedann.com

Lastly, our inventory is low and houses are selling fast. If you, or anyone you care about is thinking of making a move, please contact us and we will be happy to discuss how to make that happen.

Until next time!

The Jamie Dann Team

Barrie's Housing Market Outlook for Spring 2011

For those of you out there who LOVE statistics, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation recently released their review and predictions for Spring 2011 and beyond. The article states that given the amount of sales in 2010, 2011 is going to be a more moderate year - not as many listings, little to no price increases and much more of a balanced market. According to the report, sales shouldn't start to increase until late 2011 and into 2012. What I found to be interesting was the forcast that as the economy gets stronger in the next few years, along with the fact that more young adults will be moving toward home purchases, the occurance of first time buyers will increase.

This report says much more than I could write here, so, to check out the full document, click here.

Until next time!

The Jamie Dann Team