When you will start looking for your new home. There will be a lot of things and factors that you need to evaluate and see what fits your needs. Every buyer has a different set of home requirements, needs and tastes. So, it is worth taking the time to discover what you want, what has the most value, and what will pay off in the future.
A real estate agent can only help you with the task he understands well. He doesn’t understand you or your needs and demands, so you have to help yourself in this regard. There are some pitfalls that every buyer should look for when choosing to buy a house.
A successful investment in real estate in Canada doesn’t depend only on the quality of construction or architectural design, but it starts from there and ends on the experience of living at the property and that includes even the smallest factor that affects the experience.
We have a shortlist of 5 Factors to keep in mind while looking for your future house.
1.) Be near to schools and other academic institutes:
If you have children or you are planning to start a family, then you must choose a neighbourhood that is nearest to the school district. When checking properties, be sure to check around which school the property is located.
But even if you are considering this as an investment and you have no plans of having any children, this should still be an important consideration. The demand to live near the school will rise in the future because more and more people want to live close nearby, and your property will increase in value. And you will earn some good Dollars from it.
The house that is located near the schools spends a very small time in the Market, you can sell them or even rent them. It is a win-win situation for you, but it will cost more to buy property in the area. On the other hand, it will have a high liquidity value which means it is easier to sell.
2.) Travel time and yearly costs of travel:
If you go to work every day, then it is worth checking how much time it takes for you to get to your office. You should invest time in calculating the cost of travel in that area before you even purchase it. You should give a test drive a shot and see how much time it takes and how much it costs to reach there.
After calculating the cost, you should add 0.1 percent of total cost in the amount which is the price of you working as a driver and time consumed. After that multiple it by the days you will travel in a month and then multiply it again with 12, and you will have a yearly cost figure of commute. You can do the same for calculating different routes. If you don’t have the time to drive and calculate the cost, then use the google maps to find the estimates.
If you are thinking to rely on public transport. You should go to your local transport authority’s website to find out all the cost figures and different route plans for buses and choose which helps you lower down your expenses.
3.) Crime Statistics and other safety issues:
Safety is important and you can’t overlook this factor. It might look a good choice to buy cheap property, but if the neighbourhood or area is active with criminals then you will have a hard time selling it and you will ultimately lose money too. To check this, you can search on the internet to find out the relevant information, or you can visit your local police department for more detailed statistics.
4.) Property Taxes in Canada
After purchasing the property, many buyers tend to pay taxes as a part of the mortgage payment, and then forget that the taxes change over time. The fluctuation in the taxes can mess up your planning of payments so, you need to ask your agent what the current rates are and how was the pattern in the previous years.
5.) Future Developments in the area
You need to know about future developments in the next 5 or 10 years. It will impact the value of your property. The easiest way to find out is to check with the local planning office and municipal website and see what they’ve have planned. You also need to find out about the status of land in the area whether it can be purchased or not.
Pro tip: Remember good developments in the area will increase the value of your property and bad or poor developments will depreciate the value of your property.