Purchasing Your First Home

Are you a 26-year-old working as a Financial Advisor on Bay Street who is looking to purchase their first condo? Maybe you are a young couple who is taking the next step in their relationship and planning to purchase a home together. How about a newly married couple with a newborn baby who finally saved enough money to be able to move out of their in-laws? Whatever your situation is, congratulations are in order. You are planning to buy your first home and are going to be first time homeowners. This is a big and important step in your life and there are many factors to consider before you dive right in. We at XYZ Storage want to help by giving you a quick guide to purchasing your first home.

Finances and Budgeting

Save, save, and save!

With the Toronto housing market still on the rise, it becomes more expensive to purchase a home in the Toronto area. Whether you are purchasing a home by yourself or with your significant other it is important to save for at least a down payment and the other expenses that come with purchasing a home. You also want to ensure that you have a stable income and an emergency savings fund to prevent a situation where you cannot afford the upkeep of the house.

Budgeting

Budgeting is an important to step to figuring out what your priorities are. For example, whether you need to pay for gas for your car every week or pay rent. Make a list of all the things you want or need to spend your money on and how much you plan to spend accordingly. If you plan on purchasing a home within the next year or next several years you may want to cut back on going to the movies or that fancy dinner every weekend.

Your Plans

What is your 5-year plan? How about your 10-year plan? Choosing a house is a huge investment for most people. When choosing a home for yourself you should think about what your long-term goals are with purchasing a house. Is it an investment or your “forever home”? Moving in with your significant other can be a different story. You want to ensure that both your plans for the short and long-run align or do compromises need to be made.

Location

Location is key and there are many factors to take into account when choosing which neighbourhoods you want to look at.

Public Transportation and Major Highways

The location that you choose may depend on your location of work and if you have access to a vehicle. For example, if you work in the financial district downtown you may want to purchase a condo downtown, so you can take public transit to work. Maybe you enjoy the city life, but work in Richmond Hill, therefore, you need easy access to the DVP. Being close to local transportation and major highways can be highly beneficial and a great selling point for you and as an investment.

Major Malls and Grocery Stores

When looking for a house you may want to consider whether the location is close to any grocery stores and other retail outlets. You never know when you need to do a late-night grocery run. If you choose a house with several grocery stores within a five km radius that can save you from a long commute to shop for your necessities.

Schools

Are you planning on having children anytime soon? Do you have a young family and want to raise them in the suburbs? There might be a house in an area that you are considering buying that has a school nearby or they are newly constructing one in the next few years. That is a bonus for you! You might also want to consider the schools rankings.

Parks and Recreation

One of the things you may want to look for is if there are any local community centres and parks in the neighbourhood. If there is a cute park across the street from where you live your children will have a lot of fun! You can also sign your child up for soccer or dance classes at the local community centre.

Need Storage?

If you are faced with a situation where you are moving in with your significant other, but do not have enough space for all of your belongings you should think about self-storage as a solution. Our XYZ Storage facilities can be the perfect home for the belongings you do not have space for. You are making a big change in your life and we want to help you make space for it. From all of us at XYZ Storage, happy house hunting to our storage community!