4 THINGS EVERY NEW HOMEBUYER NEEDS TO KNOW.
Your first new home is one of the major milestones in your life. Let’s face it; it’s an investment in your future, it’s where you will spend a large amount of time, and where you will most likely start your family. However, a purchase this significant requires due-diligence. Here are some tips that we recommend you should know as a starting point:
1._Get ready to move in but get ready for incomplete work
Sometimes, even though the new house is ready for occupancy, it is not necessarily complete to your liking. This can be even more obvious when moving into a new condo. Indeed, many buyers find out the hard way that they are required to take possession of their unit before the common element areas are completed. This means you could be living in a construction zone for many months without the amenities you were expecting to be available.
2. Read your agreement over carefully.
Now that you have chosen the right home for yourself, you must research the builder on the Ontario Builder Directory to make sure they’re license to build and sell homes. Then, you must sign the Agreement of Purchase and Sale. This is where you must pay attention to what is written before you sign. Ensure to take a closer look at the dates outlined to get a sense of how long it will take for your new home to be ready for move-in. We recommend that you go over this agreement with a real estate lawyer. A verbal agreement with the builder is never a binding contract in real estate!
3. Limit your down payment
Under Ontario’s new home warranty, buyers are protected up to $40,000 for deposits on freehold homes and $20,000 for condominiums. Be careful before making a deposit that exceeds these limits – in the rare event that you do not receive your new home, you’re only covered up to these amounts.
4. Understand your warranty protection
Almost every new home built in Ontario comes with warranty coverage that is provided by the builder and backed by Tarion. In addition to deposit coverage and delayed closing compensation, there are also three separate warranties on new homes. Together, they last up to seven years and include violations to the Ontario building code, coverage for major structural defects, and defects in workmanship and electrical, plumbing, and heating systems. Your builder should provide you with a homeowner information package before you take possession of detailed information about the warranty.
For more information and tips, visit tarion.com
