With buying your first home as a Canadian being such a significant and costly step, you’ll want to make sure you do it right, and become a homeowner that can cope with your mortgage payments while owning a property that now belongs to you.

However, you’ll face many challenges while fulfilling your dream of home ownership, and the financial commitment alone involves many steps, tasks and requirements. Many unexpected challenges may also crop up on the journey to home ownership, making you feel anxious and uncertain about continuing.

So, who can you turn to for help, how can you make sure that your financial decisions are sound, and what other consideration should you make when seeking to buy your first property?

Seeking Help From a Mortgage Broker and/or Advisor

Provided you are honest about your finances and clear about what you can and can’t afford when it comes to buying a home, mortgage brokers or advisors can be immensely helpful. With their deep understanding of the mortgage process and exclusive access to deals that aren’t available to other borrowers, a mortgage broker will assess your financial circumstances and help you find a lender that will offer you the best deal.

What Should you do if You’re a Self-Employed First-Time Homebuyer?

You should firstly gather all the required income documents – your broker or advisor can help you with this – and begin the mortgage pre-approval process with a lender. If working with a mortgage broker, they’ll take care of every aspect of the process, and make it as quick and stressless as possible.

Can you Really Afford what Online Calculators Tell you?

While the addition of the stress test has made it trickier for Canadians to qualify for a mortgage in recent years, many reputable brokers have access to a variety of lenders that include banks, and both alternative and private lenders, giving you more options to find a workable solution.

Can you Afford the Down Payment?

5% of the first $500,000 of your first home purchase is the minimum down payment, and 10% on anything higher than that. Many first-time homebuyers use their savings to cover the cost of their down payment, or borrow from a line of credit or a loan.

What About Making an Offer?

Once you find the home that you like, and that more importantly, you can afford, you’ll work with your realtor to submit your offer to the seller, and if you’ve worked with a mortgage broker to get pre-approval, you’ll come across as a serious buyer who has the confidence to commit to the purchase.

Seeking professional help from an experienced mortgage broker is always going to make the first-time homebuying process easier and a lot less stressful, and most people who work with them, are satisfied with their experience and happy that they chose not to go it alone.