Buying a Home With Confidence

Buying a home is a major decision, and having experienced representation can make the process much easier to navigate. Team Keenan Neilly works with buyers throughout Burnaby, New Westminster, Coquitlam, Port Moody, Vancouver and the surrounding Lower Mainland.

Our role is to represent your interests, help you understand the properties you're considering and guide you through each step from financing and the home search to negotiations, due diligence, subject removal and possession.

Start With Financing

Before beginning your search, it's important to understand how much you can comfortably spend and what financing may be available to you.

A mortgage professional can help you review your income, down payment, monthly payment comfort level and financing options. If you don't already have a lender, we can provide several mortgage professionals for you to consider.

Define What You're Looking For

Once you're ready to begin your search, we'll help you narrow down the type of property, location, price range and features that matter most to you.

We'll set up an MLS® search based on your criteria and help you evaluate properties as they become available. It's common for priorities to evolve as you see different homes and learn more about the market.

Evaluating the Property

When you find a property you like, we'll help you look beyond the surface. We'll review comparable sales, competing listings, neighbourhood activity and other information that can help you understand the property's market value.

For condos and townhomes, we also pay close attention to the building and strata corporation, including available strata documents, building history, insurance information, depreciation reports and other details that may affect the purchase.

Making an Offer

Once you've found the right property, the next step is preparing an offer. Purchase price is important, but it is only one part of the contract.

An offer can also include the deposit, financing terms, subject conditions, included items, completion date, possession date and other terms specific to the property and your situation.

We'll help you structure the offer, explain the important terms and negotiate on your behalf with the goal of protecting your interests while giving you the strongest opportunity to secure the property.

Home Inspection & Due Diligence

A property can look great during a showing and still have issues that aren't immediately visible. When appropriate, we'll recommend including a subject to a professional home inspection.

The inspection can help identify maintenance concerns, deficiencies and items that may require further investigation. If you don't already have an inspector, we can provide several qualified inspection companies for you to consider.

Depending on the findings and the terms of your contract, we'll discuss your options with you before you make the decision to proceed.

Buying a Strata Property

If you're purchasing a condo or townhome, reviewing the strata information is an important part of your due diligence.

Depending on the property, this may include council meeting minutes, annual and special general meeting minutes, financial statements, bylaws, insurance information, depreciation reports and other available documents. We'll help you understand the information and identify items that may warrant further investigation.

Removing Subjects

Once your financing is approved, your inspection and other due diligence are complete and you're satisfied with any strata information that applies, you'll be in a position to decide whether to remove your subjects.

Subject removal is an important step because once the conditions are removed, the contract generally becomes firm. We'll review the process with you before you make that decision.

Before Completion

After the contract becomes firm, there are still a few important items to take care of before completion.

• Stay in communication with your lender and complete any remaining financing requirements promptly.
• Avoid major new purchases or changes to your credit without first discussing them with your lender.
• Arrange suitable home insurance for the property.
• Choose a lawyer or notary to handle the legal completion of the purchase.
• Begin planning for your move and possession day.

Lawyer or Notary

You'll need a lawyer or notary to handle the legal transfer of the property. We'll provide the necessary transaction documents to the legal professional you select. If you don't already have one, we can provide several names for you to consider.

Completion & Possession

On completion day, the legal transfer of title and funds takes place. Your lawyer or notary will handle the registration and financial adjustments associated with the purchase.

Possession is when you receive the keys and can take over your new home, at the time specified in the contract.

We'll coordinate the key handover and be there to help you through those final steps. And of course, our relationship doesn't end when you get the keys. We're still available after completion if you need help finding trades, service providers or other real estate-related resources.