You have decided to buy a home - Lyne & Dominique are here to help.

Congratulations on your decision to buy a home! Now call Lyne Burton and/or Dominique Milne at +1 613.701.9511 to help during this very exciting time. Buying a Home can be an amazing experience, but can also be filled with up’s and down’s, so having an experienced Realtor Team like Lyne & Dominique enables you to receive the advice you need throughout this important personal transaction.

To help you prepare for buying your home, we have created some useful information checklists and outlined some of the services we offer our Buyers through to a successful real estate transaction.

  • Contact a mortgage broker to obtain a pre-approval letter, lock in to a low interest rate and to see what is your buying power. We work with experienced lenders on a regular basis and can provide you with recommendations if needed.

  • Decide what your housing needs and wants are to determine the type of home you should be considering.

  • Become familiar with the costs associated with purchasing a property such as the earnest money deposit, home inspection, appraisal fee, and closing costs. We, together with your lender and lawyer, can help estimate those costs for you.

  • Look for your new home!

  • When we find an acceptable home, we will write up an offer.

  • We negotiate the best possible price and terms on your behalf.

  • Once the offer is accepted, we work on doing our due diligence by completing the required inspections.

  • Submit the loan application with all necessary documents that is required by your lender.

  • Review the inspection report(s) and decide the best course of action.

  • Negotiate repairs to be made and complete due diligence.

  • Reserve a date with a reputable moving company.

  • Call utilities two weeks before closing.

  • Provide certified cheque or wire transfer to your lawyer for cash required to close.

  • Deed is recorded by your lawyer.

  • Keys are given to your new Home!

More helpful content below on these topics:
- Why use a Realtor
- Buying a home
- Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage
- Costs involved in Buying a home
- Title Insurance
- Land Transfer Tax
- Elements of the offer
- From Offer to Closing
and more. 


Why use a Realtor®?

Lyne Burton & Dominique Milne have access to impeccable homes in The Glebe, Old Ottawa South, Old Ottawa East, the Golden Triangle, and the Greater Ottawa Area that match your unique lifestyle. For Lyne & Dominique’s clients, their continued relationship is based on straight answers, unmatched accessibility, and a genuine interest in buying or selling your home.

Not every real estate salesperson or broker is a Realtor®. The term can only be used in Canada by members of the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) who accept and respect a strict Code of Ethics. The MLS® database, where many of Ottawa’s most beautiful homes are listed, is operated by member boards and by real estate boards belonging to the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA). The boards provide an ongoing inventory of available properties and ensure maximum exposure of properties listed for sale. Most resale homes in Ontario are listed and sold through the MLS® systems of a member real estate board. Therefore, why use a Realtor®?

The Role of the Realtor® - The typical actions, research steps, procedures, processes and review stages taken by a Realtor® to complete a successful residential real estate transaction depend on the transaction. Some tasks may take minutes, hours, or even days to complete, while some may not be needed.

Lyne & Dominique will help you navigate the intricate process of buying or selling your home by providing unmatched consultation services designed to ensure you are 100% satisfied with your transaction. It’s imperative you work with a Realtor® who understands the importance of the process.

Realtors®, like Lyne & Dominique, have pledged to uphold the stringent, enforceable tenets of the Realtor® Code of Ethics in their professional dealing with the public. Remember, not every real estate registrant holds Realtor® membership or MLS® access.

Lyne & Dominique have built a reputation as one of Ottawa’s top Lifestyle Real Estate Agents because their team understands and follows the rules and regulations required to buy or sell a home – your transaction is in good hands with Realtors® as experienced and detailed-oriented as Lyne & Dominique.


Buying a home

Buying a home is one of the most important events in an individual’s life. It’s important to follow a few simple steps before embarking your new journey.


Getting pre-qualified for a mortgage

Buying a home can be considered a rather daunting task. Getting pre-qualified for a mortage makes it easier for you to purchase the home of your dreams. You’ll want to ensure you have a commitment on paper from your bank or mortgage broker. You will also want to make sure that your interest rate is locked in for a period of time. Once pre-approved, you will know the following information:

  • Monthly payments, so you can create a budget;

  • How much home you can afford, amount of downpayment, and where the downpayment can come from;

  • If you are a first-time buyer, you may qualify for different programs that may make home buying more affordable.

Getting pre-approved will save you time and also ensure you don’t fall in love with a home outside of your price range.

If you need help steering through this process, don’t hesitate to contact Lyne & Dominique.


Costs involved in Buying a home

You will incure some costs during your home buying process, including building inspection fee, land tansfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, mortgage and/or life insurance, moving costs, etc.


Title Insurance can be purchased to protect the Lender and/or Buyer against any defects resulting from title irregularities, survey flaws, title fraud, unregistered easements and other conditions that could exist at the time of purchase.

It also provides coverage for any existing by-law violations (such as a building being too close to a sidewalk or other property, or a driveway being too wide), encroachments, legal rights of access and other title-related problems that could devalue the property.

Title Insurance


You will pay a one-time provincial tax based on a percentage of the purchase price of the property, which is calculated using a sliding scale. For example, if you purchase a property in Ontario, for $300,000, 0.5% is charged on $55,000, 1% is charged on $55,000 to $250,000, and 1.5% will be charged for the range between $250,000 and $400,000. Your total land transfer tax bill will be $4,475. Your lawyer will pay it to the government on the closing date.

Estimate your Land Transfer Tax

Land Transfer Tax


At this point, we have seen a number of properties, and you have selected the perfect home for you. This is a very exciting time! Let’s have a look at the different elements of the offer.

Purchase Price
One-on-one, with the guidance of Lyne & Dominique, we will review recent comparable sales so we can determine the market value of the property. This will also help us determine the price we should offer. The factors that may affect the offer price are:

  • Location of the property;

  • Condition of the home;

  • Current market conditions;

  • Multiple offers – expect to pay more if there is more than one offer on the property.

Deposit
Once you have decided on what price to offer, we need to determine the amount of the deposit. This amount is similar to a security deposit. It needs to be large enough to show the Seller that you are serious. This amount will be applied towards the purchase price, on closing. The deposit cheque will be cashed upon acceptance of the offer, but should something come up within the time period of the conditions, the deposit will be returned to you in full.

Completion Date
The date you put in the offer should be the best move-in date based on your current situation. You need to take into consideration the closing date on your current home, or the end of your lease. Remember vacation dates also!

Title Search Date
This is also called the Requisition Date. This is the deadline for your lawyer to determine that you are buying a home free and clear of any liens and encumbrances.

Conditions
You will likely want to include conditions such as Financing, Building Inspection and Status Certificate Review (if buying a condominium).

Financing
Chances are, you will need to get a mortgage. By now, you should have been pre-approved for one. We should still include this condition, as the lender will need time to have an appraisal done.

Inspection
Once your offer is accepted, you will want to hire a certified home inspector to inspect your future home. Keep in mind that no home in perfect, even a brand new one, and that small maintenance items should not be part of renegotiations. If you are buying a home with a well and/or septic system, you will want to have those components inspected as well. If there is a swimming pool, and weather permits, you should consider having it inspected as well. Lyne & Dominique will help you understand what to watch out for and guide you towards the right choice.

Chattels and Fixtures Included
You should determine what you will need in terms of appliances, window coverings, etc and look at what has been included and excluded in the listing. Those items are sometimes negotiable.

Before reducing the terms to paper, you will want to put yourself in the Seller’s shows and imagine how they will react to everything you are about to put in your offer. Remember that verbal promises are not legally enforceable when it comes to the sale of real estate, so it is important to ensure all negotiations are done in writing.

Elements of the offer


Your offer is just that, an offer, until it has been accepted by both you and the seller. Once the offer has been presented to the seller, there are likely to be counter-offers going back and forth between the parties, until you come to an agreement.

If your offer is conditional on financing and building inspection, there will be a limited time period to fulfill those conditions, typically five to seven business days. Lyne & Dominique will act as your coordinator for all activities from this point forward, and they’ll ensure that everything takes place within the time period stated in the agreement.

You will need to supply your financial institution with any outstanding information, and you will need to select a real estate lawyer - Lyne & Dominique can help you find the right choice.

Normally, the buyer accompanies the home inspector and the agent during the inspection. This could take anywhere from two to four hours, depending on the size of the home.

If necessary, Lyne & Dominique will work together with the seller’s representative to negotiate any major repairs that were pointed out during the inspection. Remember that routine maintenance and cosmetic items are not the kind of items that should be negotiated on. The purpose of the home inspection is to ensure you are not buying a home with major deficiencies.

Once your conditions have been fulfilled, the lawyers will search the tile of the property and will ensure you are getting clear title, free from any liens and encumbrances.

This may sound overwhelming, but don’t worry, you are in good hands. Lyne & Dominique have been through this process many times, and will be there for you during the entire process.

We are here to help, so let’s get started by visiting properties together. Contact Lyne & Dominique to get your search started today.

From Offer to Closing