Looking to sell your existing home and upgrade?

Hey everyone, hope you are all eager for an early spring. I don’t mind
winter but this year I’m looking forward to a nice spring and with
spring in the air many of you may be thinking about selling and perhaps
upgrading to a larger home. Selling and buying are not too tricky but
here are a couple quick tips to keep in mind:
1. Calculate how much money you will have net should you sell (at
a responsible price), minus real estate broker fees (plus taxes), minus
mortgage balance and bank penalty (assuming your mortgage is not
portable or not worth porting).
2. Will the net proceeds all go towards the new down payment? Can I use some of that money to lower or pay off some debt?
3. Get pre-approved for the new purchase. You can get
pre-approved without actually selling or listing. This not only helps
set a budget for the new purchase, it also ensures that your credit,
income, and incomes taxes are in order. It’s not a bad idea to do all
this before listing your home.
4. Can I make a conditional offer on a new home pending the sale of mine? Yes, you can, however, this type of offer is not the
strongest because anyone else can walk-in and make an offer without
that condition. In such cases, the vendor would give you 72 hours to
sell your home otherwise you lose your offer. If your new purchase is
really your dream home then sometimes it makes sense to first refinance your present home so you have the down payment. Thereafter you sell and port the new mortgage to the new home later.
5. What if the notary date for the sale of my home is scheduled after my new purchase? Not a problem. In such cases, bridge loans are available through the banks.