The dream of every Canadian is the dream of home ownership.

We work hard to save for that roof over our heads that will protect our children and future generations.

When you make the final decision to move on out of that miniscule apartment or townhome, you have discussed a few things before signing your old home up on the Multi-Listing System (MLS in Canada) and performing the "upgrade" that will suit your needs.

One needs to look at the following:

A) You need a good realtor - one who will represent your interests exclusively and answer your questions as well as find you the home you want.

B) You need to find where you can get the best mortgage package at the best rate possible. You need to know how much house you can afford. As a word of advice, seek a pre-approval from your bank. They are a regulated industry, whereas mortgage brokers are not. There are too many documented cases of mortgage fraud in the past few years involving brokers and people have been put in financial peril because of their actions.

C) Check your credit bureau both BEFORE and AFTER a possible home closing date - approximately 30 days to 6 weeks. If you sought a pre-approval from a bank, there should be just ONE inquiry and only one. If, however, you did take the Mortgage Broker road, you might find your personal information has been taken from one end of the spectrum to the other, even though you signed for one and only one credit bureau. This, in the long run, damages your beacon score and your credit.

D) Find legal representation you can trust that will do the job for a nominal fee and not one that blows the already expensive closing costs out of the water.

E) Take abuse from anyone in regards to the transaction. If abuse starts and they start to treat you like you don't know anything about buying a home, or refuse to give you the answers you feel that you are entitle to, this should give a you a red flag and if you are interested in your financial well-being, drop them like a hot potato and in the future refer them to NO ONE.

F) Communication is key. If there is none - end the relationship immediately.

Buying a home can be financially economical because the equity in your previous home can pay out bills and make your credit report financially sound.

Left in the right hands, you can buy that home.

If, however, the transaction gets in the hands of the wrong people, you can find yourself financially ruined for years, perhaps even worse than what you started out to begin with when you made the fateful decision to buy a better home for you and your family.

Learn more about this author, Laura Feeney.
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