Finding your first home in British Columbia? Congratulations for your major milestone, and you should be proud of this accomplishment. But, buying a home for the first time has many unfamiliar steps involved. Honestly, with it can come plenty of frustrations and stress.

Let this serve as your guide to get your foot through the door of your first home.

Do Your Homework & Research

Before you set up any meetings, determine your wish-list of features you want in your future home. Consider factors like location, price range, amenities, accessibility and transportation. Having a detailed checklist will save you both the time of looking at homes that fits into your criteria. If you map out both your wants and needs in order of importance ahead of time, your options will become much more focused.

Build your team

To get into your dream home, you’re going to need a team. Starting with a mortgage pro for your pre approved mortgage, you will also need a realtor, appraiser, home inspector and lawyer. You will find these professions work very closely together, so find someone you can trust, and they are sure to have some recommendations on who else would be a good fit for your team.

Get approved

The first step towards being approved for a mortgage is to understand the factors that define whether you qualify or not, typically broken down into four main components: your credit, your ability to pay, your down payment and your collateral. It is best to work with a mortgage specialist and provide them with all the necessary information upfront to understand you and your goals for a mortgage loan. You will need to provide information about your employment, information about all sources of income, banking details, proof of any assets, details of loans or debts and evidence of a down payment.