FAQ

FAQ’s about buying and selling a home

We understand that buying or selling a home is a complex process (it is, after all, the biggest purchase of your life). We've put together this list of FAQs to help you answer some of the most common questions.

Questions for Buyers

It’s not necessary to have financing in place before you start house-hunting, but we recommend it. After all, it doesn’t make much sense to spend time looking at $600,000 houses if it turns out the bank will only give you $400,000.

This makes even more sense if you’re a first-time home buyer, as the banks have now put certain rules in place to make sure you really can afford a house. These rules aren’t necessarily restrictive—but to avoid the unexpected, we suggest you always check with your bank as a first step in the home-buying process.

Like many big decisions in life, there’s no easy answer to this question. If you buy a new home before you sell the one you’re currently in, then congratulations—you’ve got a new house lined up and you won’t have to deal with the stress of being “homeless” until you can find something.

However this can put you in a place where you can only make a conditional offer to purchase someone else’s house. In other words, you’ll have to say to the seller “We’re going to buy this house as soon as we sell ours.” With competition in the real estate market getting hotter, that can leave you exposed to the threat of a buyer coming along and saying “We’ll buy your house today—with no conditions.” This might mean you lose the house you wanted to buy.

On the flipside, if you sell your current home before buying a new one, you’ll never run into this problem. But this can be a very stressful approach—you never know how long your house might take to sell, or how long it might take you to find a new one… And you could end up spending a lot of money on a hotel to live in if things take a turn for the worse.

This question has no real answer. Yes, it’s perfectly OK to buy the first house you see—if you feel it’s the right one for you. Or perhaps you’ve looked at 10 properties and there’s something wrong with every one. Either way, this is your house—and you’re going to be the one living there—so whatever works for you… Works! We want to help you find your "this is it" space.

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Are you a “homes” expert? Even if you know a lot about them, buying and selling houses probably isn’t what you do all day. To us at CENTURY 21 Poirier Real Estate, it makes the most sense to do what you do best—and leave the sometimes complicated buying and selling process to the people who do this professionally.

In Alberta, REALTOR® fees for both the buyer’s and seller’s representative are typically paid by the party who’s selling their home.

Questions for Sellers

Spring is usually best, but every market is different. Here in Alberta, we find our clients have the most success selling a home in spring and summer months. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t sell your home in the fall or winter to a serious buyer.
First impressions matter in real estate, so this is one area where we encourage sellers to pull out all the stops. De-cluttering, thoroughly cleaning, re-painting, putting in new carpet… In the past we’ve recommended it all and more. If you’d like us to let you know what we think you could do with your home, contact us.
Ah, the question on every seller’s lips. The short answer is: as much as it’s worth. The longer answer involves a lot of research and a bit of educated guessing—pricing a home is as much an art as it is a science. At CENTURY 21 Poirier Real Estate, we look at a number of factors, including your local area, your neighbourhood, and the actual details of your home. (Things like square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, recent upgrades, and so on.) Lucky for you, with over 30 years in business we have a unique understanding of the local market, because we might have sold that property once, twice or even more!
Are you a “homes” expert? Even if you know a lot about them, buying and selling houses probably isn’t what you do all day. To us at CENTURY 21 Poirier Real Estate, it makes the most sense to do what you do best—and leave the sometimes complicated buying and selling process to the people who do this professionally.
In Alberta, REALTOR® fees for both the buyer’s and seller’s representative are typically paid by the party who’s selling their home.
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Have More Questions?

Ready to take the next step with CENTURY 21 Poirier Real Estate? We invite you to contact our St. Paul and Bonnyville Real Estate offices or a member of our team. We’ve got an entire team of experts and they’ll be happy to help you on your real estate journey.

At CENTURY 21 Poirier Real Estate We Work On Your Schedule.