Hey it’s me Alex Wickham. Are you looking for a wicked home?

When thinking about buying a home, one of the first things you should do is look at your current finances, outside of housing costs.

What do you currently spend? Take a look at your household expenses, like groceries, and childcare. Your Entertainment expenses, like coffees, dinning out, and hobbies. Your loans and debts, like credit cards, car loans, or student loans. And your savings, RRSP and TFSA.

Next get an idea of what your housing costs will be. A good rule of thumb is that your housing cost, mortgage payments, property tax, utilities, and (if applicable) condo fees, should not be more that 32% of your monthly income.

Next figure out your upfront and on going costs. I did another video which you can check out here *to get an idea of that those costs are*.

Lastly, look at all of these costs and potential costs, and determine if this is something you could afford. Do you still have money to set aside for you future. If so, your next step is to get pre-approved which I will talk more about in a future video. If not, you can save for a few more years, or lower your price range.

I hope this information was helpful to you. It’s never too early for me to sit down and have a conversation with someone about their real estate wants and needs.

If you have any questions, or if you’re looking for a Wicked home, call Wickham.