Pre-approval is not final approval
A lender approves you and the property, and their appraisal can land differently from the price you agreed to pay. That is exactly what a financing condition is for.
Services
Buying
Buying a home is a sequence of decisions, and each one is easier when you already know what comes next. Here is how I run it, from the first conversation to the day you get keys.
How it actually works
Nobody is born knowing this. Read it once and you will walk into the first showing already ahead.
01
Work out what you are actually buying
Before we look at anything, we talk about what the home has to do for you: how long you plan to stay, who lives there, what commute you can live with, and whether you want a freehold house or a condo where the exterior is someone else's responsibility. That conversation is what keeps the search from wandering.
02
Get pre-approved, properly
Pre-approval means a lender has reviewed your income, credit and down payment and told you in writing what they will lend. Get it before you shop. It sets your ceiling, it normally holds a rate for a defined window, and it makes a seller take your offer seriously. Your bank or a mortgage broker can do it.
03
Set the search up so it works while you sleep
I put your criteria on the board so new listings reach you as they come up, rather than after they have circulated on the public portals. We tighten the filter as you see real homes, because taste sharpens fast once you are standing in rooms.
04
See homes in person, in batches
Photographs are marketing. We book showings in clusters so you can compare like against like in one afternoon, instead of judging each house against the memory of the last. Bring the person in your life who will say the honest thing out loud.
05
Read the property honestly
This is the part you are paying me for. I look past the staging: how the ground drains around the foundation, the age of the roof, windows, furnace and panel, signs of water where water should not be, and whether the layout works or only photographs well. For a condo, how the building is run matters more than how the unit shows.
06
Structure the offer
An offer is more than a price. It is a deposit, a closing date, what stays and what goes, and the conditions that protect you: financing, so you are not bound if your lender declines; inspection, so you can walk or renegotiate if something serious appears; and for a condo, a status certificate condition so your lawyer can read the corporation's finances and rules first.
07
Negotiate
Everything is negotiable — price, dates, inclusions, deposit, the length of a condition. My job is to learn what actually matters to the other side, trade what you do not need for what you do, and say plainly when walking away is the right move.
08
From conditions to firm, and firm to closing
Once conditions are waived in writing, the deal is firm. Your lawyer handles title, searches and adjustments, your lender finalises the mortgage, and you arrange insurance, movers and utilities. We visit once more before closing to confirm the home is as agreed. Then keys.
What buyers get caught by
These are the misunderstandings I see most often. Every one is about process rather than price, and every one is avoidable.
Firm means firm
On a resale purchase in Ontario there is no cooling-off period once your conditions are waived, and walking away from a firm deal puts your deposit at risk.
The deposit moves fast
It is due on a short deadline written into the agreement, in certified funds. Have it liquid before you write an offer, not the morning after one is accepted.
An inspection is a snapshot, not a warranty
An inspector reports what is visible on the day. They do not open walls or promise that nothing will fail later.
A status certificate is not paperwork to skim
The reserve fund, the rules on pets, parking and rentals, and any special assessment already coming all live in that package. Have your lawyer read it and explain it.
Condition deadlines are real deadlines
Each runs on a clock set out in the agreement, and missing one simply removes the protection. I track them, but you should know they exist.
Ask who each agent works for
The agent at the open house works for the seller. Understand representation before you tell anyone what you are truly willing to pay.
Budget past the purchase price
Land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, closing adjustments and moving all stand between you and the keys. Ask early so none of it surprises you.
Where I work
The process above is the same wherever you buy. What changes is the housing stock, the commute and the character of the streets.
The rest of what I do
Most people buying are also selling the place they are in, or leasing while they wait. Those pages sit alongside this one.
Start with a conversation
No pressure and no commitment. Tell me what you are trying to do and I will tell you the next step, even if that step is to wait.
Farhan Amdani (Samiullah)
Realtor® · Durrani Real Estate Group
Century 21 Property Zone Realty Inc.
Serving Milton, Mississauga, Oakville, Burlington, Toronto & GTA. You can also start from the home page.