Hi! I’m Jessica Zeitz - Marketing Coordinator at Team Broady. I’ve always had a passion for real estate and I love that I can combine my creativity and my passion in this amazing role. As we work together in this red-hot seller’s market, we understand that it’s not always easy for buyers! That’s why I felt it was a great time to share my story about my first time buying a home - and I’m not going to lie, buying my first home wasn’t an enjoyable process. 

I had always pictured finding the man of my dreams, getting married, and then searching for our dream home together. I imagined it being a fun and exciting time where we would tour beautiful 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom homes talking about the remodels we wanted to do to make it our own. I thought it would be a fun and collaborative experience that would make our bond grow stronger. But here’s what actually happened. 

I was in a relationship with someone who had bought a house before I met him. I moved into his home and paid half of his mortgage for him with zero equity for me. I was motivated to buy my own property, so I was saving as much as I could. My goal was to save $30,000 for the down payment and buy a country house. I had about $15,000 saved when our relationship ended. I wanted to move out ASAP, and it didn’t make sense to rent. I went to Multipret to see how much I could afford with a 35K a year salary and a $15,000 down payment. They told me I was eligible for 145K. I left the office crying, thinking it would be impossible to get anything at that price. 

Luckily, this was 2018, and there were a few condos in that price range - except I didn’t want a condo. I wanted a house. I felt lost at this point, so I decided I needed to contact a real estate agent. After connecting with my agent, I felt a thousand times better. He informed me that he would help me every step of the process, and even with my small budget, we could make something work! The next day, he had a list of homes in Valleyfield for me to see. I toured five homes that weekend, and even though I did it with my best friend and not my husband, it was still just as fun as I always wanted it to be! That is until inspection time. 

I found a beautiful home, fully renovated, with two bathrooms and a garage for only 145K! It seemed perfect. But we still had to get it inspected. Unfortunately, when the inspection came back, the foundation needed a complete overhaul. I was crushed! But I was also so relieved that I didn’t buy the house without inspecting it - inheriting 100K worth of renovations. Plus, I was having second thoughts about living in Valleyfield since it was quite far from my family and friends. In the end, the owners said they would pay to re-do the foundation, but I decided to be more realistic and look for condos. 

Fortunately, my parents decided to give me a little gift, which brought the budget from 145K to 160K. My real estate agent found seven beautiful condos but I fell in love with the biggest one on the list. I put an offer in fully expecting not to get it, but within 24 hours, I had a counter offer. After a few more negotiations, we ended up knocking off 10K from the listing price! I was thrilled. This time the inspection found nothing wrong. Hardly a surprise seeing as the first house I put an offer on was built in the 1800s, whereas this condo was almost brand new - built in 2013. 

Only three short weeks later, I had signed at the notary and was moving into my very first home! Now that I can look back on everything, I’m so happy I purchased my first home by myself (with a little help from my parents) instead of with a partner. I met my goal of owning a property before the age of 30, and now I’m trying to get a second investment property. This time, I’ll be calling on Team Broady. Now that we’ve been working together, I trust their knowledge, expertise, and guidance! I love the way they genuinely connect with their clients and go the extra mile during the process of buying a home. 

So if you’re thinking of buying a home, keep in mind that it might not be the easiest purchase, but a knowledgeable and experienced real estate agent is going to make all the difference, and it will be worth it in the end! 

Schedule your appointment with Team Broady today, call 514-612-1127 or email info@teambroady.ca