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GREAT REAL ESTATE ADVICE 
Hi, I came across to your website can you really buy a home within Toronto for a ZERO downpayment? If so how?
Hi Dwane
Thats a very good question!
Yes, you can buy a zero downpayment homes these days providing you have a good credit and of course can pay off your mortgage obligation!
It’s a case by case basis! Please contact me directly for in depth answer to your question!
GreatRealEstateAdvice.com
What is the credit score be to qualify for zero downpayment?
Hi John
Great question and thanks for taking the time to ask the question on my blog!
To answer your question a good credit beacon score of above 700+ above is good anything above is excellent.
However, I want to point out that it’s not only the credit score that gets you qualify for mortgage it’s a combination of your GDS/TDS ratio along with your credit score that determine your credit worthiness.
Rule of thumb the less liability you have against your credit the more likely that you will be approve for a mortgage. Bank or lending institution have their own criteria when pre-qualifying for mortgage some are strict the others may be linead so make sure you shop around!
GreatRealEstateAdvice.com
I have a question….
Why do you guys realtor charge a lot for commission I mean 5% is a lot don’t you think for putting a sign and signing papers?
I know you guys went to school to be a realtor but come on anybody can post a for sale sign and sell house!
Hi Sarah
Thank you for asking an insightful question!
I totally agree with you a 5% commission seems a lot when selling a house but let me justify it by answering your question.
First, to become a full pledged real estate agent in Ontario you have to successfully complete a rigorous training 6 exams in total. For more information please visit OREA.com.
Second, a realtor/borker who only erect for sale sign and only sign papers is not worth 5% commission not even a 1% commission. I personally would not pay somebody a 1% commission to only erect for sale sign and only sign papers when selling my house. Yes you are right I could do that myself! That we both could agree with!
Let me ask you question…what do you think would be a proper compensation to pay somebody to market your home if they have to do the following:
1. Do one on one initial consultation – to determine your needs and wants to get to the bottom of your true motivation for selling your home so you can save time and effectively market it on timely manner?
2. Provide you advice when it comes to real estate transaction to protect you from a potential legal problem that may arise BEFORE, DURING and AFTER the transaction?
3. Spend time, money and resources to properly market your home including advertising it in hybrid fashion? Live virtual tour with a specific URL that matches with your address so passerby can view your home 24/7 online.
4. Put their real estate licensed on the line exposing themselves to potential legal problems such as lawsuit that do happen when unforseen unfortunate circumstances occur.
See as you can imagine realtor job is not only to erect sign but to take full LEGAL responsibility of you when you sign a contract with them. Let me put this way and I will make a high emphasis on number 4. You are a liability to a realtor when you sign a contract with them just like driving a car you will never know when the accident will happen!
I can’t speak about others you and I know in any industry there are bad apples and good apples a competent and incompetent ones but when a realtor do the 1 2 3 4 and sold your home within given timeframe I think they are worth every penny of the 5% commission and most of it goes to number 2 & 4.
GreatRealEstateAdvice.com
When buyer buys a house or when home seller sell a house both parties have lawyers. What kind of legal problem can you run into when both parties have lawyers to protect them?
Mr. T.
Thanks for the question!
First, let me dispell the myth about closing attorney being use during a real estate transaction. Their job is to ensure a smooth transition of ownership title from the seller to the buyer. That’s all! Some of the things they may do includes the following:
• Payoff and discharge of mortgages
• Payment and allocation of real estate taxes and utilities
• Payment of realtor commissions
• Disclosure and payment of lender fees and closing costs
• Funding of mortgage escrow account
• Payment of transfer taxes and recording fees
• Payment of pre-paid interest
• Distribution of sale proceeds
On the other hand a prudent realtor’s job is to ensure a buyer or seller does not run into legal problems during the transaction. How can you get sued during a transaction?
Example1:
A seller made a significant modification on their property including altering the foundation of the house. A realtor’s job is to ask question what has been done to the property to date. If the seller kept this hidden and failed to dislcosed it to the buyer and a year later after the transaction was closed the buyer found out that there is a structural damage to the property due to the previous owner modification of the house, the buyer could sue the seller for the damages on the property even after a year has passed. A realtor’s job is educate seller of this scenario’s!
Example2:
A buyer is looking to purchased a property with the intension of having an extra rental income for renting out a basement. A realtor showed and sold a property with a finished basement but failed to checked the zoning and rental bylaw. Sometime later after the buyer moved in, the next door neighbour complained to the city about illegal apartment and the owner was ordered to ceased the rental operation which caused a rental income loss. A realtor can be sued for not doing a due diligence!
As you can well imagine you can easily run into legal problems without having a proper advice.
GreatRealEstateAdvice.com