First Time Home Buyers Share the Tea – Debbie

Did you know that buying a home is one of the ways to diversify your investments? That’s one of the reasons Debbie bought her home in February. Unlike Ani, she found renting to be more beneficial than buying at the time and only got a home as a means to diversify her investments.

Location: Greater Vancouver Area

Age: 30 and under

When did you buy your home?

I started the purchase in Nov/Dec 2021, but set my closing date for Feb 2022 – just at the end of my rental lease. That is, I put in an offer that was accepted in Nov/Dec 2021 but the home purchase wasn’t completed until February 2022. 

What made you decide you were ready to buy a home?

I had toyed with the idea for about 2/3 years – but I felt like I benefited more from renting vs buying at the time. I finally saw an apartment in my dream (affordable) building, and decided to go for it. In addition to that, I was tired of investing dominantly in stocks and wanted to diversify my portfolio a bit. 

Did you buy a home alone?

Yes I did. 

How long did it take you to save up for the down payment?

I wasn’t intentionally saving for a down payment. I had just been generally saving for about 2-3 years.

What are some things you wish you knew before you got started?

I took my time before getting into the market  and I did a lot of research. I had a great mortgage broker and was already living in the building as a tenant prior to purchasing the apartment. So far, I don’t have any regrets and nothing has shocked me yet. 

Do you have any horror stories you would like to share?

Not a horror story per say – I found it shocking how the pictures on the listings were so different from what the actual apartment looked like. The listings are always so beautiful, till you actually see the house/apartment and be like “nahhh! I am not paying 600k for an apartment that I am dragging age with”. (Translation- this apartment looks really old) Luckily for me, I bought in the building I was renting in – so no shocker/ surprises. It was a case of ‘what I ordered versus what I saw’.

How many months were you searching

I was actively looking for like 2 weeks middle of the year. Then stopped. I was mostly passively searching and then I found my apartment. 

That’s it for this post. I have about two more parts in this series but the fun doesn’t need to end there. If you recently bought a home and would like to participate in this series (anonymously or not), please send me an email and I will be more than happy to hear and share your story. And no, you don’t have to be in Vancouver to participate. 🙂

Hope you enjoyed this post. Chat soon,