Tips for a new home owner.

Buying your first home is a big deal. And you’ve probably learned a lot along the way. Now for the fun part — settling into your new home. In all the excitement, it’s easy to forget the details, but we have you covered.

First-time home buyer checklist

This checklist will help make sure you don’t forget anything important as you prepare to move into your new home.

Check to make sure your scheduled payments are set up correctly
Your payments may be monthly, semi-monhtly, bi-weekly or weekly, depending on your preference.
Learn how to check if your payments are set up correctly
Note your monthly payment
Remember, in addition to your first-time home buyer mortgage payment, you might also need to account for other housing costs, such as mortgage default insurance.
Contact your service providers to notify them of your upcoming move
Cancel or change your services, like electricity, water and utilities, with plenty of notice. You’ll also need to set dates and service appointments to set up these services in your new home.
Update your address
Change your mailing address with your financial institutions, vehicle insurer, credit card companies, medical and dental care providers, and home services such as cable, satellite, Internet, phone, electricity and utilities.
Provide notice to your landlord
If you’re currently renting, be sure to give your landlord sufficient notice of your move out date.
Book your move
If you’re moving into or out of a condominium or apartment, be sure to book moving elevators ahead of time.

Enjoy more freedom.

After you’ve paid off a certain portion of your mortgage and have built some equity in your home, you may decide you want to access some extra cash for renovations or any other reason.

Some Vancity open-term and fixed-term mortgage includes a re-advanceable feature to give you access to the funds you need. You can re-borrow on your mortgage at any time and pay no extra legal costs. However, you may still need to pay for property valuation, plus an application fee. To qualify, you must meet all of Vancity’s lending criteria and a minimum equity in your home is required.

Plan for the future.

Now that you have your first home, you can start thinking about your next life goals or events, such as:

We’ll show you how to achieve your goals faster as a new home owner. To get started, learn more about financial planning or book an appointment with a Vancity wealth relationship manager.

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