{"id":2434,"date":"2011-12-16T03:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-12-16T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/"},"modified":"2018-10-11T15:17:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-11T19:17:19","slug":"homebuying-basics-whats-involved","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/","title":{"rendered":"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Genworth Financial Canada<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is that your total expenses and debt payments should not add up to more than 40% of your household income before taxes.<\/p>\n

Next, you\u2019ll have to decide on the type and size of mortgage that best suits your needs. The two basic options are a conventional mortgage, which requires at least a 20% down payment; and a high ratio mortgage, which is designed for people who do not have the 20% down payment. If you purchase a home with a lower down payment, you will pay mortgage default insurance, which transfers the risk of default from the lender to the mortgage insurer (see understanding mortgage insurance link for more details).<\/p>\n

Other decisions about a mortgage involves the choice between a variable rate, which involves a fluctuating interest rate; and a fixed-rate mortgage, which, as the name implies, means you pay a fixed interest rate for a set term such as three, five or 10 years. If you choose a variable rate mortgage, it\u2019s important to understand that your monthly payments may increase if interest rates rise. By selecting a mortgage with prepayment privileges, such as lump sum, accelerated bi-weekly or monthly payment options, you can reduce your amortization period and save thousands of dollars in interest in the long run.<\/p>\n

To help you understand your choices, ensure you\u2019re financially prepared. Many websites including homeownership.ca<\/a> offer a wealth of financial information for home buyers. Speaking to a mortgage professional will help you work through your specific needs.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

For more articles on homeownership, visit Zoocasa’s Before You Buy Section.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is that your total expenses and debt payments should not add up to more than 40% of your household income before taxes. Next, you\u2019ll have to decide on the type and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[76,487,468],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-buying-a-home","category-guest-posts","category-mortgages-2"],"yoast_head":"\nHomebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved | Zoocasa Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved | Zoocasa Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zoocasa Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoocasa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-12-16T08:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-10-11T19:17:19+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-4H5_0tEW2IU\/TupMCQUacoI\/AAAAAAAAAWM\/JnLiP-I1LeE\/s400\/iStock_000001610318Small.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Zoocasa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Zoocasa\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56c9b7cdda6517ee4602ba16a70baa22\"},\"headline\":\"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-16T08:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-11T19:17:19+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\"},\"wordCount\":287,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Buying a Home\",\"Guest Posts\",\"Mortgages\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\",\"name\":\"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved | Zoocasa Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2011-12-16T08:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-10-11T19:17:19+00:00\",\"description\":\"by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Zoocasa Blog\",\"description\":\"Home Buying & Selling Tips, Real Estate Market Trends & News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Zoocasa\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/zoocasa-square-logo-800x800px.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/zoocasa-square-logo-800x800px.png\",\"width\":800,\"height\":800,\"caption\":\"Zoocasa\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoocasa\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Zoocasa\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56c9b7cdda6517ee4602ba16a70baa22\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5309ed0338e96cecf0dbcaae5a7e541c7e1b8a4c06a61b4d456b50f453eeb330?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5309ed0338e96cecf0dbcaae5a7e541c7e1b8a4c06a61b4d456b50f453eeb330?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved | Zoocasa Blog","description":"by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved | Zoocasa Blog","og_description":"by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is","og_url":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/","og_site_name":"Zoocasa Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoocasa","article_published_time":"2011-12-16T08:00:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-10-11T19:17:19+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/blogger\/-4H5_0tEW2IU\/TupMCQUacoI\/AAAAAAAAAWM\/JnLiP-I1LeE\/s400\/iStock_000001610318Small.jpg"}],"author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Zoocasa","twitter_site":"@Zoocasa","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56c9b7cdda6517ee4602ba16a70baa22"},"headline":"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved","datePublished":"2011-12-16T08:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-11T19:17:19+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/"},"wordCount":287,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Buying a Home","Guest Posts","Mortgages"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/","name":"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved | Zoocasa Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2011-12-16T08:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2018-10-11T19:17:19+00:00","description":"by Genworth Financial Canada Before embarking on your house hunting journey, you should first determine what you can afford. A common rule of thumb is","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/homebuying-basics-whats-involved\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Homebuying Basics \u2013 What\u2019s Involved"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/","name":"Zoocasa Blog","description":"Home Buying & Selling Tips, Real Estate Market Trends & News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#organization","name":"Zoocasa","url":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/zoocasa-square-logo-800x800px.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/09\/zoocasa-square-logo-800x800px.png","width":800,"height":800,"caption":"Zoocasa"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoocasa","https:\/\/twitter.com\/Zoocasa"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/56c9b7cdda6517ee4602ba16a70baa22","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5309ed0338e96cecf0dbcaae5a7e541c7e1b8a4c06a61b4d456b50f453eeb330?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5309ed0338e96cecf0dbcaae5a7e541c7e1b8a4c06a61b4d456b50f453eeb330?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"admin"},"url":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2434","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2434"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2434\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2434"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2434"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoocasa.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2434"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}