Buying a Home in Whistler

Buying a home in the Whistler market is more complicated than most people think. Finding the right home is paramount, but equally important is negotiating the right price. Negotiating from a position of strength comes from two places; first from the knowledge and expertise of the local market and secondly, from creating an offer that protects you and your interests.

As your Realtors, we have the expertise and knowledge to promote you into this position of strength, and in doing so we will save you of thousands of dollars.

 

Whether you are a first home buyer, non-Canadian or Canadian buyers we understand the complexities of buying and selling in Whistler and will guide you through this process, explaining each step so that you will feel confident every step of the way. The next column is a brief explanation of the buying process and commonly used terms and expressions in Whistler Real Estate transactions.

What are the Associated Fees for Buyers?

There are fees associated with buying any home anywhere in world – please contact us for information on associated fees.

Quick tips for buying a home in Whistler:

  • All Whistler Listings - We have access to all listings in the Whistler valley and will work with you to match properties to your criteria and create your short list.
  • View Properties - We will tour you around our beautiful valley and show you properties of interest. If you are from out of town, we can use high resolution imagery, virtual tours and individual property websites to assist.
  • Offer - Once you have found the property for you, we will prepare an offer to be presented to the Sellers Agent. This will either be accepted or 'countered' by the sellers with a counter-offer.
  • Counter Offer - This is when the sellers return the contract with their terms and conditions. For example, a different price or dates for completion. At this point the buyer has the choice to either accept these terms or re-counter with their new terms e.g. a different price. This negotiation process will continue back and forth until both parties can agree.
  • Accepted - This is once both the buyer and seller agree to all the terms and conditions in the contract. Once a contract is accepted, the buyer will begin doing their due diligence on the property e.g. reading strata council meeting minutes, arranging suitable financing, completing a building inspection on the property etc.
  • Subject Condition - These are specific terms to which the offer is conditional on. For example - subject to financing, reading of strata council meeting minutes, building inspections etc. Each of these 'subjects' will have a date by which the buyer has to complete them. This basically allows the buyer time to conduct further inspection of the property and arrange their financing etc before continuing with the contract. Once the due date for the subjects arrives, if the buyer is satisfied all items and questions have been answered they proceed with the purchase by 'removing subjects conditions'. This is when the contract becomes a Firm & Binding Contract and you as a buyer put down a significant deposit on the property.
  • Deposit - The deposit is held in trust by the buyers real estate company and forms part of the purchase price upon completion.
  • Firm - Once 'subjects' have been removed, you now have a firm & binding contract. We will assist with arranging a lawyer and put you in contact with the appropriate contacts you need for your new home e.g. accountants, phone companies, hydro/electricity etc.
  • Closed - Title has been transferred and you are now the proud owner of your new Whistler home. Congratulations!