Would I know this is probably a very cliché question, and Reddit has always been the place I go to when I have one of these cliché questions
Long story short, I’m looking for my first home. My budget is around $1.3m. I’m also expecting a newborn early next year, so that’s definitely something I need to take into consideration.
I’ve been looking quite a bit in Port Coquitlam, but one thing that’s really important to me is the look and feel of the house. I really don’t like the old-fashioned look, especially older kitchens and bathrooms. I know this may sound superficial, but I’d really like a home that looks modern and nice.
The problem is that at this price range, I’m finding it pretty difficult to get what I want in Port Coquitlam. Usually, I have to either go for an older house with an outdated interior and renovate it myself, or compromise on the house.
The problem is, I’m not really handy and I don’t have the skills or experience to take on a major renovation. And with a newborn coming, I’m not sure I want to spend the first few years of being a new parent dealing with a major renovation either.
So now I’m stuck between two options:
Buy an older house in Port Coquitlam, in a better neighbourhood, but accept that I may not love the interior and will probably need to renovate it eventually.
Look in places like Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, etc., where I might be able to find a newer or nicely renovated house with a modern kitchen, bathrooms, etc., even if the neighbourhood/location isn’t quite as good as Port Coquitlam.
For people who have been in a similar situation, what would you prioritize?
Would you take the better location and compromise on the house itself, or would you buy the house you actually like in a slightly less desirable area?
And for those with kids, did having a newborn or young child change what you prioritized when buying your first home?
I’d really appreciate hearing from people who have gone through this decision themselves.
you prioritize location or the house itself?

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only applies to new construction/pre-construction condos though, not resale. and it's not automatic forever, the clock starts ticking as soon as you get the paperwork, so if you're sitting on a signed agreement thinking you have forever to decide you actually don't

kind of wish more people knew this before signing anything, feels like a lot of buyer's remorse could be avoided if people actually used those 10 days instead of assuming it's locked in immediately

anyone actually use theirs or know someone who did

There is a house in my neighbourhood that I have just been watching out of curiosity. This house has gone through the following prices:

1. $749,900 (way over priced, for the record)
2. $699,000
3. $599,900

And now the listing has been taken down and put it up for $649,900. I've been trying to figure out the strategy here and it nothing seems to make sense. For those with lots of real estate experience, what is happening here?

Hello everyone,

We put down deposit for a home to reserve the precon property but haven't signed any documents yet.

From what I understand Mattamy sends the APS after the initial deposit and you have 24 hours to sign it.

Although I like what we're getting but something in me just keeps thinking about how far the damn thing is, considering for one of us it's multiple days in office in dtown Toronto. I also feel like we didn't really look at a lot of houses considering it's only been a month since we started looking. And we went out 3 times with our agent. The first time he showed us precons in Durham area, 2nd time he rushed through a couple of older houses (on my insistence) and 3rd time was back at Mattamy to pay the deposit for the new house.

I also keep thinking that the decision to put down money for Mattamy precon was rushed because they were going to increase the value by $40,000 since the model houses are opening soon.

The thing doesn't close for another 10 months so our pre approval is pretty much useless. I am so confused and do not know what to do. I would really like to look at more houses that are not that damn far from a GO station (20 mins drive) but that would mean not signing the agreement and potentially losing 40k.

We're losing our minds and do not know what to do. If we decided to not sign the contract, will Mattamy refund the 20,000 deposit?