What happens between searching and getting the keys.
10 stages, from the first numbers to what you need to do once it's yours. No set timelines: every deal has its own.
Preparation and Defining Your Needs
Before you search, get clear on what you need and why.
This is the reflection stage: you decide why you want to buy (to live in, to invest, to relocate your family) and what kind of property fits your life. Nothing is signed and no money is spent yet. The goal is to turn a vague wish into a concrete list of requirements that will guide everything that follows.
Budget and Financial Capacity
Find out how much you can truly afford, not just how much you want to spend.
Here you translate your needs into real numbers. You calculate how much you have saved, how much you could pay per month, and how much a bank might lend you. You also discover that the property price is not the only cost: there are closing costs, taxes, and fees that are best anticipated from the start.
Searching for the Property
With clear criteria and a budget, the focused search begins.
Now you go out to the market to find properties that meet your requirements within your budget. You browse portals, contact agents, visit homes, and compare options. It's an active and sometimes lengthy stage: the goal isn't to fall in love with the first one, but to gather a group of serious candidates to evaluate.
Evaluation and Comparison
Analyze your finalists in depth before committing any money.
From the candidates you gathered, you now put them under the microscope. You review the physical condition of the property, verify its legal status, compare prices and terms, and calculate the real cost of owning it. The goal is to choose with your head, not just your heart, and to catch problems before signing anything.
Offer or Reservation
You formalize your interest and secure the property while you move forward.
Once you've chosen the property, you make an offer and negotiate the price and terms with the seller. When there's agreement, a reservation (or separation) contract is usually signed and a deposit is paid to take the property off the market while the legal checks and financing are completed. This is the first moment money enters the process.
Documentation and Validations
Everything is verified and the promise-to-sell contract is signed, setting the rules.
With the property reserved, your lawyer completes the in-depth legal checks and the promise-to-sell contract is prepared: the key document that sets the price, timelines, conditions, and what happens if either party defaults. Here it's confirmed that the title is clean, that the seller is the owner, and that the property is free of liens before committing the bulk of the money.
Financing or Payment
You secure the money: mortgage approval or cash funds ready.
If you're buying with a mortgage, the bank moves from pre-qualification to formal approval: it analyzes your documents, appraises the property, and issues (or not) an approval letter with the loan terms. If you're paying cash, you organize and confirm the funds. This stage determines exactly where the money for closing will come from.
Contract and Closing
The deed of sale is signed and the property officially transfers to your name.
This is the formal moment of the purchase: the deed of sale is signed before a notary, the balance of the price is paid, and the transfer taxes are settled. The transfer is then recorded at the Title Registry so the property is officially in your name. With this, you are legally the owner.
Delivery of the Property
You receive the keys and confirm everything is as agreed.
You are now the legal owner; now you take physical possession of the property. A formal handover takes place: you check that the property is in the agreed condition, that it includes what was agreed, and that utilities and keys are in order. For new construction, you also verify that the build meets what was promised and inspect the finishes.
Post-Purchase
It's yours now: protect your investment and meet your obligations as an owner.
The purchase is over, but being an owner is just beginning. Now you make sure the title is in your name, keep taxes and utilities current, take care of the property and, if you bought to invest, put it to work. This is the stage of protecting and making the most of everything you achieved in the earlier phases.
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