Introduction

Buying a home is one of the most important and expensive decision for most people. Several factors including financial, emotional, etc. are involved. Very often people are afraid to enter into the home buying process, because of the many unknowns. However, when you deal with a licensed and dedicated REALTOR® who takes the time to ask you questions and listens to your individual situation, (e.g. not being currently employed, but may have sufficient down payment in the bank, or do not have sufficient down payment but are employed in a lucrative job, etc.) you will find that the home buying exercise can be stress-free. Information sharing is the most important aspect of home buying and throughout this document you will be enlightened with data that will assist you before, during and after the home buying process.

Please Note: You Do Not Have to be Employed full time to Buy Your Home
Getting a mortgage to buy a home very often entails having a job. However, there are other options which you may wish to choose if you do not have a full time job. Alternatively, you may choose to be self-employed, or have your own business or even you may not want any of those options. Apart from being employed at a full time job and being able to pay the monthly mortgage, some of the choices you have to buy a home are as follows:
 Being self-employed, mortgage approved and able to pay monthly mortgage
 Paying the full cost of the home with liquid assets
 Paying a down payment of approximately 35% the cost of the home (for new arrivals)
 Having your mortgage application co-signed by a family member
 Using your RRSP's to pay the cost of the down payment (for first time buyers) and having sufficient resources to maintain the monthly mortgage payment.

When you deal with a reputed mortgage specialist you will get details of the above choices. If you need clarifications on the above choices, please contact me.

If You Choose to Be Employed
Buying a home sometimes goes hand in hand with finding a job that pays a decent salary.

I would like to give some tips about getting a job that matches your qualifications, experience and background. Very often people who come to Canada with impressive credentials are not able to get the jobs for which they have qualifications and experience and they take the next alternative which is - almost any job that they find. However, you will see from what I explain below that it is possible to get a job which meets with your skills, if you only take a little extra trouble. Are you ready?

You must have heard that there are lots of jobs in the hidden job market which are not advertised. This is absolutely true. Many organizations are in need of managers, engineers, educationists, editors, programmers, word processors, nurses, librarians, etc. etc. However, since they have other priorities, these companies do not get down to actually advertising/recruiting and actively looking for people. So, this is the opportunity that you as a job hunter should capitalize on. You will ask me "how do I do this?".

The steps I present will enable you to achieve a "foot in the door". What does this mean? It means that I am going to show you how to get an appointment with the decision maker, i.e. CEO, Head of Department, General Manager, etc. before the job is advertised. This way, you get the opportunity to make a first good impression. Thereby, the CEO does not have to spend resources, time and money from the HR budget to recruit a candidate who has taken the initiative to do a "pre-emptive" strike in offering his/her candidacy.

Some of the steps included below are:

•° Research

•° Sending an appropriate letter/email

•° Preparing for the meeting with the CEO/Manager

•° Conducting the meeting in a professional manner (this includes suitably dressed, excellent handshake, good body language, high standard of dialogue and business discussion, etc.)

•° Appropriate follow-up

Conclusion:
If the steps I recommend are properly followed persistently, you can be assured of getting an interview and a job. Remember, persistence pays rewards. You cannot give up if you get a few rejections. If you have sent hundreds of résumés and not got a job, would it hurt you to send 50 letters and get the job that you want?

Good luck on your job hunting!

14 Steps to getting an interview - and a job that you want!*

•Step 1. Make a list of companies that you would like to work for and in the area that you would like to reside. For example, if you feel that you would like to work for companies in Mississauga, make a list of those companies.

•Step 2. Go to the Mississauga Central Library on Burnhamthorpe Road (or any library in your area) and get a directory of businesses. You can ask the librarian and they will assist you. From the directory find out the following information on those companies whose list you made in Step 1 above and enter them in your notebook or enter in a spreadsheet on your computer:

•- The mailing address

•- The name of the President or CEO or General Manager, etc. (i.e. the top executive of the company)

•- The email address of the Executive

•- The Phone number of the Executive

•Step 3. Research those companies on the Internet and find out as much information about the company and the executives there. You will need this information to ask questions during your meeting with the Executive.

•Step 4. Prepare an introduction letter. If you need help, please send me an email and I will send you a template which you can use to send to any employer, which will generate a definite response.

•Step 5. After sending the above letter by email and by snail mail, wait for a few days and call up the Executive's office/secretary and draw his/her attention to your letter and request for a meeting.

For steps 6 to 14, kindly select contact and send me the completed form. I promise to respond to you within 24 hours.

Good luck on your job hunting. You will be successful - if you are persistent!!

*Taken from http://www.tinosellshomes.com/