Interest rates, piles of paperwork, stress tests, fast-paced markets, multiple offers—there is no doubt that being a buyer in today’s unpredictable market is stressful. You begin your journey excited, browsing online for fancy homes, imagining yourself in your perfect Pinterest kitchen, your kids or pets running around the yard. You find your dream home online, and then your agent asks, “Have you been qualified for a mortgage?” Qualified… what does that even mean? They refer you to a mortgage broker, who asks for a million pieces of paperwork you didn’t even know you had access to—everything from your NOA to the name of your first-grade hamster (or so it feels). You tell your agent about the home you love, but they tell you that you can’t make an offer on anything until you know what you can afford—a process that feels longer than commuting through Langley at rush hour.

You finally get the email in your inbox: BINGO, it’s time to buy that dream home. But then, you're met with numbers that shock you. This?! This is all my stable, university-degree job can land me for financing? How is that possible?! You’re feeling discouraged. The dream home that was $250,000 more than you can afford is sailing off into the sunset of your mind, alone, without you in it. Your agent reassures you that you will find something you love within your price range. They set you up with a collaboration center, and homes fill your inbox Monday to Friday. Your finger gets carpal tunnel from scrolling through listings, and your employer, unbeknownst to them, is getting a lot fewer productive hours from you because all you can think about is BUYING.

On the weekend, you attend private showings and open houses with your agent. You quickly learn that not all listings are as they seem in photos, and you begin to feel completely helpless. That first condo you loved had a huge assessment coming, totaling way more money than you can afford or want to afford. The second one was so nice that it received multiple offers within the first 24 hours of hitting the MLS. You head home feeling more drained than a shallow well in the summertime. You continue this pattern for another week.

Your agent consoles you for hours over the phone and through texts, sending you a listing they thought would be perfect for you—one you must have missed while Janet was chatting to you about spreadsheets at work. It’s beautiful, it’s only been listed for a few days, and it’s within your budget. They make an appointment to see it the next morning.

Starbucks in hand, you head to the home, noting the other five groups of people there to view it as well. You fall in love, and your agent rushes off to write the offer, sending you forms to fill out online in something called Authentisign. You wonder how this program works as you click what feels like a hundred boxes to fill in your initials. Your agent tells you that another buyer has written an offer too, and you need to revise yours. You take their advice because they do this all the time. A few more signatures, and your new offer is sent off faster than a speeding bullet. You wait, wanting to text your agent every minute for an update because suddenly, 60 seconds feels like a million.

The phone rings, and your heart races like Simone Biles doing the vault at the Olympics. A quick pause, and you hear your agent say, “We got it!” You jump up off your couch with excitement, thanking them a thousand times. You hang up the phone to call everyone you know to tell them you’re now a homeowner. Your next few weeks consist of reading through something called strata minutes and AGMs, grateful that your agent is also reading them and deciphering the Shakespearean language you don’t understand. Boxes pile up all around you, and you’re forced to eat off paper plates in your last few days before the big move.

On possession day, your agent meets you with a big smile, a gift, and the keys to your new home—the stepping stone to your larger real estate investments in the future. You’re in—your new home, and the market, finally. You did it! Step by step, you bought a home, navigating through a process that seemed so confusing and impossible at the beginning. It was worth it. It was possible. You can do hard things. The key to your future was taking that first step.