Making the transition from renting to buying is a lot about finding the right location with inventory that fits your budget

As a single female with a career in the arts, Jamie Dunsdon wasn't sure she could even qualify for a mortgage to enter the property-purchasing arena.

"I was afraid the only thing I could afford was something terrible," said Dunsdon, who is the artistic director with Verb Theatre.

After nine years of renting in Calgary, Dunsdon says she had enough of renting at high prices and hopped in the market last summer. As with all folks who are looking to purchase a property, location and budget were a major part of her decision.

With a commanding view of the city, Joshua Pinter and Michelle Maguire are enjoying the high life

Thirty-somethings Joshua Pinter and Michelle Maguire made the leap into home ownership in November of 2016.

The couple purchased a two-bedroom home on the 26th floor of the second tower at the Guardian project in Victoria Park. The recently married and energetic duo have busy careers: Joshua is a product manager for a software company and Michelle works in business development. The couple says they both have the downtown mentality so they kept their home search to a small radius around the core. They both loved the view from the Guardian with its floor-to-ceiling glazing and vistas of both the mountains and the downtown's high rises.

No longer "throwing away" money on rent, local yoga and fitness instructor purchased a condo in historic Inglewood

Spring is all about new beginnings and for yoga and fitness instructor, Lana McGillivray, the adage couldn't be more true.

This hip and vibrant 34-year-old recently took possession of her new one-bedroom condo at i.D. Inglewood, and started a new job as manager of a new fitness studio in the East Village.

With the purchase of a three bedroom townhome in Walden, a young Calgary couple embarks upon their new life together

On a warm spring day in March, Kristen Lee and Joshua Gregory, both 22, grabbed some coffee to go and set out on a day of touring show homes. They just want to see what was available and enjoy the day, but when they came upon a three bedroom townhome design at Walden Place by Cardel Lifestyles in the southeast community of Walden, they were sold.

At the time, they were both living at home with their parents and had excellent jobs. Kristen is a chemist and Joshua works for a security company, so they had a decent nest egg saved up. They mulled it over for a bit, and a week later, at the beginning of April, they signed the papers and put down their deposit.

Craig Iseke used his cabinetmaking skills to renovate his '70s bungalow and is loving the results

High school teacher and journeyman cabinetmaker Craig Iseke has two loves: hanging out in the mountains (doing outdoorsy things like biking, hiking, snowshoeing, skiing and fishing ), and designing and crafting wood furniture. So when he decided to sell his Marda Loop home and look for something a little more off the beaten path, but closer to the school that he was teaching at, he had a long list of must-haves. First on that list was space to store all his sporting gear. After searching MLS® System Listings for close to five months, he found an 1,100 square foot bungalow on a 50-foot lot in the southwest community of Braeside. The home, built in 1972, was in need of a renovation, an endeavor right up Iseke's alley.

Jodi Monaghan finds joy in personalizing her new home

Three years ago, Jodi Monaghan was on the precipice of change. She'd been living in Lethbridge for close to 30 years, her children were grown and she'd recently sold her dental practice. Monaghan wanted a fresh start in a bigger city with the right market conditions for opening a new clinic.

A new relationship had her traveling back and forth between Calgary and Lethbridge, and the more time she spent in Calgary, the more she realized that she loved the city. So she began searching for an older home in an established neighbourhood. She wanted a home she could renovate and make her own. In October, 2014 she found and purchased a 50-year-old, four-level split bungalow in the community of Lakeview.

Buying directly from a builder has many advantages and a few potential drawbacks

Myron Hildebrand is no stranger to working with builders. His current home is proof of that experience, having hired Sunset Homes to execute the build on his semi detached space, which he intends to turn into two investment properties.

"Buying from a builder, you have so much more control over the final product," said Hildebrand. "It's a fun process to go through."

Lake living in Chestermere has the Totlands feeling great about relocating

When it came to finding their forever home, sussing out a community that offered a shorter commute to work was top of mind for Jared and Vera Totland.

The young couple, who are both 30, had been living in Calgary's deep south for a few years.

"Driving downtown to work was getting to be an hour each way," recalled Jared, a chartered accountant. But it wasn't just the work commute that was becoming a headache. everything felt like a long drive away, said Jared.

New homebuyers modify Baywest blueprint with the stroke of a pen

When CREB®Now caught up with Maria Rocha Gil and Javier Gonzalez, they were in the process of doing a final walk-through on their new home. They chose a 2,600 square foot, two-storey home by Baywest Homes in Silverado's Dressage, a southwest community adjacent to Spruce Meadows.

The home is situated beside a landscaped park with flower gardens across from Silverado's new elementary school. The couple, who are in their mid-30s, are expecting their first child in July and are excited to move in and get organized before their bundle of joy arrives.