If you’re like most people, buying a home will be the single biggest financial transaction of your lifetime. As a homebuyer, there are so many factors to consider. Should I live in an urban or suburban area? Should I buy a new or resale home? Should I buy a condo, townhouse or detached house? These are just a few of the decisions homebuyers are faced with.

If you’re buying in a big city like Toronto, the reality is with the high cost of real estate, many of your decisions will come down to budget. While many first-time homebuyers would like a detached home in the Six, it’s just not realistic in today’s real estate market. Rising home prices coupled with the mortgage stress test has forced many property virgins down a rung in the property ladder.

Condos have become a popular entry point into the real estate market. Condos are growing like mushrooms, especially in Toronto. However, even if condos are usually more affordable than houses, you’ll still find yourself spending a lot of money to own a box in the sky.

Once you decide that a condo is the right property type for you, there are still plenty of decisions to make. Should I buy pre-construction or resale? How many bedrooms? With or without parking? Making a mistake on just one of these decisions can prove costly, so it’s important to do your homework.

Up until now there’s been a lack of transparency across all condos. This has made it really hard for Canadians to decide what condo to purchase. There must be a better way to shop for condos and thankfully there is.

CondoEssentials.com is an independent condo review platform. The website offers hundreds unbiased, genuine condo reviews written by real people. There are plenty of condo websites that offer a general overview of condos and their price, but what sets CondoEssentials apart is that it gives future condo owners a sense of how it is to actually live there.

Not only will you get the hard facts about square footage and location, you’ll also get the “soft” facts that aren’t so obvious. Soft facts are the facts that only someone who lived in the condo would know. Examples of soft facts include the condo’s vibe, its qualify (i.e. is the craftsmanship professional?), condo amenities and the neighbourhood. CondoEssentials also helps connect you with experienced, licensed real estate professionals who specialize in condos.

Unless you’re planning to pay for your condo in case, you’ll also need a mortgage. But before most lenders will approve your mortgage, they’ll want you to have condo insurance in place. CondoEssentials also assists you with that by finding the condo insurance policy that’s right for.

Don’t forget that Toronto condos, Mississauga condos and condos in general aren’t cheap. With CondoEssentials, you’re able to make an informed decision on what is most likely the single biggest financial transaction of your lifetime. You can rest easier knowing that you made the right financial decision for your family and its financial wellbeing.

Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians, available now on Amazon and at Chapters, Indigo and major bookstores, and as an Audiobook on Amazon, Audible and iTunes.