Owning your first home is a big deal! This is pretty much the biggest purchase you would have made until now, and you should be proud of yourself! Buying your first property is quite different from buying your first designer purse or your first car. Houses are not MASS produced, quality is not guaranteed, and there is no return policy! SO DO YOUR RESEARCH folks! 

Before you even start looking at homes, you need to know the following things:

1)    Do I have enough Down payment? 

-       By law, the minimum down payment you must have is 5% for property prices under $500,000. So for a $500,000 property you would need at least $25,000

-       Most Buyers have at least 20% down payment, as anything under 20%, you will have to pay an one time insurance premium (which will be factored into your mortgage)

2)    Do I qualify for a mortgage?

-       Just having a down payment is not enough, you also need to have enough income and also good credit to support banks wanting to lend money to you. Contact a Mortgage Broker to see how much mortgage you can qualify for, and you can even lock in interest rate for up to 3-6 months! 

-       Since 2018, banks and the government have been tightening up on lending. As a general estimation, banks will only lend you ~4-4.5X your income 

-       So if you can only afford a $300,000 property, don’t waste time and look at $500,000 properties! 

3)    What are the Transaction Costs?

-       Your Down payment is not the only thing that will come out of your pocket! 

-       Some other costs you have to factor in:

                                               i.     Bank appraisal 

                                             ii.     Home inspection 

                                            iii.     Conveyancing fees (includes lawyer, land title registration, document fees, insurance binder etc and more)

                                            iv.     5% GST (only brand new homes)

                                              v.     Property Transfer Tax 

                                            vi.     Vacant Home Tax (this may not always applicable) 

                                           vii.     Moving expenses 

4)    What First Time Home Buyers incentives are out there?

-       Do I qualify for the First Time Buyer’s Property Transfer Tax Exemption? 

-       Do I qualify for the First Time Buyer’s Federal Tax Rebate? 

-       Do I qualify for GST New Home’s Rebate? 

-    Do I qualify for New Home Proeprty Tax Exemption 

Now that you have all the above sorted out, let’s start looking for your dream home!