Buyers Guide
Information makes the difference.
Determining Your Needs
What Can I Afford?
There are two types of costs in buying a home -- the initial amount you will need for your purchase and the ongoing costs of paying back your mortgage along with monthly operating costs. The largest one-time cost is the down payment. It usually represents 5-10% of the total price of the property.
Typical One-time Expenses:
- Mortgage application and appraisal fee
- Property inspection (optional), due at time of inspection
- Legal fees, due at the time of closing
- Legal disbursements, due at the time of closing
- Property survey (sometimes provided by seller), due at the time of closing
- Land transfer, deed tax or property purchase tax, due at the time of closing.(in Quebec within three months following signing)
- Mortgage interest adjustment (if applicable), due at the time of closing
- Home and property insurance, at closing and ongoing
- Moving expenses, due on the date of move
- PST on High Ratio mortgages
- Realty Tax Holdback
Typical Monthly Expenses:
- Mortgage payments
- Maintenance (this could be condominium fees, or allocated maintenance fees)
- Property and content insurance
- Property taxes
- Utilities