Home Buying Expenses

When buying a home, whether for the first time or not, you need to firstly determine what you can afford. Purchasing a home involves one-time costs and monthly expenses.

The largest one-time cost is the down payment. It usually represents between 5-25% of the total price of the property. The balance is made up of a mortgage loan or cash payment. In order to work out how much you can afford, click here to use our mortgage calculator.

In addition to the actual purchase price, there are a number of other expenses that you will have to pay for. These are the following:

• Deposit (paid upon acceptance of your offer – usually between 1-2% of sale price). This amount is included as part of your down payment.
• Mortgage Application and Appraisal Fee (paid for at time of application). This fee is often waived by many banks.
• Property Inspection (optional but highly recommended - usually $400-$600 – and paid for at inspection)).
• Legal fees (paid at time of closing and usually about $1000-$1500).
• Land Transfer Tax (commonly called the "Welcome Tax" named after the Minister Jean Bienvenue who first introduced it). This will be billed by the City about 2-3 months following closing and will be .5% for the first $50,000, then 1% on balance up to $250,000 and then 1.5% for the remainder. It is based either on the Sale Price or the Municipal Assessment - whichever is the greater of the two.
• Adjustments for fuel, taxes, etc. (paid at closing).
• Home & Property Insurance (to be placed on new home at closing and on-going).
• Moving Expenses

Typical monthly costs incurred with home ownership are mortgage payments, property taxes and utilities, maintenance, insurance, and maybe condo fees. There may be other costs depending on specific circumstances, but these are the usual expenses you can expect.

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