Hidden Costs When Buying A Home In Canada

Now that you have finally started to save for a home of your own, it’s important that you look into every single detail that is involved with purchasing. It’s not as simple as picking a house you like and moving in. Buying a house is actually a lot of work.

I am sure you have many friends and family members that are always telling you that you should move into your own place. They say that the mortgage would be the same price or less than your monthly rent but did they tell you about the other costs involved in owning a home?

There are so many fees involved with buying your own house such as land transfer tax, lawyers fees etc. Not to mention a 20% down payment!

Let’s not forget that if something goes wrong with the house, like the roof is leaking or the hot water heater stops working – you are 100% responsible. No more running to the landlord to fix the problems. It’s a lot of money and you should not just jump into home ownership until you are 100% ready (both financially and mentally).

Hidden Costs When Buying a Home in Canada

These are the fees you can expect to pay when you purchase a home in Canada (I’m going to use a $500,000 home as an example):

20% Down Payment

If put down any less than 20%, you will have to pay mortgage insurance (which costs $60-$175 per month). Total = $100,000 over the life of a mortgage.

Lawyers Fee

You’ll definitely want to hire a lawyer to review the terms of the offer and make sure you aren’t getting a bad deal. Total = $800 - $1000 (approximately)

Land Transfer Tax

In BC, 1% is charged on the first $200,000, 2% is charged on $200,000 – $2,000,000 and 3% is charged on the balance over $2,000,000 $500,000 would be a $8000 tax. Check out Royale LePage for the Land Transfer Tax Calculator. Total = $8000 ($500,000 house)

Home Inspection

This does not cost much money in the overall costs of buying a house, is not only a good idea, but a necessary “to-do” before you sign on the dotted line. It’s important to know if there is anything wrong with the home before you purchase. Prices vary on the size of the home. Total = $500 (approximately)

Interest Adjustment

You will need to pay any interest accrued between your first mortgage payment and your closing date. Prices vary by payment frequency and closing date. Total = $500 (approximately)

Home Insurance

If you have a mortgage, you have home insurance. You have no choice in the matter. Prices vary on the cost of the home and the contents inside. Total = $800 Per Year (approximately)

Moving Costs

This time around, we are hiring movers – but you don’t have to. Do it yourself and save lots of cash. Total with movers = $1000 (approximately)

Maintenance

You should be setting aside 1%-3% of your home’s value every year for maintenance. You never know when you will have to get the roof re-shingled, the windows replaced or the carpet removed?. Total = $10,000 Per Year (approximately)

Move-In Items

This may not apply to everyone, but for us, there will be things we will need to buy as soon as we move in like a couch set, bedroom set and probably a dining room set as well. We want to make sure that we have the money already saved so we can get these things right away. Total = $10,000 (approximately)

That is a grand total of $121,800.00 that we would need to save before we can buy a home of our own (if we were purchasing one for $500,000) without the maintenance.

So, you see, it really isn’t cheap to purchase a home. If you are thinking about purchasing a home of your own, be sure to research everything that’s involved.

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