Beyond Purchase Price, understanding the true costs of purchasing a home

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 5-25% 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
• Title insurance which protects you against loss resulting from title defects and defects that would have been revealed by an up-to-date survey/real property report or building location certificate. In most cases, title insurance can eliminate the need for costly title and off-title searches.
• Land transfer, deed tax or property purchase tax due at the time of closing. Note that there is a rebate available to first time home buyers who buy new construction homes or resale properties.
• 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
• High ratio mortgage insurance if you have less than 25% of the purchase price for your down payment, plus related provincial sales tax.

Typical Monthly Expenses:

• Mortgage payments
• Maintenance (this could be condominium fees, or allocated maintenance fees)
• Property and content insurance
• Property taxes
• Utilities