The Complete First-Time Home Buyer Guide In Canada

First-Time Home Buyer incentives, grants and tax credits are a few programs available to you. This guide covers all you need to know to buy your first house anywhere in Canada.

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First-Time Home Buyer Overview

Homeownership is a significant milestone to be proud of. However, buying a house can be difficult for first-timers. The many steps, requirements and tasks can be overwhelming for most who are taking this journey for the first time. This guide contains everything you need to know, the incentives you should be aware of, and the steps to help you buy your first house in Canada.

Owning a house comes with challenges and opportunities. Real estate is an ideal way to build your fortune. Owning your home also allows you to customize your space as you want.

Your journey toward stress-free homeownership starts here. As a first-time home buyer, you want to learn as much as possible about buying a house, getting a mortgage, special incentive programs for first-time buyers available to you and more.

Guides To Buying Your First Home In Canada

These guides cover all you need to know about buying your first home in Canada. You’ll learn the steps to securing the right mortgage financing, how to house search, first-time buyer credits, and incentives you should use to buy your first home.

7 Steps To First Home Buying

Ste-by-step to help you navigate the house-buying process.

First-Time Home Buyer Plan (RRSP)

Learn the RRSP guidelines for first-timer and house to use this program

First-Time Home Buyer Rebates

Learn about first-time homebuyer rebate programs and how to get qualified for them.

First Home Buyer Tax Credit

Learn how to get the $5.000 tax credit for buying your first home.

First-Timer House Buying Essentials

The essential things you need to keep in mind as you shop for your first home.

Mortgage Basics

It all starts from the basics. Arm yourself with the knowledge and tools to manage your mortgage like a pro!

Getting A Mortgage As A First-Time Homebuyer In Canada

Who Is A First Home Buyer in Canada?

You are considered a first-time homebuyer if you’re –

A Canadian citizen or permanent resident
You are a person with a disability or helping a family member with a disability to buy or build a home.
Have never owned or had a registered interest in a house that was your principal residence anywhere in the world in the past four years
Your spouse or common-law partner has not owned a house in the past four years.

5 Easy Steps To Your First Mortgage

Get Pre-Approved First

It is essential to get pre-approved before your start your house search. A pre-approval will give you a better sense of the types of mortgages available to you and your interest rates.

This will also let real estate agents and sellers know that you can comfortably afford whatever home you are offering.

Remember that getting pre-approved is not a guarantee that you will approve when you officially apply for the mortgage loan.

Most often, with pre-approval, your income documents are not reviewed. The property details are also not known at the pre-approval stage.

Mortgage pre-approval is simply the lender’s intent to offer you the loan amount at the specified mortgage rate.

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Consider Your Budget

Buying your first house comes down to your budget.

How much have you set aside for the required down payment?

How much will you spend monthly on the mortgage while maintaining or improving your current lifestyle?

Even if you are sure to be pre-approved for a mortgage and can afford a home, it still doesn’t hurt to have a written budget plan.

Your lifestyle can impact the budget that you have for your home. A mortgage comes with required monthly payments, which might mean cutting out that weekly dinner with your friends. Budgeting can help uncover things like this.

Realtors and financial experts suggest you ask yourself if you could still afford your mortgage if you lost your job and didn’t work for three months.

House Shop With Confidence

Once you’re pre-approved for a mortgage, your hunt for your first home begins!

You can look through real estate websites that show listings in your area to get started. These databases easily filter listings based on your budget, preferred neighbourhoods, and more.

You should also enlist the help of a real estate agent. They’ll be an expert in whatever market you’re looking for a home in, and the more they understand what you’re looking for, the better they’ll be able to help a first-time home buyer like yourself find what you’re looking for.

Make An Offer For The Perfect House

Once you’ve found the perfect home that suits your needs, it is time to make an offer. However, before you do, discuss your bid with your real estate agent and determine if it is reasonable.

Depending on how hot the market is and how much interest there is in your selected home, you could get into a bidding war with other purchasers.

Even if you are the only person interested in the property, the seller could make a counter-offer which you will need to negotiate.

Offers can be made contingent on the home’s inspection report, financing, or other factors.

Choosing The Right Mortgage

When choosing a mortgage, there are many things to consider, including total borrowing costs (interest rate and fees), repayment schedule of the loan, the lender, and how the mortgage terms fit your current and future situation.

You have to consider different mortgage options, but the most common ones available in Canada are variable-rate and fixed-rate mortgages.

The mortgage rate for variable mortgages adjusts with the market, whereas the mortgage rates for fixed mortgages stay the same throughout the mortgage term.

Suppose you take out a variable-rate mortgage. In that case, your monthly payment could fluctuate with the lender’s prime rate, as well as economic factors that influence rates such as employment data, exports/imports around the globe—the list goes on! If you’re not comfortable with this variation, choose the fixed mortgage rate, which will help you budget better.

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The Complete First-Time Home Buyer Guide In Canada

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First-Time Home Buyer Overview

Guides To Buying Your First Home In Canada

7 Steps To First Home Buying

First-Time Home Buyer Plan (RRSP)

First-Time Home Buyer Rebates

First Home Buyer Tax Credit

First-Timer House Buying Essentials

Mortgage Basics

Getting A Mortgage As A First-Time Homebuyer In Canada

Who Is A First Home Buyer in Canada?

5 Easy Steps To Your First Mortgage

Get Pre-Approved First

Shop Across 25+ Lenders For Your Best Mortgage Deals

Consider Your Budget

House Shop With Confidence

Make An Offer For The Perfect House

Choosing The Right Mortgage

Shop Across 25+ Lenders For Your Best Mortgage Deals

Get A Mortgage With approvU

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Tools & Resources

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