How To Buy A House In Canada

Buying A Home In Canada

First Published Date: Oct 3, 2010

Canada is a beautiful country with a lot to offer the world. It is generally considered to be one of the best countries on Earth to live in. If you already live in Canada, you know exactly what we are talking about, if you don’t then you need to visit the second-largest country on Earth. You can live on the cool east coast, the northern rainforest of the western coast, the prairies, the tundra of the north, the land around the Great Lakes, in the mountains, anywhere.

Living in Canada, you probably know where you want to live in Canada, so now you just need to figure out the house you want and how to go about buying it. To help you out, here is a step-by-step guide to buying property in Canada.

1.    The first thing you have to do is look at how you are going to pay for the house. This involves financing and when a seller knows you can secure financing, they will be more open to negotiating the final sales price. When you are buying a home in Canada, you should have at least 5 -20 per cent of the purchase price as a down payment. This may seem like a lot, but Canada has stricter guidelines than the United States for homeownership, which is one of the reasons why Canada did not suffer as large of a mortgage meltdown as their neighbours to the south. The loan can also be amortized over 25 years, with 25 years being the typical length for a mortgage. You are no longer allowed to have anything over a 40-year mortgage due to new rules. If you do not have good enough credit though, or the down payment, you will not get the house because credit guidelines and laws are much tougher in Canada than in the United States.

2.    At this point, you need to go onto MLS.ca to find the home and realtor for you. MLS will allow you to do searches by area and price, number of bedrooms, and a wide variety of other criteria to find the perfect home for you. Using a map service, you can see exactly where the house is and even see all the homes in the area you want to live, that are in your price range right in front of you.

3.    Through your realtor now, after you have found the home you want, you will negotiate your Offer to Purchase/Agreement of Purchase. One good tip is to hire an attorney who can review the contract for you.

4.    Put all your paperwork in and wait for the bank to approve your mortgage. You should schedule a closing so that the bank will approve your mortgage, or at least give you word back on it, in a timely manner.

5.    Now, once approved, sign the paperwork and put the funds through a solicitor. You will pay transfer taxes, title insurance fees and mortgage fees at this point.

Now, just enjoy your house!