Closing on Your First Toronto Home
You’ve found the house of your dreams and now you’re ready to close! Closing on your first Toronto home is a team effort. Included on that roster is your mortgage broker and real estate lawyer. While this time can be very exciting, it can also be quite stressful. Closing is also the time where you might start to see some unexpected costs pop up. Let’s get you primed on what those might be, so you are not blind-sighted when they arise.
Fees, fees and more fees
Before closing you will need to pay your deposit. On closing day, you will have to pay the balance of your purchase price; the bulk of which will be coming from your lender. This will be coordinated by your real estate lawyer. There will also be nominal legal fees, appraisal fees, property tax adjustments, adjustments for utilities or condo fees, but the biggest fee you will have outside of the actual purchase price, is the Land Transfer Tax.
Land Transfer Tax
If you are purchasing outside of Toronto proper, there is only one of these charges to pay. But if you are lucky enough to have secured a home within Toronto, you have both the the Ontario and Toronto Land Transfer Tax to pay. This is a sliding scale of taxes, but to give you an example; if you were to purchase a condo for $650,000, outside of Toronto, those taxes will cost you around $9,475. In Toronto, you can expect to pay double.
Other Costs
On top of closing costs there are some other items you need to be prepared for. Most lenders will not lend you the money until you’ve provided them with proof of home insurance, so make sure you start looking for insurance as soon as you’ve signed the deal. Moving day – as you can imagine, the 1st and last of the month are very busy days for moving companies, so you want to make sure you book a moving company as soon as possible. If you bought a condo, you’ll need to set up payment to have your monthly condo fees paid. You will need to change your address with a whole slew of billing companies, friends and family. And finally, don’t forget to change your locks.
Of course this list is not exhaustive but is meant to give you an idea of what to expect when closing on your first Toronto home. Having a great real estate agent in your corner who can help guide you through all these steps will make this process that much easier.
Links
For my YouTube video on this subject, CLICK HERE.
Part One in the First Time Home Buyer series, ‘Finances’ click here.
Part Two in the First Time Homes Buyer series, ‘Shopping for your first home’, click here.