Closing Costs
By facing your new financial responsibilities head-on, you may even manage to dodge some of them. Don’t forget to ask your REALTOR® about these and other costs when calculating the total cost of your new home.
Mortgage costs
* Mortgage company’s lawyer or notary
* Appraisal, if applicable
* Land title registration fee
* Mortgage loan insurance and application fee - if you get a high-ratio mortgage (where you pay less than a 20% down payment) you will have to buy the mortgage loan insurance from CMHC or a private company. For fee descriptions, please go to: www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/moloin/moloin_005.cfm
Legal or notary fees and expenses
* Title search
* Investigating title
* Drafting documents
* Land title registration fee
Property transfer tax
The British Columbia Provincial Government imposes a property transfer tax, which must be paid before any home can be legally transferred to a new owner. Some buyers may be exempt from this tax.
Pre-paid property taxes or utility bills
You will have to reimburse the sellers for any prepayments.
GST/HST
When you buy a newly constructed home, you must pay the 5% GST. However, if your house is less than $450,000 you may be eligible for a rebate. For information, please go to: www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/gst-tps/cnstrctn/bldngsllnghms-eng.html HST is the single harmonized value-added tax that will replace the GST and PST in British Columbia on July 1, 2010. The HST will apply at a rate of 12 per cent to those goods and services that are subject to GST.
In other words, the PST will be eliminated and a 7 per cent provincial rate will be added to the 5 per cent GST. This 12 per cent combined tax will be called the HST.
The Province is proposing to increase the threshold for the B.C. HST new-housing rebate from $400,000 to $525,000 to ensure that, on average, purchasers of new homes up to $525,000 pay no more tax due to harmonization than is currently embedded as PST.
The Province is also proposing transitional rules for new housing. The provincial portion of the HST would not apply to sales of new homes where ownership or possession is transferred before July 1, 2010. In addition, sales of new homes under written agreements of purchase and sale entered into on or before November 18, 2009, would generally not be subject to the provincial portion of the HST, even if both ownership and possession are transferred on or after July 1, 2010.
Purchasers of new homes would be eligible for a rebate of 71.43 per cent of the provincial portion of the HST paid on a new home, up to a maximum of $26,250. Homes above $525,000 would receive a flat rebate of $26,250. This enhanced rebate represents a 30 per cent increase in the threshold and maximum rebate available. For more information please visit http://www.gov.bc.ca/hst/
Appraisal Fee
Before your lender approves your mortgage, you may be required to have an appraisal done. Sometimes your lender will cover this cost, if not, you are responsible. The fee ranges from $150 to $350.
Home inspection Fee
A home inspection is a report on the condition of the home that can alert you to any protential issues such as moisture problems, pyrite, radon gas or urea-formaldehyde. The fee is about $500 to $700, depending on the size and complexity of the inspection.
Home insurance
To be safe, make the insurance effective on the earlier of either the completion date or the date that you pay the balance of the funds in trust.
Survey Fee
Your lender may require an up-to-date survey of the property. If the seller does not provide the document, you will have to pay to have one done. The fee ranges form $150 to $350.
Moving Fees
Maintenance costs of your new home
