What are Closing Costs?
A mistake that buyers often make is that when calculating the price and affordability of their future home, they do not take into account the closing costs that are associated with the home purchase (closing costs generally account for 1.5-3% of the home purchase price). Among the costs, below are a list of the most common to keep an eye out for and budget into your plans.
Expected Closing Costs With Dollar Value
Expense | Explanation | Cost |
Appraisal Fee | A lender fee to appraise the home value (sometimes covered by a lender) and not required on a CMHC insured mortgage | $300 |
Closing Adjustments | This is an estimate on bills the previous owner has prepaid such as property tax and utility bills. | $450 |
Home Inspection | Ensure that the home it is up to code and has no hidden issues | $300 |
Land Transfer Tax - Prov | Ontario (BC LTT would be $12,400 Alberta has no LTT, but has property & mortgage registration which would cost ~$300 in this example) | $4,500 |
Land Transfer Tax - City | GTA (note if you live in Ontario but not the GTA, or Alberta/BC you will not be charged for this) | $4,500 |
Real Estate Lawyers | Fees vary based on price of home and lawyer. Integral fee to close mortgage | $2,800 |
New hydro account | Only charged the buyer has never had a hydro account before | $200 |
Property Insurance | Total yearly cost of between $600-800 paid out in monthly premiums | $600 |
Title Insurance | Provides coverage for the home owners rights of ownership, including fraud, forgery, missing heirs, among others. | $300 |
Interest Adjustment | Payment of interest if mortgage starts in the middle of the month. On a 3% Fixed mortgage, this would be about $50 a day | N/A |
PST on CMHC Premium | Only applicable if less than 20% down payment | N/A |
New home warranty | Only applicable for a newly built house/condo | N/A |
Status Certificate Fee | Applicable for Condos only (roughly $100) | N/A |
HST | Only applicable if you are buying a new build and is province specific | N/A |
Total | Note this number normally ranged from 1.5-3% of the total purchase price | $13,410 |
