Buying A Home
Before You Start Looking
Determine What You Can Afford
Purchasing a home involves both one-time costs and on-going monthly expenses. The largest one-time cost is the down payment, which is usually between 5% and 25% of the total price of the property.
Mortgage insurance is typically required by lenders on down payments of less than 20%. For a purchase price of $500,000 or less, the minimum down payment is 5%. A purchase price over that amount, requires 5% down on the first $500,000 and 10% down for the remaining portion.
Obtain A Pre-Approved Mortgage
A pre-approved mortgage protects you against interest rate increases while you look for your new home, and gives you a clear idea of what you can afford. It will also make your offer on a home much stronger.Typical Monthly Expenses
Typical monthly costs incurred with home ownership are mortgage payments, maintenance, insurance, condo fees, property taxes, and utilities
Typical One-Time Expenses
- Mortgage application and appraisal fee (if applicable), due at time of application
- Property inspection (optional), due at inspection
- Legal fees and disbursements, due upon closing
- Property survey (sometimes provided by seller, optional) as needed
- Land transfer, deed or property purchase tax, due upon closing
- Mortgage interest adjustment and take over fee (if applicable), due upon closing
- Adjustments for utilities, property taxes, etc., due upon closing
- Mortgage insurance (if applicable) due upon closing and ongoing
- Home and property insurance, due upon closing and ongoing
