Ontario Home Buyer FAQ for Brampton, Mississauga and the GTA

More than most people budget for. The down payment is only part of it.

Ontario's minimum down payment is 5% on homes up to $500,000, 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the remainder for homes up to $999,999, and 20% on homes priced at $1,000,000 or more. On top of that, set aside 2% to 4% of the purchase price for closing costs — land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance and home inspection. Closing costs cannot be rolled into your mortgage.

The closing cost that surprises buyers most is the Ontario Land Transfer Tax. First-time buyers may receive a rebate of up to $4,000. If you're purchasing in Toronto, a second municipal land transfer tax applies, with a separate first-time buyer rebate of up to $4,475. Use the Land Transfer Tax Calculator to estimate your own numbers.

Not necessarily — and this is one of the most commonly misunderstood questions for buyers in the GTA, particularly newcomers.

For the Ontario Land Transfer Tax rebate, you qualify only if you have never owned a home anywhere in the world. If you owned property in another country before immigrating, you may be disqualified, and the same applies to a spouse or partner purchasing with you.

The rules differ for federal programs. Under the Home Buyers' Plan, you may qualify if you have not owned and lived in a home in the current year or the four preceding calendar years. Confirm your specific eligibility with a mortgage broker before making any RRSP withdrawal — the tax consequences of an ineligible withdrawal are significant.

The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) lets you contribute up to $8,000 per year to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Contributions are tax-deductible, and qualifying withdrawals for a home purchase are tax-free. Open one as early as possible — contribution room accumulates even before you're ready to buy.

The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) allows eligible first-time buyers to withdraw up to $60,000 per person from RRSP savings toward a down payment, repayable over 15 years starting the second year after withdrawal. The FHSA and HBP can be used together. The First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit is a federal non-refundable credit worth up to $1,500, claimed the year after closing.

Yes — mortgage programs exist specifically for buyers without an established Canadian credit history. Lenders can accept alternative documentation such as international credit reports, bank references or rental payment history in place of a Canadian credit file.

Previous home ownership outside Canada doesn't disqualify you from buying here, but it may affect eligibility for certain rebates, particularly the Ontario Land Transfer Tax first-time buyer rebate. If you hold temporary immigration status, confirm your exposure to the Non-Resident Speculation Tax with a real estate lawyer before making an offer.

A pre-qualification is an informal estimate based on information you provide — no documents are verified, and it carries no weight with sellers.

A pre-approval is a written commitment from a lender based on verified income, a credit check and a full mortgage application. It typically locks in a rate for 90 to 120 days and confirms the actual amount a lender will advance, though the specific property must still be appraised. In a competitive GTA market, making offers without a pre-approval is a significant risk.

Trying to time the GTA market precisely is almost never the outcome buyers actually achieve. The more useful question is whether your income is stable, your down payment and closing costs are covered, your payment is manageable if rates rise modestly, and you plan to stay in the property for at least three to five years.

If the answer to those is yes, the timing question matters less than it feels right now. One conversation with a broker and an agent who knows your target neighbourhoods will give a clearer picture than any general market commentary.

An offer in Ontario is written on a standard Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Most first-time buyer offers include a financing condition, giving a set number of days to confirm mortgage approval, and a home inspection condition, allowing an exit if the inspector finds issues you're not comfortable with.

If conditions aren't satisfied or waived within the agreed timeframe, the deal collapses and your deposit is returned. Once conditions are waived, or on a firm offer with no conditions, the agreement is binding on both parties. Never waive conditions under pressure without fully understanding what you're giving up.

For resale homes, Ontario sellers must disclose all known material latent defects — hidden problems not visible on a reasonable inspection, such as past flooding, foundation issues or structural deficiencies. A seller who knowingly conceals a latent defect is exposed to legal liability after closing.

Title insurance, purchased through your lawyer at closing, protects against title fraud, errors in public records and ownership disputes not detected before purchase. For new construction, Tarion provides a statutory warranty covering defects in work and materials, and Tarion registration fees are a mandatory closing cost on new builds.