First-time buyers · 9 min read
The complete first-time home buyer checklist for Canada
Every document an underwriter will ask for, every incentive you may qualify for, and the closing costs nobody warns you about.
Nothing about a first purchase is hard. There is just a lot of it, and it all arrives at once. Work through this in the order below and the file moves quickly.
Sixty to ninety days out: gather documents
Have these scanned and in one folder before you start shopping. Underwriters do not accept photos of screens.
- Government photo ID for every applicant.
- Two recent pay stubs and a letter of employment on company letterhead, dated within 30 days.
- T4s and Notices of Assessment for the last two years.
- Ninety days of history on every account holding down payment funds — full statements, not summaries.
- A signed gift letter plus proof of transfer if any of the down payment is a gift from an immediate family member.
- A list of every debt with its balance and monthly payment.
Money you need beyond the down payment
Budget 1.5% to 3% of the purchase price for closing. In Alberta the good news is that there is no provincial land transfer tax — you pay land titles registration fees instead, which are a fraction of what buyers pay in Ontario or BC.
- Deposit — paid with your offer, typically $5,000 to $20,000, and credited toward your down payment.
- Legal fees and disbursements — roughly $1,200 to $2,000.
- Title insurance — roughly $250 to $400.
- Appraisal — $300 to $600 if the lender orders one.
- Home inspection — $400 to $700, and worth every dollar.
- Property tax adjustment — reimbursing the seller for taxes already paid past your possession date.
- Moving, utility hookups, and the first month of everything.
Programs worth knowing about
- FHSA — contribute up to $8,000 a year to a lifetime maximum of $40,000. Deductible going in, tax-free coming out for a qualifying home. The best first-time buyer account in the country.
- Home Buyers' Plan — withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSP, repayable over 15 years.
- First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit — a $10,000 claim worth $1,500 back at tax time.
- Thirty-year insured amortization — available to first-time buyers and to any buyer of a newly built home, which meaningfully lowers the qualifying payment.
The three things that stall files
- Unexplained deposits. Any large deposit in your 90-day history needs a paper trail. Cash you cannot source does not count as down payment.
- New or conditional employment. Probation, a recent job change, or contract work needs extra documentation. Tell me before you accept the offer, not after.
- Down payment tied to a sale that has not closed. Workable, but it changes the structure — flag it on day one.
General information only, not financial advice, and not an offer of credit. Figures and program limits are current at the time of writing and do change — confirm the details that apply to your file with me before you act on them.
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