Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span>st<\/span> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\nDown Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\nA down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExample:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span>you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\nNot only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\")
<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\nA Mortgage pre-approval <\/span>is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\nA mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAmortization<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExample:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span>you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\nNot only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\nA Mortgage pre-approval <\/span>is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\nA mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAmortization<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\nA Mortgage pre-approval <\/span>is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\nA mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAmortization<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/strong><\/h4>\nThe above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\nA Mortgage pre-approval <\/span>is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\nA mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAmortization<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span>is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nMortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\nA mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAmortization<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAmortization<\/strong><\/h3>\nAmortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nFixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nA variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nDeciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\nStarting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span>The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\nWhat are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\nA land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span>The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n\n- \n
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n- \n
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nProperty Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\nProperty taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\nHow much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/h4>\nProperty Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\nOnce you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span>Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\nAppraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\nAn appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span>an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nHome insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\nTitle Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\nTitle insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span>Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nExtra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\nYou might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nHome Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\nA home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\nAlthough a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\nShould I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\nReal estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\nUsing a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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Lifelong Investments","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_locale":"fr_FR","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","og_description":"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]","og_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","og_site_name":"Lifelong Investments","article_modified_time":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":600,"url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Dur\u00e9e de lecture estim\u00e9e":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/","name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","datePublished":"2021-02-11T20:10:56+00:00","dateModified":"2021-02-23T17:27:41+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"fr-FR","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","width":1080,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/articles\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#website","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","name":"Lifelong Investments","description":"We provide Investments and Financial Planning options powered by Artificial Intelligence technology","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"fr-FR"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#organization","name":"Lifelong Investments","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"fr-FR","@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/new-logo.png","width":387,"height":68,"caption":"Lifelong Investments"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"fimg_url":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-6.png","_content":{"raw":"[Sassy_Social_Share]\r\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\nAt Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n
Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/articles\/planulife-1st-time-home-buyers-guide-2021\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"fr_FR\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planulife 1st Time Home Buyers Guide 2021 - Lifelong Investments\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. 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It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><strong><img class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\r\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\r\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\n ","rendered":"<p>[Sassy_Social_Share]<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">st<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> time home buyers guide. If you\u2019ve already started the process, feel free to skip ahead!<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Down Payment<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A down payment is a sizable amount of money that you pay before the loan takes effect. It\u2019s an initial payment to show that you are earnest in paying off the loan. The larger the down payment, the less you will have to pay in installments later on. Furthermore, the larger your down payment, the more influence you will have on mortgage term proceedings.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Example:<\/strong>\u00a0 If <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you want to buy\u00a0 a property that is worth $500,000, and you make a down payment of $50,000, the amount you owe the seller is $450,000. This remaining balance, $450,000, will become your mortgage.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only does the down payments reduce the total amount of your mortgage, it also helps when bargaining with lenders. The more money you put down, the more power you will have to negotiate lower interest rates and other conditions with mortgage lenders.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><strong><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-1042 aligncenter article-img\" src=\"http:\/\/planulife.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"644\" height=\"238\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-300x111.png 300w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-768x284.png 768w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4-1024x379.png 1024w, https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Copy-of-Untitled-4.png 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 644px) 100vw, 644px\" \/><\/strong><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The above are down payment minimums; you are allowed to pay a bigger down payment if you can afford it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Pre-Approval<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Mortgage pre-approval <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">is generally a quick, simple process. You provide the mortgage lender with your personal financial information, including your income, debt and assets etc. Based on your information, the lender will give you an assessment as to how much they\u2019d be willing to lend you toward a home purchase.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Mortgage Term<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A mortgage term is the amount of time that the mortgage is in effect and the total time period over which the buyer has to pay off the mortgage. This also involves the conditions made in the mortgage agreement.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Amortization<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amortization refers to the amount of time that a buyer would take to pay off the principle and interest amounts in mortgages. The longer the calculated amortization, the greater the interest and smaller the installments.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Fixed vs. Variable: What\u2019s the Difference?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A fixed rate mortgage means that the rate of interest is set beforehand and stays the same throughout the mortgage term.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A variable rate depends on the lending rate of banks and is highly dependent on the lending rate decreed by the Bank of Canada, meaning that it can fluctuate a lot.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Deciding between a fixed and variable interest rate is one of the most challenging decisions when applying for a mortgage. It\u2019s a tough decision to make because no one can predict what will happen in the future and the future has a great impact on interest rates.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What is the Stress Test?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Starting January 1, 2018, the Office of Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) implemented the \u2018Stress Test\u2019.\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> The test requires the buyers to show that they can meet payments if the interest rate is raised during the mortgage term.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The stress test uses a predefined interest rate (qualifying rate), to gauge your ability to meet your mortgage payment if interest rates were to increase.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>What are Land Transfer Taxes?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A land transfer tax has to be paid to the province (except Alberta and Saskatchewan) once you have paid the mortgage and the land transfers to your name. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The tax rates on the value of the consideration are as follows:<\/span><\/h4>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts up to and including $55,000: 0.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $55,000, up to and including $250,000: 1.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $250,000, up to and including $400,000: 1.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $400,000: 2.0%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\">\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">amounts exceeding $2,000,000, where the land contains one or two single family residences: 2.5%<\/span><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Property taxes become applicable once you own your property, If you live within a municipality, you will pay property taxes to your city or town. If you live outside of a municipality, you will pay property taxes to the province or territory you live in.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">How much you owe in property tax is determined by various factors. The general municipal tax rate, the current tax rate, education tax rate and the value of your property all influence your property tax amount owing.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Property Taxes and Utility Adjustments<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once you have a property to your name, all of the outstanding utility dues and taxes on the property are your responsibility to handle. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many of these costs are typically paid or reimbursed during the closing of the home and are factored into the purchase price.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Appraisal Fee<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An appraiser assesses the value of the property you\u2019d like to buy to ensure that you\u2019re paying a reasonable price. If you are applying for a loan to purchase or refinance a home, most lenders will require <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">an expert to appraise it and give it a valuation that will represent it in the market.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Home insurance provides compensation to repair or rebuild your home if it\u2019s damaged by fire, flooding, or other unexpected events. If a tree falls on it, you\u2019ll be covered, for example.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Legally you aren\u2019t required to purchase home insurance, but most lenders require prospective home buyers to have it.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Title Insurance<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance is the legal ownership of your home. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Title insurance protects you against things like forgery, fraud, and identity theft.<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Extra Costs<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might see a lot of extra costs during your mortgage term that might throw your financial plan into disarray. These extra costs come as a result of rising interest rates and land transfer taxes.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Home Inspection<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A home inspector evaluates the structures and systems that make up your potential home to check that everything is in good working order. Doing a home inspection can help save you money and avoid surprises in the long run.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Although a home inspection isn\u2019t mandatory, the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation recommends that you include a home inspection as a condition when you make an offer to buy a home.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h3><strong>Should I hire a Real Estate Agent?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Real estate agents can play a key role in making your journey to becoming a homeowner much simpler. A good realtor will help you find the ideal home, negotiate on your behalf to help you get the best deal, coordinate a home inspection and deliver your closing documentation.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Using a realtor also allows you to have access to the MLS, which is operated by the Canadian Real Estate Association. This gives you more options not available to the public.<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<h4><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At Planulife we specialize in Real estate, Mortgages and Investments we have experienced team members that could help you navigate the home buying process from the beginning to the end.\u00a0<\/span><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p> <\/p>\n","protected":false,"block_version":0},"categories":[{"term_id":10,"name":"Real Estate","slug":"real-estate","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":10,"taxonomy":"article_categories","description":"","parent":0,"count":7,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1036"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1148,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1036\/revisions\/1148"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1047"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lifelonginvestments.ca\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[Sassy_Social_Share] Are you looking to own your very first home?\u00a0 Whether you\u2019re looking for a house, a townhouse or condo, this is one of the biggest decisions you\u2019ll ever make. It might seem difficult at first but you\u2019ll be a home ownership expert by the time you finish reading our step by step 1st time […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1047,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1036","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","article_categories-real-estate"],"yoast_head":"\n