Buyer guides
How to buy new low-rise in Ontario, properly
Longer-form guides for buyers of freehold detached homes, townhomes and semis. Each one is written for a specific decision and cites its sources. Start with the buyer's guide if you are new to pre-construction, or the HST rebate guide if you are trying to work out what you qualify for.
0112 min
The Ontario pre-construction buyer's guide
Get represented before your first sales centre visit, have a lawyer read the agreement before you sign because freehold has no cooling-off period, confirm your HST rebate position rather than assuming it, negotiate a cap on development levies, and buy below your maximum because financing is arranged years later.
0214 min
The Ontario new home HST rebate guide
Three programs currently overlap: the federal first-time buyer GST rebate of up to $50,000, the Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate of up to $80,000 which has no first-time buyer test, and an Ontario 5% top-up of up to $50,000 reduced by any federal rebate claimed. Combined relief reaches roughly $130,000.
039 min
What to check before signing a builder's agreement
Check the deposit schedule against money you actually hold, the HST clause and what you are indemnifying, whether development levies are capped, the builder's extension and substitution rights, assignment rights, and the specifications schedule. On freehold there is no cooling-off period, so all of it has to happen before you sign.
0410 min
Buying new freehold low-rise, detached, towns and semis
Freehold low-rise has no cooling-off period, no interim occupancy and no monthly condo fee, but also less statutory protection and higher closing costs. You own the land and building outright, maintain everything yourself, and close once rather than twice.
058 min
Closing costs on a new Ontario home, the full list
Budget 2% to 4% of the purchase price. On a $1.1 million freehold home outside Toronto expect $30,000 to $45,000: land transfer tax of about $18,475, development levies, utility connections, Tarion enrolment, legal fees and grading deposits. Inside Toronto add a second land transfer tax.
068 min
How to choose a lot in a new low-rise community
Prioritise permanent advantages that cannot be added later, a walkout basement, protected land behind you, genuinely wider frontage. Avoid paying premiums for small size differences or for a park that is only drawn on a plan. Check the grading and what is actually zoned behind the lot.
0710 min
First-time buyer's guide to a new Ontario home
You may qualify for up to roughly $130,000 in combined HST relief plus up to $8,475 in land transfer tax rebates, but the federal rebate's spousal test disqualifies more buyers than any other condition, and freehold purchases have no cooling-off period and no financing condition.
089 min
Move-up buyer's guide to pre-construction
Yes. The Ontario Enhanced New Housing Rebate of up to $80,000 has no first-time buyer test, and the Ontario 5% top-up of up to $50,000 largely replaces the federal rebate you cannot claim. Move-up buyers are the group most likely to miss this because they assume the programs are not for them.
099 min
Investor's guide to Ontario pre-construction
Renting the home out disqualifies you from the owner-occupied HST rebates. You pay the full HST at closing, up to $80,000 more cash, and claim the New Residential Rental Property rebate from CRA yourself months later. Builders will not assign it.
108 min
How to assess a builder before you buy
Check their Ontario Builder Directory record, visit a community they delivered three to five years ago, talk to owners about warranty responsiveness and closing delays, and look at whether they finished what they started. None of this is on the price list.