As first time buyers, embarking on the journey of purchasing a home seemed very overwhelming. This was the case until we began to work with Julie Schmidt. Julie immediately put us at ease and allowed us to explore what was most important to us when searching for a property. Before we even began looking at properties Julie explained to us, in detail, the step-by-step process of purchasing a home. Julie was extremely patient with us and explained things thoroughly and in a way that we could understand. When we did find a property that we were interested in, it came with a number of obstacles. Julie helped us research options for overcoming these obstacles and contacted the city, discovering a way we could make our dream home a reality. She was also pivotal during the negotiation period as we were not the only interested buyers. Julie used her skills and knowledge to land us our first home! We truly believe that without her dedication and perseverance we would not be in the home we are in today.
- Amy and Derrick
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The Government of Canada and the Ontario government have established several popular programs to help first time home buyers.
FIRST TIME HOME BUYER INCENTIVE
How does it work?
The Incentive enables first-time homebuyers to reduce their monthly mortgage payment without increasing their down payment. The Incentive is not interest bearing and does not require ongoing repayments.
Through the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, the Government of Canada will offer:
5% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a re-sale home
5% or 10% for a first-time buyer’s purchase of a new construction
How do I know how much I have to pay back?
You can repay the Incentive at any time in full without a pre-payment penalty. You have to repay the Incentive after 25 years or if the property is sold, whichever happens first. The repayment of the Incentive is based on the property’s fair market value.
You receive a 5% incentive of the home’s purchase price of $200,000, or $10,000.
If your home value increases to $300,000 your payback would be 5% of the current value or $15,000.
You receive a 10% incentive of the home’s purchase price of $200,000, or $20,000 and your home value decreases to $150,000, your repayment value will be 10% of the current value or $15,000.
NOTE: If your property value goes down, you are still responsible for repaying the shared equity mortgage based on the current home value at time of repayment.
https://www.placetocallhome.ca/fthbi/first-time-homebuyer-incentive
LAND TRANSFER TAX REBATE
Allows first time home buyers to get a GST rebate on new and resale homes.
The amount of the refund claimed will offset the land transfer tax payable. The maximum amount refundable is $4,000 Cdn.
Examples: Cost of Home $300,000 Tax Payable $2,975 Tax Refund $2,000 Net Tax Payable $975
The refund will be reduced if one or more of the purchasers are not a first-time home purchaser. The refund will be proportionate to the interest acquired by the individuals who qualify for the refund.
For more information visit the Ontario Ministry of Finance page.
RRSP HOME BUYER'S PLAN (HBP)
Allows first time home buyers to withdraw amounts from a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) to purchase or build a home without having to pay tax on the withdrawal
The amount was previously up to $20,000 until the Budget 2009 proposed to increase the HBP withdrawal limit to $25,000
Money can be withdrawn from your RRSP provided it has been in your RRSP for at least 90 days
Money withdrawn must be paid back to your RRSP within 15 years and the repayment period starts the second year following the year the first withdrawals were made
If you do not pay the full amount back to your RRSP within 15 years, the amount outstanding will be subject to tax when you file your income tax
For more information visit Canada Revenue Agency.
