Knowledge centre
Treat them as three connected deadlines. The offer deposit is usually due under the purchase agreement, the lender needs an acceptable down-payment trail during underwriting, and the lawyer needs cleared closing funds before completion.
Yes. Borrower approval and property approval are separate. A lender or insurer may question value, condition, location, legal use, marketability, condo information or property type even when the buyer’s income and credit are strong.
Use the condition period to obtain and review the live lender decision instead of merely resending the pre-approval. The borrower, property, appraisal, insurer and outstanding documents may all need attention before the condition is waived.
Send the listing, proposed price, taxes, condo fees, intended use, offer deadline and closing date before the offer becomes firm. A borrower pre-approval cannot confirm an unseen property.
Know the comfortable payment, tested price range, available cash and unresolved approval risks before viewing. A calculator or quick pre-qualification is not enough when an attractive property creates pressure to offer.
Yes. Ontario’s land-transfer-tax refund has spouse-related rules, so “I personally never owned” is not always enough. The maximum refund is $4,000 for qualifying transactions, but the lawyer should confirm eligibility before it is included in cash-to-close estimates.
Ontario’s temporary enhanced new housing rebate is broader than a first-time-buyer program. For qualifying builder agreements from April 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027, it can provide up to $80,000 of provincial HST relief. An eligible claimant may also receive ONHAP of up to $50,000, subject to the federal rebates already available.
Ontario’s first-time home buyer rebate is now available and can provide up to $80,000 of relief from the 8% provincial part of HST for an eligible first home. It follows the federal first-time-buyer rebate’s eligibility conditions and applies to qualifying new, owner-built or substantially renovated homes—not an ordinary resale purchase.
Applications are open. An eligible first-time buyer of a new or substantially renovated home can recover up to 100% of the federal GST or federal part of HST, to a maximum of $50,000, on a home valued at $1 million or less. The rebate phases down between $1 million and $1.5 million and is nil at $1.5 million or more.
Yes. CRA permits an eligible buyer to make an FHSA qualifying withdrawal and an HBP withdrawal for the same qualifying home when all conditions for each program are met. The best mix depends on available savings, tax position, repayment capacity and closing timing.