Your Home Buying Journey

Our buyer consultation is a relaxed conversation, in person, by phone or by video. We ask about how you live now and how you want to live next: the rooms you use, the commute you can live with, the schools that matter, the yard you want or don't.

We talk through how we work together, what a typical timeline looks like, and what happens at each step on this page. You leave knowing the process and knowing us. There are no wrong questions.

Check your lease for its end date and how much written notice your landlord needs before you move out. We keep that date in mind when we suggest a closing date, so you are not paying rent and a mortgage for longer than you have to.

If you own now, the order matters. Selling first gives you a firm budget but means finding a home within your closing date. Buying first lets you take your time choosing, but you may carry two homes for a while. An offer conditional on selling your current home is a third route, though it can be less attractive to a seller.

We look at your situation, the market and your financing together and help you choose the order that suits you. If you are selling, our selling guide explains that side.

Every lender has its own list, but most ask for:

• Government-issued photo ID.
• Proof of income: a recent pay stub and an employment letter, plus T4s or notices of assessment. If you're self-employed, usually two years of notices of assessment.
• Proof of your down payment and where it came from, such as recent bank or investment statements, or a gift letter if family is helping.
• Details of your debts: car loans, lines of credit, credit cards, student loans.

Ready to start? Request a pre-approval.

The minimum depends on the price. You need 5% of the first $500,000, plus 10% of the part of the price above $500,000. On a $650,000 home that is $25,000 plus $15,000: $40,000.

With less than 20% down, your mortgage must be insured against default. The insurance premium is added to your mortgage, and in Ontario the 8% provincial sales tax on the premium is paid separately at closing; it cannot be added to the mortgage. Insured mortgages are only available on homes under $1.5 million; at $1.5 million or more, the minimum down payment is 20%.

Your down payment and closing costs need to be ready in an account you can document. The closing cost estimator shows what to set aside on top of the down payment.

To make sure you could still afford the payment if rates went up, lenders qualify you at the greater of 5.25% or your mortgage rate plus 2%. You pay your actual rate; the test rate only decides how much you can borrow.

A pre-approval tells you what a lender is prepared to lend, often with a rate held for a period of time. The lender still has to approve the specific home you buy, sometimes with an appraisal, and confirm your documents. That is why most offers include a financing condition (Step 6), and why it pays to keep your finances steady until closing: no new car loan, no new credit cards, no job change if you can avoid it.

Canada's anti-money-laundering rules, administered by FINTRAC, require real estate representatives to verify the identity of the clients they act for in a purchase. Most often that means seeing valid, current, government-issued photo ID, such as a driver's licence or passport. Your lender and your lawyer verify your identity separately; that's normal.

• Your pre-approval in hand, and your lender's contact details handy.
• Your deposit funds somewhere you can reach them quickly (see Step 6).
• A real estate lawyer chosen, so your offer can go to them the day it's accepted.
• A sense of your schedule, so we can book showings as soon as homes come up.

We set up listing notifications from your wish list, so new homes reach you as soon as they're listed. Tell us what you like and don't like about each one; every reply sharpens the search.

You can also browse homes for sale on our site any time, and save the ones you like.

• The layout and light, and how your furniture and routines would fit.
• Signs of water: stains, musty smells, a damp basement.
• The age of the roof, windows, furnace and air conditioning (we can ask the listing agent).
• Noise, parking, storage and the view from each window.

Take notes and, where the seller allows it, photos. After a few showings, homes blur together.

Visit at different times: a weekday morning, an evening, a weekend. Drive your commute at rush hour. Check which schools serve the address with the school boards directly, since boundaries change. Our neighbourhood guides cover London and the towns around it.

From the first showing, we're watching what similar homes nearby have sold for. By the time you find the one, you already have a feel for its value, and we can price an offer with confidence.

In Ontario, your offer is an Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Besides the price, it sets out:

• The deposit: how much, and by when.
• Conditions, such as financing or a home inspection, and the number of days for each.
• The closing date, when the home becomes yours.
• What's included, such as appliances and window coverings, and what isn't.
• How long the seller has to respond.

We explain each clause before you sign, and your lawyer can review it too.

Every offer is a balance between price and terms. A flexible closing date, a stronger deposit or fewer conditions can matter to a seller as much as price, but each comes with trade-offs for you. When several buyers want the same home, the choices get sharper. We lay out the options and the risks plainly, using the comparable sales we've been gathering, and the decision is always yours.

We present your offer to the seller's agent. The seller can accept it, decline it, or sign it back with changes. Offers can go back and forth until both sides agree, or one side walks away. Once it's accepted, you have a binding agreement, subject to any conditions in it.

A builder's agreement is different from a resale offer, and the HST rebates you may qualify for depend on its wording and the date you sign. Read new-home GST/HST rebates and have your lawyer review the agreement before you sign.

Your deposit is due within 24 hours of an accepted offer. It's held in the listing brokerage's trust account, where the seller can't access it.

If the sale goes through, it's credited toward your down payment. If it doesn't, a Mutual Release is signed and your deposit is returned.

Make sure these funds are available before placing the offer.

Each condition has the deadline written into your agreement, often a few business days. As each one is satisfied, you sign a waiver or notice of fulfilment, and when the last one is done, your deal is firm. If a condition can't be met by its deadline, what happens next depends on how your agreement is written; we walk you through it before you sign.

• Financing. Your lender reviews the home, may order an appraisal, and confirms your approval.
• Home inspection. A professional inspector looks at the structure and systems and gives you a written report.
• Lawyer review , if your agreement includes one. Your lawyer reviews the agreement or documents such as a condo's status certificate.
• Home insurance. Your lender needs proof of insurance before it releases the mortgage funds, so get quotes early.
• Sale of your current home , if your offer depends on it.

A status certificate is a package from the condo corporation with its governing documents, budget, reserve fund information and details about the unit, such as the monthly fee and any amounts owing. Under Ontario's Condominium Act, the corporation has 10 days to provide it after the request and fee, and the standard fee is capped at $100, taxes included. Your lawyer reviews it during the conditional period.

Your lawyer claims the Ontario land transfer tax refund for you at closing. If you plan to use your FHSA or the Home Buyers' Plan, this is when you'll start the withdrawal paperwork, since both need a written agreement to buy.

One or two walkthroughs, with the last saved for 1 to 2 days before closing, to confirm nothing's wrong with the house. Check that the appliances and fixtures included in your agreement are there and working.

If something's off, your lawyer can still negotiate on price before closing.

Your lender sends its instructions to your lawyer. A few days before closing, you meet your lawyer to sign the closing documents and mortgage papers; bring your photo ID.

Your lawyer searches the title, arranges title insurance, prepares a statement of adjustments, registers the transfer, and pays the land transfer tax on your behalf, claiming your first-time buyer refund if you qualify.

Your lawyer will tell you the exact amount to send: the rest of your down payment (your deposit already counts toward it) plus your closing costs and adjustments. It usually goes by wire transfer or certified funds, a day or two before closing.

Protect yourself from wire fraud: before sending money, confirm the banking instructions by phone with your lawyer's office, using a number you already know.

If you're using your FHSA or the Home Buyers' Plan, make sure those withdrawals arrive in time.

• Set up electricity, water, natural gas (if the home has it) and internet in your name from closing day.
• Confirm your home insurance starts on the closing date; your lawyer will need proof.
• Book movers early. Month ends are busiest.
• Forward your mail and update your address with your bank, employer and the CRA.

Your lawyer sends the funds to the seller's lawyer, the transfer is registered electronically, and both lawyers confirm the deal has closed. The keys are then released, often through the listing brokerage. This can take until the afternoon, so give your movers some flexibility. We stay in touch with you throughout the day.

• Tax time. Claim the First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit on your return for the year you bought, if you qualify.
• New build? Check your closing statement for the GST/HST rebates the builder credited. Any you claim yourself must be filed within two years of taking ownership.
• Home Buyers' Plan. Note the year your repayments start; your notice of assessment will show the amount due.
• FHSA. Your account can stay open only until the end of the year after your first qualifying withdrawal. Ask your provider about moving any money left in it to your RRSP.
• Locks and records. Change the locks, and keep your closing documents together in a safe place.
• Property tax. Your lawyer lets the municipality know about the new owner; check that the next tax bill comes to you.