what are the additional costs when buying a house? IF ANY!

is there stamp duty?

or is it just simply the cost of the house only?

this should help

http://www.westgtahomes.com/process.htm


Ray

You will have to pay a lawyer to do the documentation for you. In Saskatchewan its not very expensive. I work for lawyers and we don't charge very much. Then you will have to pay Land Titles fees. That will depend on the province that you live in. In Saskatchewan it depends on the price of the house.

I don't know what stamp duty is.

For a new house you will also have to pay 7% GST but in some circumstances you can claim some of this back, up to ~$8 to 9000. There is no GST on a "previously enjoyed" house though.

There are also land transfer taxes, which I guess is similar to stamp duty. These vary from province to province / place to place and get a bit complicated as there is a world of rebates and other stuff associated with them, for example IIRC there is a tax break in Ontario though the Ontario Home Ownership savings plan and other wierd things. Basics are laid out here though...

http://www.relocate-canada.com/landtax.htm

There are many other sites about dealing with hidden expenses too, like...

http://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/bureho...bustst_003.cfm

Iain

The 7% GST is included in the price of the new house so when you see a sign saying xxx for $330k it mans including the GST tax



Ray

But then if you decide to sell you will (probably) lose that 7%, as the actual value of the house is only 310k, and you will probably get even less than that as new houses, round here at least, seem to sell at a premium, kind of like a new car vs a year old used one.

Just out of curiousity, if you buy a new house for $330k, will your property taxes be assesed at $330k, or $310? Not that I am in any danger of buying a house for anywhere near that much out here in the boonies

Iain

no Iain the house price will still be $330k - the value of the house is the Value including GST, the market price basically adjusts to the price incl GST. Prior to the GST there was a hidden tax (can't remember the name) that was also built into the price of home construction whether it was in the final product or the bricks/ wood etc etc that went into the home construction it was before my time but I have read about it.


Your home assessment is on the value of the home which wouuld include taxes -its a strange concept but to fathom I know but the Government does what it does and we just pay the price.

No wonder house prices keep going up then, as each new house effectively pushes the price of all similar houses up by 7%!

Ive got a headache thinking about it. Guess I should diversify into real estate!