williamceri

Anyone know the extra costs of buying a house in Ontario ?
I mean taxes, lawyer, surveyor, land transfer ,state and provincial taxes etc. ( Not a new house ) ?

SchnookoLoly

Assuming you use a real estate agent, only the seller pays commission, usually about 5% or so (2.5% commission to the buying agent, 2.5% commission to the selling agent).

Land transfer tax info is here, including the fee table where you work it out based on the value of the house: Land Transfer Tax Any other taxes are included on that page as well.

Home inspection or surveyor, probably a few hundred. Definitely do not waive your home inspection! Our guy charged $350+HST.

Lawyer to help you close, bank on about $3-4000 or so, give or take a bit. (Legal fees, preparation of mortgage documents, loan registration, disbursements, title insurance premium... not necessarily a complete list!)

dbd33

Lawyer, competent in property matters, not convenient for everyone but half that price: Anne Welwood Law Offices

I post as someone who has paid numerous lawyers fees in the range mentioned above only to find that my dog would have better represented my interests.

Something to think about is engaging a lawyer early in the negotiation. Typically the estate agents make the deal using a standard form and, by the time it gets to the lawyer, he or she is only filing the transaction with the authorities and holding the money; everything has already been signed. Since both of the agents have the objective of closing the deal there's no one to represent you, the purchaser. If a lawyer acts for you before you sign there's a chance to adjust terms and conditions in your favour.

An additional cost is title insurance, this protects you from your lawyer and you absolutely need it. Stewart Title has a good reputation for paying claims, Chicago Title not so much.

SchnookoLoly

Good to know! Admittedly we didn't look into lawyers and compare fees that much, the guy we used was recommended to us so we just went with it. Awesome if the one you posted will do it for less! Ours was $3k total including the title insurance, I wrote $3-4k in my post just in the interest of rounding up and setting expectations.

dbd33

I'm sure she's not the only reasonably priced competent property lawyer but I didn't want to risk the wrath of the moderators (or their lawyers) by posting the list of unreasonably expensive and/or disreputable ones I've dealt with. Besides, I expect there's a limit on the number of characters one can put in a post.

not2old

google is your friend

https://www.cibc.com/ca/mortgages/bu...ying-home.html

Closing Costs On Home Purchase Ontario

worklifebalance

The seller passes on this cost in the selling price so ultimately you the buyer pay this. If you don't use a buying agent then take into account the 2.5% that they will not pay to a buying agent in any offer.

One cost not mentioned thus far - property tax and any other bills already paid by the seller that cover after selling can be passed on to the buyer on completion so if those costs are not known upfront it could put you in a position where you cannot complete. I believe but not sure that any rental and associated service agreements for furnace and hot water tanks etc. can also be passed on so make sure you don't get surprised by extra costs and know what the service schedules and payment plans are.

scrubbedexpat091

You rent hot water tanks?

not2old

comes under adjustments at closing

- Part property tax paid by the vendor is a credit payable to them by the purchaser

- Utilities are cut off on moving day, new owners pay the new hook up service charge

- Water heater rental, even a furnace rental (rare) is passed onto the new owner to pay the charges after they move in. There is no adjustment cost on that because on when the current owner moves out they get a final bill as of that day

- Other costs such as land transfer tax will be paid by the purchaser for which the lawyer pays & gives them that in the adjustments bill

- Everything else including house inspection is the responsibility of the purchaser unless the agent and/or the seller agrees to pay it

-- Repairs & fixes are part of the waiver to do items which are negotiable

JB0591

Dont forget it if a rural house and has a septic then the mortgage company will insist on a Septic Survey. This can add an additional cost.

If it has a well, then a survey on that will also cost more.

Tirytory

No they don't. TD certainly didn't..

JB0591

BMO do. Besides it is part of the house survey and if it is 'in distress' then mortgage company may choose to put a condition on the mortgage.

Shirtback

From experience* in another province: some do, some don't. But Ime, it was on the sellers $.

Again, experience from another province, even if mortgage company accept/don't apply conditions, insurance companies might/can kick up a fuss.

*Ex-local gubmint employee whose responsibilities included producing septic system reports & explaining them to sellers/RE agents.

dbd33

None of the houses I've bought and sold have had their septic tanks inspected. I didn't even know that the house in Mississauga had a septic system until it failed, years after we moved there. Houses typically aren't surveyed upon sale in Ontario and, if they were, it's only the location of the bed that's surveyed, not the condition (this might be different if you have a waterfront property with an actual tank and not a bed).

It's not unusual to ask the vendor to have the system pumped. if I were selling and had no lids I'd decline, the cost of finding the place to pump far exceeds the cost of pumping; once you've found it you may as well install lids.

Siouxie

Ouch! My lawyer didn't charge anywhere near that amount - perhaps Toronto/Oakville lawyers charge more?

This website gives you a good idea of closing costs:

Closing Costs On Home Purchase Ontario