Purchasing a house without PR
 

Hi,

I'm wondering if someone can help me. I'm looking at moving over in July/August time to Calgary with my family and ideally want to buy a house (rental prices scare me at the min!!). We are coming over on LMIA and currently have equity in our property. I read they put a ban on purchasing properties without PR. I have since been told you can purchase if you have a deposit of over 50% is this true? Also I am sure I read somewhere that you will be charged a higher rate tax but if you go for PR in so many years you could claim it back or I have dreamt it?! I have done so much googling and don't seem to find a true answer! Can anyone help please???

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

IIRC, changes were made last year that now allow work permit holders to purchase property once you've met certain criteria, I think anything you're reading saying they can't is out of date. The foreign buyer's tax isn't applicable to Alberta.

Leaving all of that aside, I don't think anybody on the forum would recommend you buy before you have PR anyway - too much of a risk on a work permit when you could be laid off at a moments notice and have to leave Canada. And buying a house in Canada an be an expensive mistake when you don't know the areas well, so generally the recommendation would be to rent for at least a year first and get your PR (or at least get it underway).

Good luck.

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

That's brilliant. Thank you so much!! You are right with what you are saying with the risk, but the job my husband has got it isn't feasible to live off, it is only a starting wage till he can prove he can do the job. I am currently looking for work but will still have to pay out for child care then running 2 cars etc. We are currently weighing up all the risks and benefits!! The company help us apply for PR within the first year, they have a emigration department and we are already getting everything ready before we go over so fingers crossed we'll be in a better situation by next year!! Every part of this is a huge risk unfortunately!! thanks again

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

It's always a risk, but a work permit does make it riskier unfortunately. Did you look in to the FST visa I mentioned in your other thread? At least then you'd have PR underway asap if your husband is eligible.

The LMIA won't be granted if his salary isn't high enough to meet the median wage requirements, so hopefully it will be enough. Might be worth starting a new thread about the financial side of things to check it's feasible with those in the know in Alberta. Make sure that your relocation contract covers repatriation as well as getting out there - you don't want to have to pay tens of thousands to ship a family back if it doesn't work out for any reason.

Best of luck.

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

I know it scares the hell out of me!! No I haven't had chance yet I'm currently work 13 hours days so trying to find time is a nightmare but I am going to sit and have a proper look this weekend. If we are eligible it would be a massive weight of our shoulder. The are putting him through red seal so hopefully be at supervisor level / pay by then. I seem to say hopefully a lot these days!

I have done a spreadsheet up for living costs on average prices and even did a costco shop online to see what a weekly shop should be, even though I have heard costco isn't the cheapest but I'm a worst case scenario kinda girl. The contract was literally 2 pages and didn't mention anything. I'm selling my business over here so we will have savings to live off, not ideal but if it gets our foot in the door I think it is something we need to try, just trying to work out all our options and I know I'm ready to go!

Have you made the move over?

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

It's worth checking the costs you've got on your spreadsheet on the forum. Don't use sites like Numbeo that are notoriously inaccurate - the good folks on here will be able to tell you what is realistic and help you tweak your figures to work out what kind of lifestyle you'll have.

Are you getting a relocation package or having to fund it all yourself?

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

I'd be concerned that pricing using Costco numbers will be too low. It is possible to beat Costco prices on some items, if you're willing to drag all over town all day getting one bean here and using a coupon for a single sausage there,but, for people who have jobs and want to get as much as possible bought in one stop, Costco is the place to go. Expenses rise dramatically if you forget something there and pop into a supermarket for whatever it is.

I don't think food costs drive household expenses though. It's all about housing costs; rent, mortgage, heat, property taxes, snow removal. The marginal difference between beans on toast and filet mignon is tiny compared with the fluctuations in mortgage rates and propane/oil/natural gas costs (I don't list oil or electricity as a source of heat as people who can afford to heat by those means are living in another world, they can sell a Rolls-Royce, if they're short on grocery money).

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

Thank you for your helpful advice.
christmasoompa can you kindly clarify what the pre-conditions are for work permit holders on a LMIA to purchase property in Ontario?
Would there be an expectation of a higher deposit in order to purchase a property on a LMIA?

Re: Purchasing a house without PR
 

There usually would be a bigger deposit needed, as you don't have any credit score in Canada. But it is possible - although as I said above, personally I wouldn't recommend it until you have PR. Far too risky to buy a property that you may not be able to live in, we've seen many people on this forum be let go on work permits and have to return to the UK. Those people would have been completely scuppered if they'd invested their money in to a property in a country they no longer have a visa for!

I'd rent at first, which not only means you have time to get your credit score up, but also to experience where you might like to live. And then buy once you have PR secured.