When you’re looking to buy a house in Canada, there are a lot of things to take into consideration. As when buying any property, first and foremost you need to set yourself a price range to stick to, before you get carried away and fall in love with a mansion your grandchildren’s grandchildren will still be paying the mortgage on. You also need to consider what area of Canada appeals to you, as buying a house on Vancouver Island will be a very different experience to buying one in Toronto. We’ve created this list to give you a few things to keep in mind as you start looking for your Canadian dream house.

Choosing a region

As when moving into any country, you have to consider the specific drawbacks and pluses of particular areas and choose what suits you. If you were buying a house in the USA, one person might love a hot ranch in Texas whereas someone else is after a snowy cabin in rural Alaska. In Canada, even the cities differ hugely in character from one another, and there are many different cultural influences giving each area of Canada a different atmosphere which should be taken into account.

Transfer taxes

In Canada, when you buy a property you pay a provincial transfer tax, which can vary depending on the area – so you’ll need to factor this into your budget. Luckily though, some areas don’t have this tax and in other areas, people buying their first property in Canada are exempt – so make sure you look into that!

Buying a House in Canada as a Non Resident

So, you’re a non-resident and you’re looking to buy a house in Canada. What do you need to know? Well firstly, Canada is not an unfriendly place for a non-resident to buy a house – although the downpayment on a mortgage needs to be quite high at 35% of the value of the property, the rules allowing non-residents to buy and inhabit Canadian property are pretty comprehensive and liberal. There are no particular restrictions on a non-resident buying a property in the great white north – good news!. 

So there you have it – though buying a property in Canada is really very similar to buying a property anywhere, there are a few specific things to keep in mind such as the different areas ans cultures of this country, and some specific taxes and rules that you should factor in to your budget (especially if you’re buying a property as a non-resident). If you keep these things in mind – you can’t go far wrong!