Additional Costs Associated With Buying a Home in Calgary

May 27, 2017
By Cody Battershill

Be Ready for Additional Costs When Purchasing a Home

What costs are associated with buying a home other than the purchase price? As a matter of fact, there are a bunch of additional charges and fees that you should be prepared for the next time you’re looking to buy.

Here’s a list of some you can expect to encounter. Having extra cash saved up for them in addition to your down payment is essential to proceed with your purchase in a stress-free manner. Also see these 5 Steps to Buying a Home in Calgary.

Mandatory Fees

Condo document review fees – it’s crucial to get a professional condo document review that answers some important questions when buying a condominium. This will cost you anywhere from $300 to $600 depending on the details.

Down payment – In Alberta, you need a minimum cash down payment of 5% of the purchase price of the home in question.

Legal fees – for a simple transaction, you can expect to fork out around $2,000 give or take a few hundred dollars for legal fees that include notary and lawyer services

Moving fees – costs associated with movers really depends on how much stuff you have and what kind of help you’re looking for.

Home insurance – you’ll want to insure your home after buying it. There’s a ton of different options available to you on the market; do your due diligence and find one that fits your needs best.

Utilities – Utility bills will be in the mail shortly after move-in. You may also have to pay account transfer fees for utilities on resale properties. In condos, condominium fees can be relatively cheap or considerably expensive depending on the square footage of your unit. Know your condo fees per square footage if you’re buying a condo!

Potential Fees

Contract buyouts – you may have to pay the seller for any prepaid contracts you plan to use after the purchase is made. A common contract buyout between the buyer and seller is for already-installed security systems.

Mortgage application fee – varies between lenders, although it isn’t odd to find some financial institutions that don’t have this fee at all.

Mortgage life insurance – if something happened to you, your mortgage would be covered by this insurance policy. There are several options when it comes to mortgage life insurance, some more affordable than others.

Appraisal fees – some lenders require the buyer to pay for this assessment which usually costs around $300.

Land survey fees – depending on the agreement you have with your lender, you may be required to pay for any land survey fees associated with your home purchase.

Sales tax – take this into account for new construction homes only, i.e. ones that have never been lived in before. In Alberta, it’s 5% GST with a sliding scale under $450,000 and a full 5% above that figure.

Have Any Questions?

Hopefully you’ll have to pay as few of these hidden costs as possible when buying a home or condo in Calgary. It’s important to discuss the details with your real estate agent of choice so that you know what kind of fees you'll be looking at during your transaction.

If you have any questions about the costs associated with buying a home in Calgary, I’d be happy to answer them for you. Call, text or message me below today!