Here are the fees you should account for when buying a home in Quebec.
What’s the true cost of buying a home in Quebec? It seems obvious; just look at the price tag, right? While the price is something to consider, there’s more that goes into buying a home, so today, I want to go over what it would look like for you to buy a home in Quebec.
The biggest cost of buying a home will always be the down payment. If we use a $500,000 home as an example, and you get approved for a $400,000 loan, then you’ll have to put $100,000 down. Make sure you have the money for your down payment in a bank account for at least 90 days before you move the money.
The second biggest expense will be the “welcome” tax. When you move to Quebec, you have to pay around 1.5% of the purchase price as a tax to your municipality. This welcome tax will typically be higher in Montreal than elsewhere in the province. In our $500,000 example, your welcome tax payment will be $6,000.
“You should prepare to pay more than the down payment.”
There are also other fees you need to account for. They include the inspection fee and notary fees. The notary fees are the costs of registering your home. I recommend budgeting around $2,000 to $3,000 for notary fees, but it depends on the price of your purchase.
You may also have to pay adjustments. Adjustments are compensations for prepaid expenses the seller has already paid. The most common example is probably property taxes. For example, if a seller paid $5,000 in property taxes for the whole year, but you bought the home halfway through the year, you would owe $2,500 in property taxes.
The last fee to keep in mind is moving fees. Even if you forgo professionals and ask your friends for help, you’ll probably have to buy them pizza afterward. **In total, I recommend my clients budget around 4% of the purchase price to cover miscellaneous expenses. **
Hopefully, you learned something about the true cost of purchasing a home in Quebec. If you have any questions about today’s video, please call or email me. I am always willing to help.
