Has anyone here bought property or plan to buy a place in canada?

zweton

Hey,

Just wondering if anyone has bought or planning to buy a place in Canada?
Just thinking long term, is property very expensive to buy in toronto?
Presuming most people going over on the 2 year visa would like to settle there long term provided they like it there. Have any of ye taught about long term or is everyone just going with the flo and seeing how they get on?

Cheers:)

againstthetide

Yeah we are looking at buying once our PR is sorted hopefully next year, Toying with buying a small acreage and building a house

zweton

Cool, how do the prices compare to here.

retalivity

toronto house prices are ridiculous.
Im down the road in London, and even here you wont get anything decent for under 200,000.

Kippure

Red Deer has a housing boom at the moment like Ireland back in the day

againstthetide

Prices here in Sask are starting to climb bit still ok. Could prob get a decent 3 bed 200 k

zweton

retalivity wrote: »

toronto house prices are ridiculous.
Im down the road in London, and even here you wont get anything decent for under 200,000.

So will you rent for the foreseeable future? Do you have to be a resident to buy there?

zweton

againstthetide wrote: »

Yeah we are looking at buying once our PR is sorted hopefully next year, Toying with buying a small acreage and building a house

How much of a deposit would ya need,is it hard to get mortgage there?

ciaran67

zweton wrote: »

Hey,

Just wondering if anyone has bought or planning to buy a place in Canada?
Just thinking long term, is property very expensive to buy in toronto?
Presuming most people going over on the 2 year visa would like to settle there long term provided they like it there. Have any of ye taught about long term or is everyone just going with the flo and seeing how they get on?

Cheers:)

Mate, leaving Ireland I would really learn from the mistake of buying property in this weird and uncertain economic climate. Times are good in Canada, but they were also good in Ireland. Dont get sucked in - sit back and watch.

retalivity

zweton wrote: »

So will you rent for the foreseeable future? Do you have to be a resident to buy there?

Yeha i will rent.
Not sure on the residency rules to buy...I sont think theres any block on someone buying property if they have a work permit, but things like mortgages etc would be a lot harder to get when not a resident.

I prob wont buy as I dont intend to stay here any longer than 5-6 years and I have other things im spending my money on which would make it difficult for me to get a deposit together or start paying a mortgage

montreal2011

zweton wrote: »

How much of a deposit would ya need,is it hard to get mortgage there?

There are some interesting features to the mortgage system here which are very good in my opinion.

For one the interest rates are good at the moment, around 3 - 4%.

Also, it's usual to get a new mortgage or re-negotiate after 1 - 10 years. For example, you will get a mortgage with repayments rates equivalent to e.g. 20 years with a bank, but you can choose a period of say 5 years to have this mortgage with this bank. After 5 years you can then either sell the place, pay off the the loan and hopefully get some profit, or start another mortgage for the remainder with the same or another bank.

If you decide a period of say 5 years, you will typically have a clause in your contract which says if you end the mortgage before the 5 years, e.g. you sell the place, you will have to pay a % fee (fine :pac: ) to the bank.

Recently the Government made changes to prevent over-heating of the market; or USA / Europe style busts; such as setting a maximum term of 25 years; I think it used to be 30 years. I don't know much more details but the idea behind it is to hopefully keep interest rates low and prices accessible. Hopefully it works.

Another great thing which you can do here is take money from your secondary pension fund (RRSP) to pay a deposit. You will not have to pay tax on this money but you must put the full amount back into your pension within 10 or 15 years; I forget which one. This is not your main pension fund, but basically it like a savings account which is a top-up to your main pension. I think you can contribute a maximum of 15% of your salary to both pensions combined.

You won't get a loan without a credit rating. You will most likely need to be a permanent resident too. To get a credit rating a credit card is the best way. Paying utilities helps but a credit card is pretty much mandatory. If you are not a permanent resident then you are likely to have to pay a security deposit to get credit. With BMO they put a hold of $1250 on your checking account to give you a $1000 credit card.

To build good credit you need to be sure to at least pay your minimum balance every month, but not the full balance! It will help your credit rating if you leave some debt on the account; this is how they make their money and once you pay at least the minimum you are seen as a good credit risk.

If you are new to Canada it's a good idea to build up a credit rating, just in case you decide in the future that you would like to get a mortgage.

As a side note on banking here, most banks charge monthly fees. For example, wiht BMO you can choose to pay $5 a month (balance over $1k, free) and get 10 transactions, $10 a month (balance over $3k free) and get 30 transactions. Transaction include anything, atm, debit card in shop, even internet banking! Over you allotted transaction you are charged for each one. Also, you get a fee for using another banks ATM, from both banks!

The best way to avoid this is to get an account with ING, free and unlimited transactions, free ATM at National Banks ATMs, the best interest on current and savings accounts of any banks. In fact it's unusual to get interest on current accounts here. Also interest rates on savings accounts are much lower than in Ireland. I think ING pay 0.25% on the current account and 2% on the savings account.

Also, ING often have offers such as $25 - $50 dollars to open an account and $50 - $100 to move your payroll. Also, when you have an account with them you have an 'orange key'; so if a friend opens an account, get them to use your 'orange key' (it's just an number) and both of ye get the bonus! This method is often the best as it can double the bonus for both of you depending on what offer is on at the time.

ING have also just been bought by ScotiaBank which may mean more free to use ATMs in the future. Currently ING don't do credit cards; thus I have accounts with both BMO and ING. They do offer mortgages, mutual funds, RRSPs etc.

One reason that ING can offer such value is that they don't have branches, it's all online. In the major cities, they will have a 'café' where you can go to get a replacement ATM card but not much else.

Mrs McSweeney

Interesting info there, cheers!