Closing Costs

CLOSING COSTS

Legal Fees

The average closing is about $1000.00 - $1200.00. This includes cost of drawing up and registering one mortagage, preparing Land Transfer Tax Affidavit, searching title and disbursments.

Adjustments on Closing

This amount is dependent on how much of the property tax, heating costs, water bill, and any other property expenses the vendor has prepaid.

Land Transfer Tax

Land Transfer Tax is determined by the purchase price of a property as well as the type of property being sold and the residency status of the buyer. If the buyer is a resident of Ontario, then the land transfer tax is based on a sliding scale with the buyer paying a higher percentage of tax on increasing portions of the total value of the property. The following is the Land Transfer Tax scale for the sale of most residential properties.

Purchase Price:	$0 - $55,000.00	$275.00
	$55,000.01 - $250,000.00	1.0%
	$250,000.01 - $400,000.00	1.5%
	$400,000.00 +	2.0%

Home Inspection

The average home inspection costs between $250.00 - $385.00. This should include a check of all major systems, written report, and some type of "Home Book". Other prices are available for more or less comprehensive inspections.

CMHC Fees

The actual insurance premium charged is generally added to the principal amount of the mortgage and paid back by the borrower on a monthly basis. There is, however, an administration fee of $175.00 which must be paid for in cash. PST is also charged on insurance premium and must be paid for on closing.

Survey Title Insurance

If a survey is required and is to be paid for by the Purchaser a cost of $650.00 - $1000.00 can be anticipated. Relatively new to the Canadian housing market is the concept of Title Insurance which can be purchased for much less (approximately $250.00) and serves the same purpose as a survey.

Miscellaneous

No house is perfect. Invariably a new owner will want to improve the house in some way or another, even a coat of paint can cost up to a thousand dollars or more. As a rule of thumb one should expect to spend several thousand dollars on minor improvements on a home after one moves in (this figure does not include renovations of any significance.

Moving

It depends on whether or not you hire professional movers, how far a distance must be travelled and how many possessions you own. But even if you have friends/family to help you move, plus renting a wreck and providing pizza and beer for everybody, it will still be a couple of hundred dollars.