Know exactly what you are buying, and what it costs.

In Canada the minimum is 5 percent on the first $500,000 of the purchase price, 10 percent on the portion between $500,000 and $1.5 million, and 20 percent on anything above $1.5 million. On a $700,000 Mississauga townhouse that works out to $45,000. Anything under 20 percent down requires default insurance, which is added to your mortgage. Confirm your own numbers with a mortgage professional before you make an offer.

In almost every residential resale transaction in Ontario the seller's listing agreement sets out the total commission and the seller pays it out of the sale proceeds, with the buyer's brokerage paid from that amount. You will sign a buyer representation agreement that states what your brokerage is owed and how it is covered. If a particular listing offers less than that amount, you are told before you write an offer, not after.

Ontario refunds first-time buyers up to $4,000 of provincial land transfer tax, which fully covers the tax on a home priced up to $368,333. Above that you pay the difference. Buyers in the City of Toronto also pay a separate municipal land transfer tax with its own rebate of up to $4,475. Mississauga, Etobicoke and Oakville buyers only pay the provincial tax, so the rebate goes further outside Toronto.

Yes. Only a lawyer can register the transfer of title and handle the closing funds in Ontario, so every purchase involves one. Budget roughly $1,500 to $2,500 including disbursements and title insurance for a straightforward residential purchase. Retain them before your conditions come off, not the week of closing, because a lawyer reviewing a status certificate or a survey needs time to actually read it.

Five business days is typical in Mississauga, though in a competitive spring market sellers push for less and some buyers waive the condition entirely. Waiving an inspection on a 40-year-old townhouse with original plumbing is a different risk from waiving it on a five-year-old condo. Svetlana will tell you which one you are actually looking at before you decide, and a pre-offer inspection is often the better answer.

For any condo or condo townhouse purchase, the status certificate is the condominium corporation's disclosure package: the reserve fund balance, the budget, any planned special assessments, current arrears on the unit, rules and any litigation. The corporation must supply it within ten days for a maximum fee of $100 including HST. Your lawyer reviews it. A thin reserve fund is the most common reason to walk away from an otherwise good unit.

You sign an Agreement of Purchase and Sale setting out price, deposit, closing date, inclusions and any conditions. The seller can accept, reject or sign back a counter-offer, and the process continues until both sides sign the same document. Your deposit is typically due within 24 hours of acceptance and is held in the listing brokerage's trust account. Once conditions are satisfied and waived, the agreement is firm and binding.

Yes, and get a real pre-approval with documents reviewed rather than an online estimate. It tells you the actual price range, it locks a rate for 90 to 120 days at most lenders, and in a multiple-offer situation a seller reads a firm pre-approval as a lower-risk buyer. It also surfaces credit problems while there is still time to fix them instead of two weeks before closing.