Benefits and Incentives for First-Time Home Buyers

Taking the leap and buying your first home can be intimidating and feel scary. Canadian first-time home buyers have access to some great benefits and incentives. If you want to make the most out of your first home buying experience, consider working with a mortgage broker. Jeff Arthurs can help you navigate the world of mortgages, and find you a mortgage that is right for your situation. Here are the top four incentives that Jeff can help you learn about as a first-time home buyer.

First-Time Home Buyer Incentive

This incentive is new and will take effect after September 2, 2019, with the first closing not to take place until November 1, 2019. People that qualify for this incentive need to:

• Have at least a 5% downpayment and be eligible for an insurance covered mortgage
• Qualifying income of less than or equal to $120,000
• Borrow no more than four times the amount of the listed qualifying income

People that meet these criteria can apply for a 5% - 10% loan from the government that will not need to be repaid until the home is no longer in your possession. The program works a follows:

• You have a qualifying income of $100,000 and $20,000 to put down on a $400,000 mortgage
• You can then apply for a $40,000 loan from the government of Canada that will bring the cost of your mortgage payments down by around $228 a month
• When you turn around to sell the home years later, you owe the government 10% of the sale price of the home in return for the loan you took out (for example: If the home sells for $380,000, you owe $38,000, and if the house sells for $420,000, you owe $42,000)

Overall, it is a great way to remove some of the risks of owning a home while taking off some of the front-end burden. Talk to your mortgage broker about this first-time home buyers incentive to find out more.

Tax Credit

First-time home buyers that purchased after January 27, 2009, are eligible to apply for a credit of $750, by claiming a $5000 expense on their income taxes. Individuals can receive up to $750 in federal tax relief. Please talk to your accountant to find out more about this tax credit.

Home Buyers' Plan

The home buyer plan will allow first-time home buyers or purchasers of a first home to draw up to $35,000 from their registered retirement savings. The money that you withdraw will, however, need to be paid back over the course of the next 15 years.

New Housing GST Rebate

If your new home or your primary home required a lot of work due to a rehab that cost less than $450,000 or you, have purchased a newly built home under the same price, you may qualify for a GST rebate for part or all of the cost.

As you can see, the Canadian Government provides many programs to support first-time home buyers. Finding a knowledgeable mortgage broker to help you decide which programs and loans are right for you can save you a lot of money while you live in your new home.

Call me at 780-915-4318 to take your first step towards home ownership.