Buying a home in the Fraser Valley is a sequence, not a leap. Below is the whole thing from the first conversation to the day you get the keys, what each stage actually involves in British Columbia, and what it costs on top of the purchase price. No sales pitch — you can use all of it whether or not you ever call us.
The eight steps, start to finish
- Work out what you can carry, not what you qualify for. Those are two different numbers. A lender looks at your income and debts; only you know what you actually want your month to look like once the mortgage, strata fee, property tax and insurance are all out. Start from the payment you are comfortable with and work backwards.
- Get a real pre-approval, in writing. Not a rate quote and not an online estimate. A written pre-approval from a lender or broker tells you your ceiling, usually holds a rate for 90 to 120 days, and is the thing that makes your offer credible. In a multiple-offer situation, the buyer who has one wins against the buyer who says they are sure it will be fine.
- Pick your REALTOR® before you start looking, not after. Buyers often meet an agent at an open house, which means meeting the seller's agent. Choose someone who represents you. In BC that relationship is set out in writing, and your agent has to explain it to you before they can act for you.
- Search with a plan. Decide what is fixed and what is flexible — commute, school catchment, number of bedrooms, whether you will take on work. Your agent can set you up on a private MLS® search so new listings reach you the morning they hit the board, which matters when good ones go in days.
- The offer. Price is one term among several. Deposit size, completion and possession dates, what stays with the house, and which subjects you include all carry weight with a seller. A clean, well-timed offer regularly beats a higher one that is awkward to accept.
- Subject removal — the part that protects you. A typical BC offer is subject to financing, inspection, and (for a strata) review of the strata documents; sometimes title, insurance or the sale of your own home too. You usually get seven to ten days. Use every one of them. This is the only window where you can walk away and keep your deposit.
- Completion, adjustment, possession. Three separate dates and people mix them up constantly. Completion is when money and title change hands at the Land Title Office. Adjustment is the date costs like property tax and strata fees are split between you and the seller. Possession is when you actually get the keys — often the day after completion.
- Keys. Your notary or lawyer registers the transfer, your lender advances the funds, and the property is yours. Set up insurance to start on the completion date, not the possession date — your lender will require proof before releasing money.
What can I afford?
Canadian mortgages compound twice a year, not monthly, so the American calculators you will find online give slightly wrong payments. This one does it the Canadian way. It is an estimate for planning — your lender's number is the one that counts.
Minimum down payment in Canada. Five per cent of the first $500,000, ten per cent of the portion between $500,000 and $1,000,000, and twenty per cent at $1,000,000 and above — where mortgage default insurance is not available at all. Enter less than the minimum and the calculator will tell you and use the minimum instead.
An estimate only, using semi-annual compounding as Canadian mortgages do. It does not include property tax, strata fees, insurance or closing costs, and it is not an offer of credit. Your lender's figure is the one that counts.
The costs nobody warns you about
Budget two to four per cent of the purchase price for closing costs on a resale home, more on a new build. Here is where it goes.
Property Transfer Tax
Payable to the Province on completion, calculated in bands against the fair market value. It is usually the single biggest closing cost. There are exemptions for first-time buyers and for newly built homes, both with value limits that change at budget time — current rates and thresholds are on the BC government page.
GST on new construction
A brand new or substantially renovated home is subject to GST on top of the price. A resale home is not. On a presale, check whether the advertised price includes it — that difference has surprised a lot of buyers.
Mortgage default insurance
Required if your down payment is under twenty per cent. The premium is a percentage of the mortgage and is normally added to the loan rather than paid up front, but you pay PST on it in cash at closing.
Legal or notary fees
Conveyancing, title search, registration and disbursements. Typically in the region of $1,200 to $2,000 for a straightforward purchase, more if there is a mortgage assumption or anything unusual on title.
Home inspection
Usually $500 to $900 depending on size and type. The cheapest money you will spend on the whole transaction. Licensed inspectors in BC are listed on the Consumer Protection BC register.
Appraisal
Your lender may require one, at your expense, usually $350 to $600. Some lenders waive it on insured mortgages.
Adjustments
You reimburse the seller for whatever they have prepaid past the adjustment date — property tax, strata fees, sometimes fuel in the tank. On a July completion the property tax adjustment can be a four-figure number.
Insurance, moving and the rest
Home insurance must be in force on completion. Then strata move-in fees, utility hook-ups, and the movers. Leave yourself a cushion — something always comes up in the first month.
Questions worth asking before you write an offer
If it is a strata
- Is there a depreciation report, and how old is it? It tells you what the building will need and when. An out-of-date one is a warning in itself.
- What is in the contingency reserve fund? A thin CRF plus an ageing roof means a special levy is coming, and the owner at the time pays it.
- Have any special levies been approved or discussed? Read the last two years of minutes, not just the last meeting.
- What do the bylaws say about rentals, pets, age and short-term letting? These bind you from day one and they are not always what the listing says.
- Any active litigation? It can affect both your enjoyment and your ability to finance the purchase.
If it is a house
- How old is the roof, and the perimeter drains? Both are expensive, both are easy to ask about, and neither shows in photographs.
- Was the basement suite permitted? An unpermitted suite can affect insurance, financing and the rental income you were counting on.
- Is there, or was there, a buried oil tank? Common in older Fraser Valley properties, and remediation is the buyer's problem once you own it.
- Were the renovations permitted and inspected? Ask for the paperwork. The city will have a record.
- Where does the water go? Grading, gutters and the slope of the lot tell you more about a basement than a dry-day viewing does.
Why use a REALTOR®
You can buy a home without one. Here is what you are doing yourself if you do: reading the title search and understanding the charges on it, valuing the property against sales the public record will not show you for weeks, drafting terms that are enforceable, holding the deposit somewhere that is actually protected, and negotiating with a licensed professional who does this full time and is working for the other side.
A REALTOR® in British Columbia is licensed and regulated by the BC Financial Services Authority, carries errors and omissions insurance, holds your deposit in a trust account, and owes you a legal duty to act in your interest — not the seller's, and not their own. On a purchase, the seller customarily pays the commission on both sides, so that expertise usually costs the buyer nothing directly. Ask us to explain exactly how it works on any property you are looking at.
Ready to start, or just want a straight answer?
Tell us what you are looking for and roughly when. We will put you with the REALTOR® on our team who knows that pocket of the market — not just whoever is next on a list.
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