First Time Home Buyer - Grants/Deductions/Etc...

[w01f]

I've been searching for quite some time now for info on grants/deductions and all around savings for first time home buyers and found nothing much on this without buying some $50 e-book which supposedly explains all the secrets of said savings....... :evil:


I have heard that the federal government gives a $ break (tax deductions or grant?) for first time home buyers (house should not have to be new building).

A family member of mine (have no immediate contact) supposedly purchased a small property (trailer) and received abt. $3000 back on this 50-60K property.

I myself am rather young and purchasing a 200k property with my spouse and any monetary assistance is useful.

Does anyone have any experience with this and if so what are the conditions which must be met or where could i find more info?


all help is welcome!!! :)

[blink]

Has your lawyer helped you out at all?

[hymack]

I too am interested in knowing what other discounts I could be in line for.

[brunes]

No idea what your "friend" did to get 10% back of his price on a trailer home, but these are the programs I know of...

First of all, there is the Home buyers Plan (HBP). This allows you to take money out of your RRSP, tax free, to buy your first house. You have to eventually put the money you took out back, although you can do it in installments over a period of time. If you have RRSP room handy and plan on buying a house in the next few years, and have a large "nest egg" saved up in cash, it makes good sense to park it temporarily in your RRSP to save all that income tax.

The second thing, and what your 'friend" maybe have took advantage of if he renovated the trailer, is the GST credit for new homes and renovations. The way it works is if you build a house or "substantially renovate" it (which is somewhat subjective, but basically means 50% or more of the house must be new), then you are allowed to apply for a credit for a percentage of the GST paid on the house or renovations. This can be something to look into if you are planning on buying a fixer-upper, because you don't have to have the work professionally done to qualify for the rebate.

The third, is the eco-rebate programs run by the fed. and various provinces right now, where they give you grants, interest free loans, and other incentives to either buy energy efficient homes, or renovate existing homes to make them more efficient. You can find inf o on the fed. rebate and links to the provincial ones at http://www.ecoaction.gc.ca/grantsrebates-subventionsremises/consumers-consommateurs-eng.cfm

[markj]

i know there is something offered by the city of montreal...something like 8-10k rebate on a maximum 200k home...

you would have to look it up to find the exact specifics...i have the bookmark at work i will try to post it...

[kaycee8877]

BC has the property transfer tax exemption for first time home buyers

[w01f]

Thanks for the posts which are helpful.

I guess there is no other rebates or programs; it must have been renovations (although there wasnt that much done from what i understand (1 room addition/siding/porch)

Thanks again, if anyone has further news would be appreciated!

[tweetie]

BC has the property transfer tax exemption for first time home buyers

It's of pretty limited from what I recall if you are buying in a HCOL area like Vancouver - only applies to homes less than $425K in value IIRC.

But for the OP, this may be worthwhile looking into if you're buying a pre-owned home at the budget you posted. I don't know if QC offers the same program.

[jimgiggles]

The only 10% rebate i know of going right now is if you are with cmhc or genworth (high risk). You can recieve a 10% discount on what you paid them by doing an eco home inspection and improving your house's rating by 5 points. You can go to the genworth/cmhc site and see for yourself!

There seems to be a ton of rebates going around right now for buying a fixer upper type house.

I think i am going to start a thread, because i dont' seem to see anyting on it so far!

[ranny3]

City of Montreal offers grants to new home buyers... the house price can be upto 185 if you have no kids and 235 if you have kids. There are also stipulations for duplexes, triplexes etc

The grants are between 6-10k

Here is a link with all of the info
http://ville.montreal.qc.ca/portal/page?_pageid=5097,16351566&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL