First-Time Home Buyer Money Guide
The money side of buying your first home, in plain language
Down payments, closing costs, the mortgage stress test, the FHSA and the Home Buyers' Plan — explained in plain language with checklists you can actually use. No jargon walls, no sales pitch. (This is general information, not financial advice.)
Start with the FHSA →
$8,000 a year, $40,000 lifetime, tax-deductible in and tax-free out. How the First Home Savings Account actually works, who qualifies, and the mistakes that cost people room.
Minimum down payments by price, the $60,000 HBP withdrawal limit, the 90-day rule, the 15-year payback — and how to stack the HBP with an FHSA on one purchase.
Land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, adjustments, inspections — the line items that can add up to several percent of the price, and how to estimate them.
You don't get approved at your actual rate. Who the stress test applies to, the contract-rate-plus-2% rule, why the number feels so high, and how to prepare for it.
The mortgage is only the beginning. Property tax, insurance, utilities, maintenance, the stuff that breaks in month three — a realistic first-year budget checklist.