What a first home here really costs.
I wrote this for people buying their first home in Fergus, Elora, Guelph or the surrounding towns. The rebates you qualify for, the land transfer tax, the closing costs nobody mentions, what a monthly payment looks like at today’s rates, and the parts of the process that catch people off guard. About a dozen pages, no fluff.
- The rebates and programs a first-time buyer in Ontario can actually use, and what each one is worth
- Land transfer tax in Wellington County, with the first-time buyer rebate worked in
- Closing costs people forget about: lawyer, title insurance, adjustments, moving
- What a monthly payment looks like at today’s rates on a typical Fergus, Elora or Guelph first home
- How much you really need saved, including the parts that aren’t the down payment
- What a pre-approval does and doesn’t do, and the one question to ask your lender
- The order things happen in, from first showing to keys, and where it usually goes sideways
Prefer to talk it through? Book a free 30-minute buyer call.
If you don’t have a house to sell first, this is for you.
First-time buyers, people renting in Guelph or Kitchener-Waterloo who want more space, families moving out from the GTA. You don’t need to be ready to buy next month. Most people who read this are six months to a year out, and the point is to know the real numbers before you fall for a house.
Nothing in it is a sales pitch. If you read it and decide to rent another year, that’s a fine outcome.
I sell homes at a 1% listing fee and I help buyers across Wellington County and Guelph. The guide is the same conversation I have with every first-time buyer, written down so you can read it at your own pace.
Kris Butler, REALTOR®, M1 Real Estate Brokerage Ltd. · 226-383-9484
See what homes near you actually sold for.
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“From point of ‘I think we are gonna list’, to the point of offer is firm, was 15 days.”
“He sold our family home swiftly when homes were not selling all that quickly.”
“A realtor who is going to actually hustle for you and treat your sale like it matters.”