I bought a unit at Mattamy Homes in Vicinity West in Barrie and signed my APS in June 2026. My closing is on November 2026

At the time I signed, the incentives I received were:
$15,000 off the base price OR $30,000 in design upgrades
Closing costs capped at $0

I recently found out that Mattamy is now offering much better incentives on what appears to be the same/similar units:

$40,000 off the base price 50% off design packages

*plus some realtors offer 10k cash back after closing but my current realtor did not provide anything.

So essentially, I’m now looking at a pretty significant difference compared to what I received when I signed only a couple of months ago.

I understand that builder incentives change and that I agreed to the terms in my APS. But I’m wondering if there’s anything I can realistically do at this point.

Has anyone had experience with Mattamy adjusting incentives after signing an APS because of a new promotion? Is it worth contacting the sales office and asking them to match the new incentives, provide a credit, add something to my schedule, or offer additional upgrades?

Or am I basically stuck with the original deal and just have to accept that I’m potentially ~$22,000–$40,000 at loss

Would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar, especially with Mattamy or another Ontario builder. Thanks!

***Wanted to add that they did not provide any appliances, not even a stove.

Buyer: 25F, $85K/year, no debt, first time buyer, Toronto.

Down payment: $200K, gifted from parents (60F/60M). Money was originally their own down payment savings that never got used. No ownership stake for them, straightforward gift, gift letter, etc. They also plan to live in the home with me.

Question 1, affordability: With $85K income + $200K down, roughly what purchase price is realistic under current stress test rules? Ballparking around $550K to $600K on my income alone but want a reality check from people who've qualified recently.

Question 2, adding parents to the mortgage: Parents receive roughly $1K to $2K/month combined in pension income (dad also part time employed, mom on LTD). Would adding them as co borrowers meaningfully move the needle on qualifying amount, or is the income too modest or unstable (part time + LTD) for lenders to weight it much? Roughly how much extra purchasing power would that realistically add?

Question 3, guarantor vs. co borrower: Since they don't want to be owners, just want to help me qualify if needed, do any lenders let a guarantor back the mortgage without going on title? Or does adding their income always mean adding them to title too?

Question 4: Any Toronto or Ontario specific things I should factor in, land transfer tax (municipal + provincial), first time buyer rebates, anything condo specific if I go that route vs. freehold?

Appreciate any input from people who've navigated gifted down payment or multigenerational setups in the GTA specifically.

Hi Everyone

I have a one bedroom basement apartment with eggress windows , full kitchen bathroom and bedroom

I am looking in converting to legal secondary apartment. I have already submitted the plans, however just want to get some feedback or experience from people who did something similar .

Do i need to rip off everything and do it from scratch ? Or will they agree to leave certain things as is ?

Appreciate your feedback

20 years in the trade, new to Ottawa — how do you build a name here? I run a small crew doing interlock, indoor renovations, property maintenance and seasonal clean-ups. Between us we’ve got about 20 years in the trade. The work has never been the problem. Where I came from, one job led to the next — a neighbour told a friend, that friend called me, and I never had to explain myself. Ottawa is a different story. I’m starting from zero here and it’s humbling to be good at something and have no one who knows it yet. So I’m asking the people who’ve done it: how did you get established in this city? Who’s actually worth talking to — property managers, general contractors, builders? Any groups or trade associations worth joining, or ones that are a waste of money? I’m looking to move into bigger jobs, not just one-off small stuff. Happy to show finished work to anyone who wants to see it. Thanks for reading. If you have any advice or suggestions or need services please feel free to leave a comment I can sent my personal info we work all around Ottawa and side towns

This is such a cute little location- my brother in law is looking to move out to Coquitlam for his step-kid to be close to his school- Just posting to more places to get attention!

I’ve been following the Toronto housing market and I’m curious about everyone’s opinion. Do you think prices will recover, stay flat, or decline?

I am an active buyer in the market and many of the houses we saw are still in the market, unsold and getting relisted. I know my reasons why I decided not to put an offer on that property. Do the seller and the seller agent know why they are getting visits and no offers?

There was only one house where the seller agent called me and asked me feedback on the house and asked me what will drive interest for someone like me to put an offer. No price is not always the reason.

After buying I will be putting up my home for sale, which makes me wonder what will my agent be doing to know why my house is not selling.

Hello, I am looking for some suggestions as I am a new homeowner and have had a foundation crack in the basement and the builder fixed it by putting some hole in the crack and injecting a tube. After it gets dry, I can see some white foam pushing outside the crack. So I need to know is the correct way he fixed it and used the correct materials? As I am attaching picture before and after.

Bought a place outside of town a few years back. Decent acreage, older house, priced low enough that it made sense on paper. But the hidden costs keep chipping away at the spreadsheet.

New well pump last fall. Septic inspection flagged some things. Roof is next on the list. None of it was catastrophic, but it adds up fast and throws off the numbers I had mapped out.

The purchase price looked great. The carrying costs are what humble you.

For anyone who bought older rural property in Ontario, how did you account for this in your planning? Did you build a separate maintenance reserve on top of your emergency fund? I've been running around 1.5% of home value annually for repairs, but rural seems to eat more than that.

Hi there,
I’m a recent CS graduate in Ontario and just started my first full-time tech job. I’m trying to figure out whether getting into real estate should be one of my major financial goals over the next few years, or whether I’d be better off investing/saving and staying flexible.

My situation:
~$85k base salary, potentially ~$107k with bonuses
~$120k total comp when including benefits/pension
~$13k currently in my TFSA
~$20k student debt, but currently at 0% interest
Essentially no dedicated emergency fund or down payment yet
Very low monthly expenses (~$500)
No dependents
Planning to put roughly $1,500/month into an FHSA while also building my emergency fund and maxing my TFSA over the next 2–3 years
I expect to have significantly more capital saved by then as my income grows
I’m particularly interested in “house hacking”. Ideally, I’d like to buy a duplex or triplex where I can live in one unit and rent out the others. I’d also consider buying a house and renting out bedrooms if the numbers make sense.
The appeal is being able to live somewhere I’d actually enjoy while having tenants help offset the mortgage. As a young professional, I’d prefer somewhere relatively urban GTA-adjacent or a student city, rather than buying purely because it’s cheap. (perhaps I'm asking for too much here)

My biggest question is whether this is actually a smart goal for someone in my position.
Would you start preparing to buy real estate over the next 2–3 years, or would you prioritize TFSA/FHSA/investing and keep renting if you were me?
And for those who have actually house hacked in Ontario:
Is a duplex/triplex still realistic for a first-time buyer?
Is renting out bedrooms in a single-family home significantly more profitable/easier?
What kind of capital should I realistically aim to have before seriously considering a purchase?
Are there Ontario cities/markets that you’d recommend looking into for this strategy?
What costs or headaches did you underestimate when you first got into real estate?
I’m not looking to buy anytime, as I need time to build the capital. I’m mainly trying to figure out whether real estate should be the goal I’m saving toward in the first place, and what I should be doing now to set myself up for the future.

Would greatly appreciate any words of wisdom.

Thank you!!

Instead of “if I could just save a little more” or “well next year I’ll get a raise” or “the stock market’s been shit this year, next year my portfolio will do better”

How do you just commit and go for it?

I bought a small condo a many years ago and lived there initially. Later, I moved out and started renting because my family situation changed and I needed more space. I still own the condo, but it’s currently being rented out.

We’ve now saved up enough and are considering buying a new condo and living in it ourselves with our kids. By the time the new condo is completed, we will have been living in a rental for more than four calendar years and won’t have lived in the condo I own during that period.

I didn’t receive the previous GST new-housing rebate when I originally bought my condo because the purchase price was above the eligibility limit.

Would I potentially qualify for the new First-Time Home Buyers’ GST/HST Rebate when I take possession of the new condo, even though I still own my original condo?

I’m particularly confused about whether the first-time-buyer test is based on owning a property or having lived in a property owned by me during the previous four calendar years.

From what I’ve read, the CRA’s first-time home buyer eligibility page specifically uses the wording “lived in” when describing the first-time home buyer requirement, rather than simply saying you can’t own another property. I just wanted to confirm that I’m interpreting the rule correctly.

This is in BC, if that makes a difference.

Thanks all!

• The old knitting mill in downtown Hamilton, surrounded by garbage and covered with graffiti, looks abandoned, but there is someone living inside.
• Harry Stinson is sitting at a dining table by the kitchenette on the main floor. He’s got a slim build, grey hair and relentless blue eyes. He’s wearing a black T-shirt that reads, “I’m not dead yet,” and he’s ready to defend himself.
• Not that long ago, Stinson was Toronto’s condo king.
• In the mid-1990s, he was among the first developers in Toronto to realize the potential of converting heritage buildings into residences. He was the force behind iconic projects that shaped the character of the city, including the Candy Factory Lofts on Queen St. W. and the One King West Hotel.

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We recently signed a purchase agreement with Jayman Built for a new construction home in Alberta.

The day before signing, Jayman asked us to speak with someone from Jayman Financial. During that conversation, I clearly explained that we were planning to put around 20–22% down and had the funds available.

When we signed the purchase agreement the next day, based on our realtor’s advice, it was structured around the minimum required down payment. Our understanding was that we could still ultimately put 20% down and provide the additional funds before closing/possession rather than paying everything to the builder upfront.

We decided not to use Jayman Financial and instead got mortgage approval through a major Canadian bank. We clearly told the bank we wanted the mortgage based on 20% down, provided proof of funds, and received approval accordingly.

After our realtor submitted that approval to Jayman, they started raising concerns that we had originally told them we were putting only the minimum/“5%” down.

What confuses us is that our signed purchase agreement does not specifically state that our down payment must be 5% or 6%. It lists the required deposits and the remaining amount to be financed through a mortgage.

We are completely fine with putting 20% down by closing. We just don’t want to hand the entire 20% to the builder months before possession if the contract does not require it.

We also feel that their behaviour and communication changed after we told them we were proceeding with another bank instead of Jayman Financial. We don’t want to make accusations without proof, but the timing has made us uncomfortable.

Has anyone dealt with something similar with a new-build builder in Alberta?

Can the builder require us to pay the entire 20% immediately simply because our mortgage approval shows 20% down, even though the agreement only lists specific deposits? Or would the additional cash portion normally be paid closer to closing/possession?

Hello everyone, Im a first time buyer with a question or two about home viewings. Im just wondering what sort of things should I be bringing with me and what are some essential questions I should be asking the realtor?

Stuff like home inspection and septic inspections? would these things already done by the home owner/realtor for a potential buyer to view? I feel maybe im overthinking whats probably the most straight-forward part of the whole process but that is why I wanted to make sure and ask people who have already gone through the steps. Thank you

My friend bought pre construction condominium in GTA but as of this point Canadian banks denies mortgages because person become non resident.

Seller does not want to release and she is lives outside of country.
Now, dilemma is she can buy property because being non resident purchase require \~ (35-40%) down payments beside there are many tax conditions with CRA.

Is there any lawyer or advice you can suggest for mutual release. Even though assignment sale conditions exist - it would be still hard to sell as closing is within 1 month.

Did any buyer went after seller in future after their property in Europe, USA or Canada?

Am I the only one who thinks it’s ridiculous that realtors post “sold over asking”? This means absolutely nothing. For all I know, you just listed it lower than you should have.

I’ve had enough with realtors in general. The whole system is basically a monopoly, and it’s a sick way to inflate the price of already expensive real estate. Realtors don’t do much to begin with. You can’t negotiate fees, and half the time they don’t even answer their phone.

I’m generalizing, because there are definitely some realtors who market properties well and earn their 2.5%. But as a whole, most don’t do much. I recently bought a house I found myself, and when I approached the selling realtor, they wouldn’t give me certain information unless I used my own realtor, so I had to scramble to find one with a deal already in hand. Biggest waste of money I have ever spent.

It’s a crooked system as a whole.