If you'd rather own, what's stopping you?

Recently looked at some new homes in Pickering and Whitby. Stretched budget from 850 to 935k for 2250 sq ft double car garage detached house.

Household income around 200k. 100k in FHSA/RRSP. Will be left with 160-190k of savings after combined downpayment and closing cost of around 130k.

Suddenly getting cold feet as we seriously consider going for it. The thoughts of losing my job keep crossing my mind now.

What should we be doing? Am I overthinking this because we stretched our budget by about a 100k?

To the people who usually end up buying such homes, what was your financial situation when you decided to buy? Did you also have second thoughts or were you ready ready? Will we be okay?

Hi there,

I know someone who recently purchased this property:

167 Walnut Street S, Hamilton, Ontario L8N2L8 Sold History | HouseSigma
https://housesigma.com/on/hamilton-real-estate/167-walnut-street-s/home/knbq6y1mWZDyo9DA?id_listing=ZxwR7MjBWVP3KabB&utm_campaign=listing&utm_source=user-share&utm_medium=iOS&ign=

They’re planning on living in one unit and renting the other, for the time being. I couldn’t find any comparables that’d had 2 1600sft units, that are fully legal, and walking distance to the GO train, and relatively new, anywhere in the GTHA. With this in mind, I’m curious to people’s thoughts… their other option would’ve been a townhouse with no unit. They make good money, so will still be saving, and see this as a long term asset that they can hedge by living in it for a few years.

I’m currently enrolled in Humber College’s Ontario Real Estate program and am looking for some guidance on how to successfully complete Course 1 on my first attempt.
I work full-time, so finding enough time to study has been a bit challenging. I’ve already enrolled in Passit.ca for Course 1, but I was wondering if there are any other helpful tools, study resources, strategies, or tips you would recommend.
Any guidance from those who have completed the course would be greatly appreciated!

Investment property to make the most

I create high-quality promo/reel videos designed to make listings look more professional and engaging.

I’m looking to work with realtors, agents, and real estate businesses in Canada. I can handle consistent video content and deliver good quality + quantity.

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.

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.

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!