Hello Gurus,
I'm in this situation and really need some advice....
Me and my spouse are planning to buy our 1st house and right now we are in phase of planning and we need your support from your knowledge and experience. We have got a pre-approval from my bank which is around the same amount that we wanted to put in buying the house, however it looks little conservative but I hope that's not bad. Now my some of the questions are:-
- My spouse does not've her RRSP a/c but I guess she has the limit to contribute around 13 K and I've a few K in my RRSP. Now would you suggest or will it be beneficial to put the money (13K) in the RRSP and then withdraw it when buying the house as 1st time buyer program- mind you it will be the same money. So to simplify, will it be beneficial to do down payment(probably less than 20%) through withdrawing from RRSP or directly paying from the saving- does going via RRSP will help?
- After the pre-approval what should be the next step should it be Mortgage Consultant? if so, where to find them and how to know who is a good one?
Or should it be Private builder or Real estate agent- we are planning to buy in Aylmer, Hull in Gatineau Quebec.
- I am a new Canadian and really don't even know how to determine what should be a good area to buy a house can you suggest some attributes or pointers....
Many thanks to all who took the time to share....
Best,
Kisi
Location: carl sagan's universe
Posted on: 13-01-09 10:20:20
Are you living in Ontario now and planning to buy a house in Gatineau or are you living in Quebec already?
Your location says Ottawa but you may have moved to Gatineau already, which most people consider an extension of Ottawa even though it is in Quebec.
Yes Investpro- you are right! I do live in Gatineau(Hull) but work in Ottawa.
Thanks,
K
Canada is great place to live and Congratulation to make it. I never lived or visited Gatineau, QB but seems more beautiful and less colder than prairies
.
Regarding RE you may have lot of Q before buying:
where to buy, when to buy, how much to spend, new or old home, where to get money, what kind of home I want, schools, college, driving distance to work, job market, .............
Bad news is you have to work hard and honest with yourself to get all these ans. Other people/friends may give you good or bad advice but you are responsible for your bad/good choice.
You can not interview/hire java programmer if you don’t have any dam idea what is a programming.
Quote:
Originally posted by kisi143
- I am a new Canadian and really don't even know how to determine what should be a good area to buy a house can you suggest some attributes or pointers....
Many thanks to all who took the time to share....
Best,
Kisi
Thanks Rahul Singh ji,
I'm and will do my research and asking this question here is part of it.
I will simplify- what I'm looking for in terms of how do you determine which area to live in- I do follow a lot of discussion here and it seems most people (so the discussion) revolves around GTA. And I'm planning to buy a house in Aylmer/ Hull in Gatineau area across the river from Ottawa- and I do know that many of us are not here so I can't ask for specific areas in these suburbs as one may not be familiar with those. However, if you can tell me based on your experince/ knowledge how do you determine which is a good area (apart from crime as indicator)? Like if a house is near a public primary school, hospital, ....I don't know. Coming from India (Delhi) most areas look good as per environment so I don't know....
So please help me what are some of the indicator one should look in terms of finalising the area to buy a house.
Many thanks for your time,
Kisi
Location: carl sagan's universe
Posted on: 15-01-09 20:41:14
Quote:
Originally posted by kisi143
Hello Gurus,
I'm in this situation and really need some advice....
Me and my spouse are planning to buy our 1st house and right now we are in phase of planning and we need your support from your knowledge and experience. We have got a pre-approval from my bank which is around the same amount that we wanted to put in buying the house, however it looks little conservative but I hope that's not bad. Now my some of the questions are:-
- My spouse does not've her RRSP a/c but I guess she has the limit to contribute around 13 K and I've a few K in my RRSP. Now would you suggest or will it be beneficial to put the money (13K) in the RRSP and then withdraw it when buying the house as 1st time buyer program- mind you it will be the same money. So to simplify, will it be beneficial to do down payment(probably less than 20%) through withdrawing from RRSP or directly paying from the saving- does going via RRSP will help?
- After the pre-approval what should be the next step should it be Mortgage Consultant? if so, where to find them and how to know who is a good one?
Or should it be Private builder or Real estate agent- we are planning to buy in Aylmer, Hull in Gatineau Quebec.
- I am a new Canadian and really don't even know how to determine what should be a good area to buy a house can you suggest some attributes or pointers....
Many thanks to all who took the time to share....
Best,
Kisi
Replying to one of ur questions.
you work in Ontario so i assume you pay taxes in Ontario- based on that it is definitely beneficial to put 13k into an RRSP and then use it for the down payment.
The advantages are:
1. By putting 13k in an RRSP you will get a tax return. If you are in the 31.15% tax bracket you will get approx $4,000 which will help in closing costs . Please note that this amount has to be in an RRSP for 90 days before you can use it for HBP (Home Buyer's Plan).Therefore if you are planning to buy a home within the next 60-90 days you should place the 13K in an RRSP already.This money you can withdraw without paying tax and interest.
2.By putting into RRSP and then withdrawing for down payment you will be forced to pay it back within 15 years starting two years after you take it out, so that is beneficial as you will save for the future (o/w you will have to pay tax)
I always recommend this route to my clients.
There is also another strategy to maximize the RRSP contribution if you have room. Should you wish to know more just let me know and I shall elaborate.
Thanks Investpro- I would love to know and learn from you....
Please check your pm.
Many-many thanks,
~K
