First-Time Buyer Closing Costs in Ontario (Beyond LTT and Legal Fees)

The wire before keys is more than LTT and the legal bill

First-time buyers in Ontario usually budget two big closing line items: land transfer tax (and any rebate), and the lawyer’s fee. Those matter. They are not the whole stack.

The rest shows up on the trust statement, the mortgage commitment, or invoices you pay before closing day: title insurance, high-ratio mortgage default insurance when you put less than 20 percent down, lender appraisal or application charges, prepaid tax and utility adjustments, condo status extras, interest adjustment, and the practical cash you still need after registration.

The Financial Consumer Agency of Canada tells buyers to plan for one-time upfront costs beyond the mortgage — often described as roughly 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price, depending on the deal. That range is a planning band, not a quote for your file.

A Toronto real estate lawyer builds the exact figure from your Agreement of Purchase and Sale, your lender’s instructions, and the searches on title. This article is the stack beyond LTT and legal fees — not a second rebate guide and not a legal-fee breakdown.

What this post covers — and what it links out to

Provincial and Toronto land transfer tax, and first-time rebates, live in the first-time land transfer tax rebate guide and the land transfer tax in Ontario overview. Do not treat a short summary here as the rebate rules.

How the lawyer’s bill is built — fee versus disbursements versus third-party closing costs — is in real estate legal fees. All-inclusive residential purchase fees start at $2,299 + HST; sales start at $1,999 + HST. Those published starting figures are not the rest of the closing stack.

For a shorter map of common buyer closing costs, see closing costs when buying a home in Ontario. Below is the first-time buyer focus: what else still has to clear before you get keys.

Title insurance (lender policy, and usually an owner policy)

On a financed purchase, the lender almost always requires a lender’s title insurance policy. Many buyers also take an owner’s policy. They are not the same coverage. The lender policy protects the bank’s interest; the owner policy protects your equity.

The premium is a one-time amount set by the insurer from the purchase price and property type. It is paid on closing through the lawyer’s trust account. It is separate from the legal fee. Details and the lender-versus-owner split are in title insurance in Ontario. This post does not invent a flat dollar premium.

Mortgage default insurance when the loan is high-ratio

If your down payment is under 20 percent of the purchase price, Canadian lenders generally require mortgage default insurance (often called CMHC insurance, though Sagen or Canada Guaranty may insure the loan instead). The insurance protects the lender if you default. You usually pay the cost.

CMHC publishes a premium schedule for purchase insurance by loan-to-value band. Rates change. Do not memorize a percentage from a blog. Read the current CMHC Purchase premium schedule and the numbers on your own mortgage commitment.

The premium is often added to the insured loan amount so you finance it over time. That does not erase cash you may still need at closing. Ask your lender, in writing, whether any provincial tax on the premium is payable in cash, and whether any lender or insurer fees sit outside the financed premium. Ontario’s Retail Sales Tax rules on insurance premiums are a separate topic from the federal insurance premium itself — confirm what your commitment shows for an Ontario purchase.

Parents helping with the down payment should sort gift versus loan language before underwriting locks in. That path is covered in bank of mom and dad in Ontario.

Appraisal, application, and other lender-side fees

Some lenders order an appraisal to confirm value. Some waive it. Some charge an application or commitment fee. Broker compensation may be paid by the lender, or it may show as a cost you need to understand before you sign.

There is no single Ontario bank fee table that applies to every commitment. Read the cost-of-borrowing disclosure. Ask what is payable before funding and what is deducted from the advance. Do not budget from a generic “$300–$600 appraisal” internet range as if it were your file.

Adjustments on closing (taxes, utilities, condo fees)

The statement of adjustments reallocates prepaid property taxes, and sometimes utilities or condo common expenses, between seller and buyer as of the closing date. If the seller prepaid taxes past closing, you reimburse a share. If taxes are unpaid, the adjustment can run the other way.

Those figures are deal-specific. They are not “extra government taxes.” They show up in the trust statement your lawyer sends before you wire. The mechanics of closing day sit in the real estate closing process guide. A dedicated statement-of-adjustments deep dive is a separate topic.

Condo extras: status certificate and building costs

Buying a condo adds a status-certificate fee (the corporation’s capped charge for the package) and, usually, a lawyer’s review of that package. Who pays the corporation’s fee is a line in the offer. Timing matters because the corporation has a statutory delivery window.

Read the condo status certificate guide before you treat the certificate as optional. Exclusive-use items (parking, locker, balcony rules) can also affect what you think you bought — see condo exclusive-use areas. Special assessments that hit between firm offer and closing are a different risk again; do not assume the monthly fee is the whole story.

Home inspection — not a closing disbursement, but buyers mix it up

A home inspection is usually paid when the inspector invoices you, often during the conditional period — not as a Teraview disbursement on closing day. First-time buyers still should budget for it because it is cash leaving the account before you firm up.

Inspection, financing, and status conditions are different tools. The condition encyclopedia is here: Ontario real estate conditions. Waiving inspection to win a bidding war is a strategy choice, not a closing-cost saving.

HST on new construction or assignments — a different lane

Most Toronto-area resale freehold and condo purchases between individuals are not priced with HST on the purchase price. New construction, substantially renovated housing, and some assignment deals can involve HST and rebate paperwork. Those rules are CRA territory and builder-contract territory.

Do not apply a resale closing-cost worksheet to a builder deal without reading the agreement’s adjustment schedule and tax clauses. Point yourself to CRA guidance on GST/HST and residential real property, and get file-specific advice. This post does not invent rebate percentages or occupancy-versus-closing HST timing.

Registration, Teraview searches, and other disbursements

Ontario electronic registration of an instrument has a published government fee. As of the November 3, 2025 land-services update on ontario.ca, electronic registration totals $85.00 per instrument (statutory fee, ELRSA fee, and HST on the ELRSA portion). A typical financed purchase registers the Transfer and the Charge — two instruments — unless your facts differ.

Parcel registers, writ searches, tax certificates, and software costs also appear as disbursements. Some firms wrap office disbursements into an all-inclusive legal fee; others list them separately. Either way, government registration fees and third-party certificates are not the lawyer’s profit line. Fees on ontario.ca can change with the annual CPI adjustment — check the current bulletin.

Interest adjustment and prepaid interest

Mortgage payments are usually calculated from an interest-adjustment date that may not match the closing date. If you close mid-cycle, you can owe prepaid interest or an interest-adjustment amount so regular payments start cleanly. The commitment and the lawyer’s trust statement show the figure for your file.

That amount is interest, not a surprise government tax. Still budget cash for it when the advance does not cover every soft cost on day one.

Deposit, down payment, and the cash that is not “closing costs”

Your deposit sits in trust and is credited toward the purchase price on closing. It is not an extra fee. The remaining down payment still has to arrive so the mortgage can fund. Mix-ups between deposit and down payment are common — see real estate deposits in Ontario.

Moving, basic furniture, and a repair reserve are not legal disbursements. They are still cash you need after keys. First-time buyers who empty the account on the trust wire have no buffer when the water heater rental or a minor repair shows up in week one.

How to get a file-specific number

Ask your mortgage broker or lender for a clear list of insurance premiums, taxes on premiums, appraisal or application fees, and interest adjustment. Ask your lawyer for a preliminary trust statement once the deal is firm and searches are underway. Compare both against the land transfer tax estimate and the quoted legal fee.

Until those numbers exist, use FCAC’s planning band as a ceiling check — not as your wire amount. The stack beyond LTT and legal fees is real. It is also specific to your property, your lender, and whether you are buying resale or something with HST.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)