City Park sits north of downtown along the river next to Kinsmen Park and City Hospital, and a lot of its buildings are older, which means a $400 to $600 home inspection is not optional; knowing whether the roof, furnace and windows have been updated changes the real cost of ownership significantly.
On the financing side, the minimum down payment is 5 percent to $500,000, and a first-time buyer can pair the Home Buyers' Plan's $60,000 RRSP withdrawal with the First Home Savings Account's $8,000 a year, up to $40,000 lifetime, to close the gap on a benchmark city price of $444,700.
Joel writes offers with financing and inspection conditions built in, which matters most on a first purchase where the buyer has never seen this process before. Get your hand-reviewed valuation from Joel Dyck.