5 or 10% of the home’s purchase price to put towards a down payment, which can help lower mortgage carrying costs and make homeownership more accessible for Canadians from all walks of life. Below, we’ll explore more details of the incentive including who is eligible, how to apply and more. The First Time Home Buyer Incentive Low Down The primary objective of the First-Time Home Buyer Incentive is to make it easier for Canadians to buy a new home without mortgage payments that strain your overall budget and quality of life. The program is designed to be a shared equity mortgage that allows home buyers to borrow 5 or 10% of the total purchase price from the Federal Government, then pay back the same percentage of the value of your home when you sell it, or within a 25-year window (whichever happens first). For example: If you receive a 5% incentive on the purchase price of $200,000 ($10,000) and your home’s value increases to $300,000, your payback would be 5% of the current value ($15,000). It’s important to note that, as the name implies, the incentive is for first-time homebuyers that have:
- Not purchased a home before.
- Have not occupied a home that you or your current spouse/common-law partner owned in the last 4 years
- Have recently experienced the breakdown of a marriage or common-law relationship.
- Buyers must have the minimum down payment
- The Buyer’s total annual qualifying income must be less than $120,000
- The borrowing total must be no more than 4 times your qualifying income.
- Applicants must be a Canadian citizen, Permanent Resident, or a non-permanent resident authorized to work in Canada.
- Single-family homes
- Semi-detached homes
- Duplex
- Triplex
- Fourplex
- Townhouses
- Condominium units
- Mobile homes
- A buyer goes through a break-up and wants to buy out the co-borrower. Note: If this requires additional insured funds, you must pay back the Incentive in full.
- Porting your mortgage will trigger a repayment of the Incentive.
- A partial release of security is considered a sale and will trigger repayment of the Incentive.
- A change in the intended use of the property.