The purchase price is never really “the final price”, is it?  From car’s to condo’s it seem’s like many high priced items tend to have a ton extra costs that quickly add up. Thankfully, there’s a new service from ClosingCosts.ca that helps calculate all those pesky little extras - efficiently and clearly!

The ClosingCosts.ca team put together a short summary of what their site does and how it could help make your next real estate purchase a more organized process:

Why Buyers Should Use a Closing Costs Calculator

By MyClosingCosts.ca

When it comes to buying a house, it never hurts to have extra money set aside. We know, we know… that seems impossible, when prices are high and a down payment can seem difficult enough to save for. But while it’s easy to calculate the minimum down payment you’ll need for your dream home, closing costs aren’t always so straightforward. Too many first-time buyers make the mistake of not budgeting for closing costs and are left scrambling for extra cash on closing day. MyClosingCosts.ca is the only website that demystifies closing costs by providing users with a realistic idea of what buying a home is actually going to cost them.

What are Closing Costs?

Closing costs are the transaction costs you have to pay when buying real estate. Seriously, there’s a lot more to closing costs than your down payment. First, you’ll want to bring a Toronto home inspector in – that’ll cost you on average $450. You’ll need to put a deposit down – there’s another couple thousand dollars. You will have to pay Ontario’s land transfer tax plus Toronto’s land transfer tax, which is likely the most expensive closing cost. And then there are legal fees, disbursements, title insurance, and the list goes on and on.

So how much should you budget for closing costs? $1,000 or $2,000 should do it, right? Wrong! We recommend if you’re buying a home to budget 1.5 to 4 per cent of your home’s purchase price for closing costs. For example, if you’re buying a house for $550,000, you should be prepared to pay anywhere from $8,250 to $22,000 extra on closing day – and that’s on top of your down payment. It adds up fast! In fact, your closing costs could be almost as much as your down payment, if you’re only putting down 5 per cent.

Closing Cost Calculator

If there’s a property you’re thinking of buying – or even just looking at – pull up the MLS listing and plug in what you know about it into our closing costs calculator. Not only is our calculator easy to use, in less than five minutes you’ll have a realistic idea of how much to budget for closing costs. Similar to a receipt from your favourite restaurant, we will break down the closing costs line by line. When you’re done, you can download a PDF report that summarizes your closing costs. And if you need it, we can even put you in touch with a home inspector or real estate lawyer in Toronto.

MyClosingCosts.ca is your guide to understanding the not-so-obvious real estate expenses. We created the site with buyers in mind, so you aren’t caught off guard with unexpected fees that you can’t pay for. If you aren’t ready to buy, stop by our education centre to learn more about the closing costs you’ll have to pay one day. Our education centre includes common questions from both buyers and sellers; if you have a question of your own, you’ll most likely find the answer here. There’s nothing quite like MyClosingCosts.ca on the web, and it’s free to use, so try it out today!