Running numbers on a rental? The investment calculator on my investment properties page works out NOI, cap rate, debt coverage and cash flow.
Running numbers on a rental? The investment calculator on my investment properties page works out NOI, cap rate, debt coverage and cash flow.
The number above is your monthly mortgage payment. It is not what it costs to buy a house in New Brunswick.
Between an accepted offer and getting your keys, there's a list of one-time costs that most buyers, especially first-time buyers, find out about three weeks before closing. Then they scramble. This page exists so you don't.
These aren't estimates I pulled off some national website. The legal fees below come from actual quotes from a real estate law firm I work with, Bourgeois Chiasson, in the Greater Moncton area. Your numbers may vary slightly depending on the property and your lawyer, but this is what closing actually costs here, right now.
THE BIG ONE: NEW BRUNSWICK LAND TRANSFER TAX
New Brunswick charges a transfer tax of 1% of the purchase price OR the SNB assessed value, whichever is higher.
Read that twice, because the second half catches people. If you negotiate a great deal and buy a home for $340,000 that Service New Brunswick has assessed at $360,000, you pay 1% of $360,000. The government taxes the higher number, not your negotiating skills.
Real math: on a $350,000 home (assessed at or below purchase price), that's $3,500, due at closing, in cash. It cannot be rolled into your mortgage. On a $450,000 home, $4,500. This is usually the single biggest closing cost, and it's the one nobody warns you about.
Every real estate transaction in NB goes through a lawyer. Here's what that runs, based on real quotes, all-in with HST and standard disbursements, before transfer tax:
Buying a resale home: roughly $1,800. That covers the title work, tax and water certificates, title insurance, registering the transfer and mortgage, and everything else on the lawyer's two-page task list.
Buying a home that needs conversion to Land Titles: roughly $2,500. Some NB properties are still under the old registry system and have to be converted when they sell. The title search and conversion add about $700 to a standard purchase. Rural buyers, pay attention: this comes up more often outside the city, and it's one of the things I check before you offer, not after.
Buying a new build: roughly $2,000, since new construction involves a few extra searches on the builder.
Buying a mini or mobile home: roughly $1,450. Different registration system, slightly different process.
Selling a home: roughly $1,150, sometimes plus $85 if your bank makes the lawyer register the mortgage discharge.
One more: if your mortgage comes through a broker rather than directly from a bank, some firms add $150 to $250 in fees. Ask your broker up front.
THE REST OF THE LIST
Home inspection: a few hundred dollars, and worth every cent. I've watched inspections kill deals that would have cost buyers tens of thousands. If you're buying rural, add water and septic testing.
Property tax and fuel adjustments: if the seller prepaid property taxes or left a full oil tank, you reimburse them for your share at closing. Your lawyer calculates it on the statement of adjustments. Usually a few hundred dollars, occasionally more.
Mortgage default insurance: if your down payment is under 20%, CMHC (or Sagen or Canada Guaranty) insurance gets added to your mortgage. You don't pay it at closing, but it means you're borrowing more than the sticker price. The calculator above won't show this unless you tell it to.
HST on new construction: resale homes don't get HST. New builds do, though builders usually include it in the advertised price with the rebate already factored in. If you're buying new, confirm in writing whether the price includes HST. This is a five-figure question.
Moving, utility hookups, insurance binder: small individually, annoying collectively. Budget a grand and be pleasantly surprised.
THE RULE OF THUMB
For a typical resale purchase in Greater Moncton, budget about 1.5% to 2% of the purchase price in closing costs on top of your down payment. On a $350,000 home, that's roughly $5,300 to $7,000: transfer tax, legal, inspection, adjustments.
If your entire savings equals your down payment exactly, you're not ready to offer yet. That's not judgment, that's math, and it's better to hear it now than at the lawyer's office.
Plan for 1.5% to 2% of the purchase price. The two big pieces are the land transfer tax (1% of the price or assessed value, whichever is higher) and legal fees (roughly $1,800 all-in for a standard resale purchase). Add an inspection and adjustments and a $350,000 purchase carries roughly $5,300 to $7,000 in closing costs.
1% of the purchase price or the SNB assessed value, whichever is higher. On a $400,000 purchase, that's $4,000, payable in cash at closing. It cannot be added to your mortgage.
Based on actual local quotes: about $1,800 all-in to buy a standard resale home, about $1,150 to sell. Buying a property that needs conversion to Land Titles runs closer to $2,500, and new builds about $2,000. Get a quote up front; any good firm will give you one.
Yes. Unlike some provinces, NB has no general first-time buyer exemption from transfer tax. Budget the full 1%.
No. Closing costs are due in cash at closing, on top of your down payment. The one exception is mortgage default insurance, which gets added to the loan itself when your down payment is under 20%.
Let's Talk About Your Situation
Want the real numbers for your situation before you start shopping? That's a ten-minute conversation. Call or text 506-852-6477.
No pressure, just straight answers.
Strong Roots - Smart Moves Shane MacPherson, REALTOR® | eXp Realty, Greater Moncton