In her column, “The Builders’ View”, Julie Di Lorenzo outlines various closing costs that come with buying a new home, and encourages new home buyers to budget 1.5 per cent to 3 per cent of their purchase price to meet these costs. 
       
Di Lorenzo’s list of closing costs begins with the Tarion home enrolment fee. As she points out, the vast majority of Ontario builders pass the cost of the mandatory new home warranty (the Tarion enrolment fee) onto the purchaser as an adjustment on closing.

For homes priced between $200,000 and $250,000, the new home warranty fee is $450 plus GST and PST. For each $50,000 increase in the house price, the warranty increases by another $50 plus tax. She also outlines the pre-move and after move coverage that all new homeowners receive by paying the warranty fee.
 
The second closing cost Di Lorenzo mentions is the provincial land transfer tax, which is payable whether you buy a new home or a resale. However, as the article points out, first-time new home buyers qualify for a land transfer tax rebate of up to $2,000, which represents the tax payable on a home costing approximately $237,000, GST included.

Consumers should also budget between $750 and $1,000 for legal fees, which include any disbursements your lawyer may have made to a third party for items such as title searches and Law Society surcharges.

Finally, there are a wide range of possible adjustment costs: everything from boulevard landscaping charges to mortgage insurance premiums. As Di Lorenzo mentions, these items may or may not apply to you.
 
For a complete list of the closing costs consumers may be asked to pay, the article encourages readers to obtain a copy of HomePages, a helpful document published by the GTHBA. It’s available free online at www.newhomes.org or by calling 416-391-HOME, ext. 2.