Work out what you can actually afford, see every closing cost before it lands, and learn the process step by step. Built for people buying their first home in London and Kitchener, with no jargon and no pressure.
Ontario land transfer tax refund for first-time buyers
30 yr
Amortization available to you on a new build
7 yr
Tarion warranty on every home we hand over
The path to your keys
Seven steps, start to keys.
Most first-time buyers tell us the hardest part was not knowing what came next. Here is the whole sequence, in order, with the thing people most often get wrong at each stage.
Before you look at a single home, find the number a lender will actually approve. That depends on your income, your existing debt payments, and the stress test, not on what you feel you can handle.
Most common mistake: shopping at the top of your pre-approval. Leave room for property tax, utilities and life.
A pre-qualification is an estimate. A pre-approval means a lender has reviewed your documents and held a rate for you, usually 90 to 120 days. Bring pay stubs, T4s, and proof of your down payment.
Worth knowing: a held rate protects you if rates rise while you shop, and costs nothing if they fall.
In Canada the minimum is 5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1,500,000, and 20% above that. Under 20% means mortgage default insurance is added.
First-timer advantage: the FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan both let you build that down payment with tax help. See the programs below.
With a new Ironstone townhome you are choosing a floor plan and a unit, and your price is the Ironclad price: premium finishes are already in it. You sign an Agreement of Purchase and Sale and pay a deposit.
Ask this: what is included, and what is extra? With Ironclad Pricing the answer is that the upgrades are already included.
Your lender turns the pre-approval into a live mortgage commitment on the specific home. You will need a real estate lawyer to handle title, adjustments and closing funds.
Budget for it: legal fees, title insurance and disbursements typically run $1,800 to $2,500 combined.
About a week before closing you walk the finished home with an Ironstone representative. Everything outstanding gets documented, and you learn how the home's systems run.
Bring: your phone for photos, and take the maintenance walkthrough seriously. Read the PDI guide →
Your lawyer moves the money, registers the title and releases the keys. Your 7-year Tarion warranty starts the day you take possession.
These use the actual rules a Canadian lender applies: the federal stress test, the sliding minimum down payment, mortgage default insurance tiers, and Ontario land transfer tax with the first-time buyer refund. Move a slider and every number updates.
Calculator 01
What can I actually afford?
We apply the same lending ratios a Canadian lender uses, then stress test the payment, so this is a realistic ceiling rather than a hopeful one.
$95,000
Combined, for everyone who will be on the mortgage.
$450
Car loans, credit card minimums, student loans, lines of credit.
$40,000
Include gifted funds, FHSA and RRSP withdrawals.
4.79%
Default is for illustration only. Change it to the rate your lender quotes you.
First-time buyers purchasing a newly built home can use a 30-year insured amortization, which lowers the monthly payment.
You could likely buy up to
$0
Based on your income, debts and down payment.
Mortgage amount$0
Down payment$0
Mortgage insurance added$0
Estimated monthly payment$0
Property tax + heat (est.)$0
All-in monthly$0
ⓘAdjust the sliders to see how each factor moves your ceiling.
Uses lender ratios of 39% GDS and 44% TDS, stress tested at the greater of your rate plus 2% or 5.25%. An estimate for planning, not a mortgage approval.
Homes that fit
Real homes in your range
Starting prices, after proposed government rebates. See a sales representative for details.
Pick up to 3 to compare
Calculator 02
What will the payment be?
Enter a home price and see the true monthly payment, including mortgage insurance if your down payment is under 20%.
$450,000
Our townhomes start at $377,184 and move-in ready homes at $549,777.
$40,000
Minimum required shown below.
4.79%
Change this to your quoted rate.
Accelerated bi-weekly makes the equivalent of one extra monthly payment a year and shortens your amortization.
Your monthly payment
$0
Principal and interest only.
Mortgage before insurance$0
Mortgage insurance premium$0
Total mortgage$0
Interest over the full term$0
Total cost of borrowing$0
Principal Interest
ⓘAdjust the sliders to compare scenarios.
Interest compounded semi-annually, the Canadian convention. Property tax, insurance and utilities are not included here, see the closing costs tab.
Calculator 03
How much down payment do I need?
Canada uses a sliding minimum, and anything under 20% triggers mortgage default insurance. Here is exactly where you land.
$450,000
$40,000
That is 6.1% of the price.
At 20% you avoid mortgage insurance entirely, which is usually the single biggest saving available to you.
Minimum down payment required
$0
5% on the first $500,000, 10% on the portion above it.
Your down payment$0
As a percentage0%
Insurance premium raten/a
Premium added to mortgage$0
Ontario PST on premium, due at closing$0
Total mortgage$0
ⓘMove the slider to see the insurance tiers.
Saving if you reached 20%$0
Premium tiers: 4.00% at 5 to 9.99% down, 3.10% at 10 to 14.99%, 2.80% at 15 to 19.99%. In Ontario the 8% PST on the premium cannot be added to the mortgage and is paid at closing.
Calculator 04
Ontario land transfer tax
Every Ontario buyer pays this at closing. First-time buyers get a refund of up to $4,000, which wipes it out entirely on lower-priced homes.
$450,000
You qualify if you have never owned a home anywhere in the world, and neither has your spouse while you have been together.
Toronto adds a second, municipal land transfer tax on top of the provincial one. London and Kitchener do not.
Land transfer tax you will pay
$0
After the first-time buyer refund.
Provincial land transfer tax$0
Municipal land transfer tax$0
First-time buyer refund$0
Net payable at closing$0
✓
Provincial rates: 0.5% to $55,000, 1% to $250,000, 1.5% to $400,000, 2% to $2,000,000, then 2.5%. Ontario first-time buyer refund caps at $4,000, and Toronto's municipal refund caps at $4,475.
Calculator 05
What do I need on closing day?
This is the number that surprises first-time buyers. Beyond your down payment, budget for these one-time costs.
$450,000
$40,000
$2,200
Ask your lawyer for a written quote. Title insurance is usually included in this range.
$2,500
Movers, utility hookups, window coverings, a fridge if you need one.
Cash you need on closing day
$0
On top of the deposit you already paid.
Balance of down payment$0
Land transfer tax, after refund$0
PST on mortgage insurance$0
Legal fees and disbursements$0
Title search, status and adjustments$0
Moving and setup$0
Total closing cash$0
⚠Lenders want to see this money in your account, not on a credit card. Plan for roughly 3% of the purchase price in closing costs on top of your down payment.
New Ironstone homes are covered by the 7-year Tarion warranty, and the Tarion enrolment fee is included in your Ironclad price rather than billed to you at closing.
Calculator 06
Rent versus own, over time
Renting is not throwing money away, but it does not build equity. This compares the two over the years you plan to stay.
$2,100
$450,000
$40,000
7 years
3.0%/yr
Set this to 0% to see the comparison with no appreciation at all.
Ownership outlay counts mortgage payments, property tax, insurance and a maintenance allowance. Appreciation is an assumption you control, not a forecast.
The part nobody photographs
Boxes on the floor. Yours, though.
Every guide below exists because a first-time buyer asked us the same question twice. Take them with you, and use them on any builder's home, not just ours.
Six Ironstone guides, written for first-time buyers in Ontario and laid out as proper documents you can keep. No email, no form, nothing to unlock. Read one on this page in a second, download the designed PDF, or open the full document in your browser. If you would rather have them in your inbox, there is a field for that below, and it is entirely optional.
First-Time Buyer Starter Guide
The whole journey in one document: budgeting, pre-approval, deposits, closing, and what happens after you get the keys.
Everything above is open, so this is only if it is easier to have them in your inbox. One email with the
whole library, and nothing else unless you ask for it.
Watch, do not read
Sixty seconds a topic. No jargon.
The same questions come up every week, so we answer them in short videos you can watch on the bus. Follow along and the whole series lands in your feed as we publish it.
Swipe or scroll for more. New videos drop as we publish them.
What that number actually buys
Three real ways in.
These are real homes at real prices, not starting-from teasers with the finishes stripped out. Every one includes premium finishes as standard under the Ironclad Price Guarantee.
*Cost after proposed government rebates. See sales representative for further information. E.&O.E.
Money you may be entitled to
Help that exists whether you ask for it or not.
There are six of these. Most first-time buyers use two, because nobody sends you a letter about
the other four. Each one below says in plain words what it does and who gets it, so you can work out in about a
minute which ones are yours.
Tick what is true for you. Nothing here is a form, and nothing is submitted.
Watch the total. It adds up only the money you would actually receive.
Open the fine print on anything you are not certain about.
1 Money you get to keep
Cash that comes to you, or tax you simply never pay. This is the number that matters.
On a home up to $368,333 the refund cancels the provincial tax completely, so you pay nothing.
London and Kitchener charge no municipal land transfer tax either. A Toronto buyer pays a second one on top. You do not.
You claim $10,000 on your return and receive a $1,500 non-refundable credit. It is a single line on the return. Tell whoever does your taxes that you bought a first home, and it is done.
Up to 5% of the purchase price to a maximum of $25,000, as an interest-free loan that is fully forgiven after 20 years in the home. You never make a payment on it.
To qualify: household income under $113,700, purchase price $500,000 or less, you must be renting in London or Middlesex County now, and you must not already own a home. Funding is first come, first served until the year’s allocation runs out.
This one fits our townhomes. Stax starts at $377,184, comfortably under the $500,000 cap.
Rent with Drewlo and we credit $400 of every month’s rent toward the purchase of your Ironstone home, to a maximum of $15,000. Two years of renting is $9,600 you would otherwise never see again.
Read this part carefully, because it is the one people misread. These are not payouts. They are
accounts that let you use your own savings for a first home without losing a slice to tax.
$8,000 a year to a $40,000 lifetime maximum. It behaves like an RRSP on the way in and a TFSA on the way out, which makes it the best-shaped account in the country for this one job.
An empty FHSA opened today is worth more than a funded one opened next year.
The 90-day rule means this is not a last-minute lever. If you are thinking of using it, move the money now.
The start date for repayment has been temporarily pushed out for recent withdrawals, so confirm your exact first repayment year with your accountant rather than assuming.
3 Rules that raise what a lender will approve
No money attached, so they are not in the total. They change your monthly payment, and the payment
is what decides the price you qualify for.
A 30-year mortgage instead of 25Stretching the same loan over 30 years instead of 25 lowers the monthly payment, and a lower payment is what raises the price a lender will approve. First-time buyers and anyone buying a newly built home can do this. Every Ironstone home is a new build, so it is on the table for you.Federal · new construction
The minimum down payment slides with the price5% on the first $500,000, then 10% on anything between $500,000 and $1,500,000, and 20% at $1,500,000 and up. On a $600,000 home that is $35,000, not $30,000. That $5,000 gap is what wrecks deals in the final week.Federal · the rule that catches people
What it looks like on a real purchase
A couple renting in London, buying the entry-level Lynx townhome at Stax for $377,184. Neither has owned before. Here is what the programs on this page are actually worth to them.
Ontario land transfer tax on $377,184$4,133
First-time buyer refundso the tax bill drops to $133−$4,000
First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Creditback on next year’s return−$1,500
City of London down payment help, 5% of the priceinterest-free, forgiven after 20 years−$18,859
What the programs are worth on this purchase$24,359
And separately, the two of them could move up to $200,000 of their own savings through an FHSA and the Home Buyers’ Plan without paying tax on it. That is not extra money. It is their money, kept out of the CRA’s hands.
The big one, and the honest caveat
Ontario’s expanded HST rebate on new homes.
Ontario has proposed a temporary expansion of the HST new housing rebate worth up to
$130,000 in relief on a qualifying new build, running from April 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
Because it applies only to new construction, it is directly relevant to every home we sell and to almost
nothing on the resale market.
It is deliberately left out of the total above. Eligibility turns on when your agreement is signed and when
construction starts and finishes, so the timing matters as much as the price, and a proposal is not yet a
rebate. If your purchase could land inside that window, it is worth a conversation before you sign anything.
The advantage of buying new is that nothing is somebody else's compromise. No wallpaper to strip, no thirty-year-old furnace waiting to fail, no surprise behind the drywall. And it is all under warranty from the day you move in.
Quartz counters and full-size appliances, includedNine-foot ceilings, pot lightsUpgraded driveway and exteriorFinished, not builder basicHard-surface flooring throughout the main floor
If a lender, lawyer or sales rep uses a term you do not know, it is here. Ask us anything that is not.
A pre-qualification is a rough estimate based on numbers you told someone, with nothing verified. A pre-approval means a lender has reviewed your actual documents, confirmed your income, and held a rate for you for 90 to 120 days.
Only one of these means anything when you are ready to sign, so get the pre-approval.
Federal rules require lenders to qualify you at a higher rate than the one you will actually pay: the greater of your contract rate plus 2%, or 5.25%. So a 4.79% mortgage is assessed as though it were 6.79%.
This is why your approval is lower than a simple payment calculation suggests, and it is built into the affordability calculator above.
Gross Debt Service is the share of your gross monthly income that housing costs can consume: mortgage payment, property tax, heat, and half of any condo fees. The insured limit is 39%.
Total Debt Service adds every other debt payment, car loans, credit cards, student loans, and caps at 44%. Whichever limit you hit first sets your maximum.
If your down payment is under 20%, you must carry mortgage default insurance. It protects the lender, not you, and the premium is a percentage of the mortgage: 4.00% at 5 to 9.99% down, 3.10% at 10 to 14.99%, and 2.80% at 15 to 19.99%.
The premium is added to your mortgage, but in Ontario the 8% PST on it must be paid in cash at closing.
The deposit is paid when you sign the agreement and shows you are serious. The down payment is the total equity you put in, and your deposit counts toward it.
So if your down payment is $40,000 and your deposit was $10,000, you bring the remaining $30,000 at closing plus your closing costs.
Amortization is how long it takes to pay the whole mortgage off, typically 25 or 30 years. Term is how long your current contract and rate last, usually 5 years, after which you renew.
You will renew several times over one amortization. A longer amortization lowers your payment but increases total interest.
Fixed locks your rate for the whole term, so your payment never moves. Variable tracks the lender's prime rate, so it falls when prime falls and rises when it rises.
Neither is universally better. Fixed buys certainty, variable historically costs less on average but asks you to absorb the swings.
Small prorated amounts settled between buyer and seller on the closing date, mainly property tax already paid for the year and utility accounts.
They are usually a few hundred dollars, and your lawyer itemises them on your statement of adjustments before closing day.
Tarion administers Ontario's new home warranty. Coverage runs one year on workmanship and materials, two years on key systems, and seven years on major structural elements, all measured from your possession date.
A one-time policy that protects your ownership against problems in the property's legal history: fraud, survey errors, unregistered liens. Your lawyer arranges it and it usually sits inside their fee quote.
No pressure, no obligation
Still have questions? Ask a human.
Bring us your numbers and we will walk through them with you honestly, including telling you if now is not the right time. We would rather you buy well than buy fast.
Lowest entry point
$377,184*
Only four left
$507,767*
Move in fast
$549,777*
