Most of what makes a purchase go well happens before you see a house you love. Knowing your real budget, knowing what closing day actually costs, and knowing which conditions protect you — that is the work. The search is the easy part.

I am A. Q. Mufti, a Sales Representative with RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage, working across Mississauga, Oakville, Milton and the wider GTA.

What it costs to buy here, beyond the price

Buyers are usually ready for the down payment and surprised by everything else. In Ontario, plan for:

Land transfer tax. Ontario charges it on every purchase. Buying in Mississauga, you pay the provincial tax only — the additional municipal land transfer tax applies inside the City of Toronto, not in Peel. On a typical purchase that difference runs to thousands of dollars, and it is one of the real financial reasons buyers look west.

The first-time buyer refund. Ontario refunds up to $4,000 of the provincial land transfer tax for qualifying first-time buyers. Your lawyer normally claims it at closing, so you never pay it up front.

Legal fees, title insurance and adjustments. Budget for these separately. Adjustments catch people out — you reimburse the seller for property tax and utilities they have already paid past the closing date.

On a condo, the status certificate. It shows the reserve fund balance, any special assessment under discussion, and whether the corporation is in litigation. In Ontario the corporation must provide it within ten days and cannot charge more than $100 including HST. Read it before the condition expires, not after.

On a new build, HST. New construction is treated differently from resale, and whether the rebate is already built into the builder’s price depends on whether you will live in it. Ask before you sign, not at closing.

The conditions that actually protect you

In a slower market you have room to keep conditions in an offer. In a fast one you may not. Either way, understand what you are giving up:

• Financing. A pre-approval is not a mortgage. The lender still has to approve the property, and appraisals do come in under the offer price.
• Home inspection. Worth it on any resale house. Why home inspections are crucial for every buyer covers what an inspector will and will not find.
• Status certificate review, on any condo or freehold with a common element corporation.

Going in without conditions is sometimes the right call. It should be a decision made on purpose, with the risk named out loud.

What happens after your offer is accepted

The part nobody explains. An accepted offer starts a clock:

• The deposit is normally due within 24 hours, by certified cheque or wire, and it is held in the listing brokerage’s trust account. Have it ready before you offer, not after — this is the single most common reason a deal gets tense in its first day.
• Your conditions run on their own deadlines, usually five to ten business days. Miss one and it is waived by default, not extended.
• Your lawyer searches title, arranges title insurance and prepares the closing. Retain one when the offer is accepted, not the week before closing.
• The final walkthrough happens shortly before closing. You are checking the property is in the condition you agreed, that the inclusions are still there, and that nothing has broken since.

Between conditions clearing and closing day, the deal is mostly paperwork between lawyers. Most of what can still go wrong at that stage is a financing detail that was never fully nailed down at the start.

Work out your number first

Run your figures before you start looking. It changes which neighbourhoods are genuinely in range, and it stops you falling for something you cannot finance. My mortgage calculator is built for Ontario and handles property-specific costs, and the mortgage calculator guide explains what the numbers mean once you have them.

When rates move, what changes is usually not whether you can buy but what you can buy — a cut can add real purchasing power to the same monthly payment.

If you are buying for the first time

Two worth reading before you start: first-time home buyer mistakes to avoid in Mississauga, and where first-time buyers should look in Mississauga, which goes through the areas where entry prices and transit access still line up.

The step-by-step buyer’s guide walks the whole process from pre-approval to key handover.

How I work

I handle residential, commercial and agricultural transactions. I hold the ABR (Accredited Buyer’s Representative), SRS and CNE designations, a Master’s degree in Geography and a PMP certification — which mostly means I am comfortable with the paperwork and the numbers, and I will show you my reasoning rather than ask you to trust it.

RE/MAX named me to its Platinum Club in 2023. Outside real estate I have received the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal and the Mississauga Mayor’s Civic Service Award for community work.

Clients have rated me 5.0 across 49 Google reviews. I would rather you read those yourself than take my word for it.

Start wherever suits you

• Tell me what you are looking for and I will set up a search that matches — perfect home finder
• Run the numbers first — mortgage calculator
• Read the whole process end to end — step-by-step buyer’s guide
• Or just get in touch and ask me a question. No obligation, and I will tell you if I think you should wait.