Foreigner’s guide to buying property in Canada
If you are like many planning on moving to Canada and starting a life there, you will need a place to stay. And the best way to make settling down in Canada easy and stress-free is to buy a property. A lot of people aren’t planning on moving to Canada but are just looking to purchase a property as it is a good investment to make. No matter what your reason is for wanting to purchase a property in Canada, you have to know just how to do it right. This is why we have decided to write this foreigner’s guide to buying property in Canada. Here is where you will find all the information you need in order to handle this task professionally.
Special Immigration Privileges
The first question many foreigners have when thinking about buying property in Canada is whether they have immigration privileges after investing in a property. But unfortunately, that is not the case. You have to see if you qualify to immigrate to Canada. If you have a student visa, a work visa, or a permanent visa, your stay in Canada is unlimited. But if that isn’t the case, it is limited to six months. So, even if you own a property but don’t have a visa, you can stay up to 6 months at a time. This goes for people of all nationalities, there are no exceptions.
You can stay for six months. And if you decide to do so, you will need your things. One thing many people think you cannot take with you is a car. But if moving from Asia, you can take your vehicle with you without an issue as there are lots of international moving companies that can handle this task for you.
Don’t leave anything behind even if moving for just a couple of months to Canada.
What properties are available for foreigners to buy?
Many people seem to believe that you cannot buy certain types of properties if you are not a Canadian resident but that is not the case. There are no limits to what you can buy. You can buy a condo, a house, or a piece of land if you have enough money to cover all the expenses that come with it. You can even buy a foreclosed home.
One of the expenses you have to cover are taxes. And this is not a one-time expense but an expense you will have every year. Property taxes in Canada are based on the assessed value of the home. It is somewhere between 0.75% and 1% of the assessed value of the home that you own in Canada.
It is very important to mention that if you own a property in Ontario, as a foreigner, you do not have additional land taxes which is great as they can be really high. But if you decide to purchase a property in Toronto or Oakville, you will have to pay a vacancy tax as you are not living in this home but are using it as a vacation home.
Buying property in Canada is nothing but a good idea.
Start searching for your new property
You should start searching for your property as soon as you know that you are going to buy it. This way you will have plenty of time to research the real estate market of Canada and just what it has to offer. What you will notice is that it is a very active market. A lot of people buy properties in Canada. Especially people from Asia. This is why if you are living in Asia and you are looking for a property in Canada, you should definitely ask around for some good websites. There are lots of websites where people from Asia can find properties in Canada.
There are plenty of Canadian websites which we believe are the safest option if you are searching for a property in Canada on your own. But this is not a task that should be taken lightly. Finding a property in Canada can take a long time.
And as we said, this is a very active real estate market. Not only are there lots of buyers and sellers but the pricing changes quickly too. This isn’t a stable market. The pricing of homes constantly goes up and down. This is why starting the search for your Canada property on time is important.
There are lots of amazing properties in Canada which is why you should work with a professional who will help you find the perfect one for you.
Hire professional assistance
What we believe is best for you to do is to let professionals do their jobs. If you are not a professional real estate agent, why do the job of a real estate agent and stress out about looking for a property in Canada? You can just hire a Canada-based real estate agent who is going to find you a property for you.
What is good about having a real estate agent find you a home in Canada is that they all have access to the same database. If you didn’t know, Canada has a Multiple Listing System. What this means is that all real estate agents have access to the same listings as they are pooled together in a big database. This makes buying for foreigners much safer.
If you decide to move into this home of yours, Relosmart Movers can help you do it without stress. No matter which time of the year it is, they are always able to help you relocate to your Canadian home. Even if you don’t plan on living there, you are still going to need some things in this home. And to move them from Asia to Canada, you will certainly need assistance.
Is buying property in Canada worth the hassle?
If you ask us, yes. Buying property in Canada is worth the hassle because Canada is a great place to have a home in. You can always sell it if you figure that it wasn’t a good idea but we doubt that will happen. No matter whether homebuying as a US citizen, French, Chinese, or any other nationality you can still sell this home.