Canada Property Investment Guide for Foreign Buyers

Below is a general procedure of buying a Canada Property as a non-resident. This guide is applicable to buying property in Toronto and Vancouver.

1. Reserve Unit

First, select the Canada property and unit type. Then, HKD $5,000 is payable as a reservation fee. 

2. Assign an Attorney to Sign Sales & Purchase Agreement

Assign a licensed Canada attorney stationed in Hong Kong as a representative of the buyer to sign the Sales & Purchase Agreement in Canada.

3. Pay First Instalment

After signing the Sales & Purchase Agreement, 15% of the purchase price is payable by the buyer to the attorney of the developer's trust account.

4. Apply for Mortgage

12 months before handover, the buyer is required to apply for mortgage.

5. Pay Part of the Amount

Some of the Canada properties requires the buyer to pay partial amount of the purchase price 6 months after signing the contract.

6. Handover and Settlement

When the project has been completed, the attorney will notify the buyer to check the unit. (It can either be carried out by the attorney or local surveyors). After checking the unit, the attorney will confirm the handover date. On the day of handover, the bank will release the mortgage amount to the developer. The buyer is required to transfer remaining amount before that. When the buyer gets the key, the transaction is officially completed.

7. Rent Out the Canada Property

When the buyer has got the key, you can assign a property management company in Canada to manage your property. They can provide services such as looking for tenants, checking and maintaining the property, paying taxes for the owner etc. The expenses will be charged directly from the rental return.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How much should I pay the agent if they successfully found a tenant for me?

A: The commission for the agent is more or less the amount of one-month rent.

Q: What is the percentage of mortgage I can apply for purchasing Canada property as a foreign investor?

A: Foreign investors can apply for up to 65% mortgage. The interest rate can be as low as 2.5% per annum and loan period can be 25 years.

Q: Are there any expenses when I buy / sell Canada property?

- Management Fee - Depends on the properties (Around CAD $0.5 / square feet.)

- Management Fee for Rental Management Company - The agent will charge 6% of the monthly rent as service charge

Taxes

One-off Taxes:

- Land Transfer Tax：2% of the property price

- Harmonized Sales Tax: 5%

Other Taxes:

- According to the local state's property valuation (Around 0.75%-1%)

Expenses when you sell Canada property

- Capital Gain Tax - 12.5% of the profit from selling the property.