The JN Home Buyer's Guide
If you're just starting to think about buying a home, this page is the place to start. It's the plain-language version of everything else in our buyer guides, condensed into one page, with links down into the deeper guides at the exact point you'll actually need them. No jargon dump up front — just the shape of the process, what working with us looks like, and what to have ready before you begin.
Whether you're a first-time buyer, moving from another province, or buying your third home, the mechanics below are the same. Read this page straight through once, then come back to the linked guides as you hit each stage for real.
How we run a buyer file at JN
Firstly what we do is our team prepares a home buying package that's custom to the client. Whether it's a first-time home buyer, experienced, or an investor — we cater the package to them.
We meet and go through the package from start to finish. This includes a full market report, what's happening in the market, what our honest opinion is, going through the documentation that will later be signed, the timeline of purchasing, our professional standard towards our clients, what submitting an offer all the way to receiving the keys looks like, the next steps, and creation of a group chat to communicate.
We always want our clients to be fully informed, to feel confident when searching for a home in any market. We equip our clients with all of the tools, information and statistics, and empower them to make a great decision. Once you're ready to write an offer, we handle the contract, the conditions, and the negotiation, and we stay involved through financing, inspection, and condo document review if it's a condo, all the way to possession day. We don't disappear after the offer is accepted; closing has its own list of things that can go sideways, and that's exactly the stretch where having someone who's done this before matters most.
If any of this sounds like where you are right now, the next step is simple: reach out and tell us what you're thinking about. There's no form to fill out and no obligation attached — just a conversation about your situation and what the next real step looks like for you.
The whole journey in one page
Every purchase moves through the same general sequence, even though the details differ buyer to buyer. First comes getting pre-approved, so you know a realistic budget before you start looking seriously — we've laid out exactly how that step works, and what it takes to qualify, in The Home Buying Process in Alberta. If you're a first-time buyer, this is also the point to look at the FHSA and how it stacks up against the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan for funding your down payment.
Once you have a budget, the next question is usually the math: what does a given price actually cost you monthly, and does renting or buying make more sense for your timeline right now. Our mortgage calculator and rent vs buy comparison both run those numbers against your own inputs rather than a generic estimate. From there, you move into searching, writing an offer, and working through conditions — covered in full in the home buying process guide above — and toward closing, where Alberta's closing costs (Land Titles fees, legal fees, and the property-tax cycle you'll join as a new owner) come into play. Each guide is written to stand on its own, but reading them in this order is the fastest path through the whole thing.
What to have ready
Documents. Lenders will ask for proof of income (pay stubs, a letter of employment, or tax returns if you're self-employed), recent bank statements showing your down payment funds, and identification. Having these ready before you start shopping, rather than scrambling once you've found a home, is one of the easiest ways to avoid delays once you're under contract.
Deposit logistics. Your deposit is separate from your down payment — it's the good-faith sum that goes with your offer, typically held in trust by the seller's brokerage in Alberta, and applied toward your purchase price at closing. Know where that money is coming from and how quickly you can move it, since deposit deadlines in an accepted offer are usually short.
A decision checklist. Before you start touring homes in earnest, it helps to have answered a few things for yourself: your realistic price range once pre-approved, which neighbourhoods actually fit your day-to-day (commute, schools, lifestyle), whether a condo's monthly fees and document review are something you're comfortable with, and how firm your timeline is. None of these need a final answer on day one — but having thought about them means less back-and-forth once you're actually looking, and a faster move when the right property shows up.
Questions people ask
What buyers want to know
Can a permanent resident buy a house in Canada?
Yes. Permanent residents are not restricted by the federal prohibition on non-Canadians buying residential property — that rule targets non-Canadian citizens and non-permanent-residents, not PR holders. As a permanent resident, you buy under the same rules as a Canadian citizen: standard mortgage qualification, standard down payment rules, no special federal restriction tied to your PR status. If you're unsure how your specific immigration status is treated, tell us your situation and we'll help you sort out what applies.
How do you apply for the first-time home buyer incentive?
You don't — the federal First-Time Home Buyer Incentive, the CMHC shared-equity program that used to put 5-10% toward a down payment in exchange for the government sharing in your home's equity, was discontinued. The deadline for new submissions was March 21, 2024, and no new approvals have been issued since March 31, 2024. If you already used it before those dates, nothing changes for you — you still repay the shared-equity portion on the same original terms.
What first-time buyers actually use now is the combination of the FHSA and the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan — both are still active, both can be used on the same purchase, and neither has the equity-sharing structure the old incentive did. That guide walks through how the two work together.
How do you buy a house in Canada as a foreigner?
It depends on your status, and the honest answer is that it's more restricted than it used to be. The federal government currently prohibits non-Canadian citizens and non-permanent-residents from buying residential property in most urban areas, and that prohibition is currently in effect, running through January 1, 2027. There are exemption categories built into the rule, and whether one applies to you depends on specifics we'd want to walk through with you directly rather than guess at in general terms here — reach out and tell us your situation, and we'll help you figure out what actually applies.
How do you buy a house in Ontario with low income?
We're Calgary-based, so we can't speak to Ontario-specific programs with any authority — if you're buying there, a local Ontario realtor will know that province's current options better than we do. What we can tell you is the Alberta-side equivalent, since the underlying tools (the FHSA, the RRSP Home Buyers' Plan, and mortgage-insured financing that allows a down payment under 20%) are federal and apply the same way here as anywhere else in Canada. If Alberta is actually where you're buying, the next answer below covers the same question for here.
How do you buy a house with low income in Canada?
The tools available are structural, not a single low-income program: the FHSA and RRSP Home Buyers' Plan help you build and access a down payment tax-efficiently, mortgage default insurance lets you buy with as little as 5% down on qualifying properties rather than needing 20%, and a co-signer can help you qualify if your income alone doesn't clear a lender's ratios. We're not going to point you toward a specific lender or suggest stretching your budget further than is comfortable — the honest next step is a pre-qualification conversation with a mortgage professional, who can tell you what's realistic for your actual income. Ask us and we'll point you to who we work with.
What are the biggest first time home buyer mistakes?
Shopping before getting pre-approved tops the list — falling for a home before you know what you can actually finance leads to disappointment or a rushed compromise. Waiving offer conditions without understanding what they protect you from is a close second, and underestimating closing costs beyond the down payment (legal fees, inspection, Land Titles registration fees) catches a lot of buyers off guard. We've laid out the full list, with how each one plays out in practice, in our Home Buying Process in Alberta guide.
What is the first time home buyer rebate in Alberta?
There isn't a land-transfer rebate to claim here, because Alberta doesn't charge a land transfer tax in the first place — so there's nothing to be rebated on that front, first-time buyer or not. What Alberta buyers actually have access to are the FHSA and RRSP Home Buyers' Plan for down payment savings, both federal programs, not provincial rebates. We've broken down exactly what Alberta buyers pay instead of a transfer tax in our Land Transfer Tax in Alberta guide.
Ready to put this into action?