At Home in Canada

Because of Canada’s active immigration policy the country has a real multi-cultural feel, particularly in the employment and population hotspots in and around the major cities of Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver for example.

If you’re from the UK and considering immigrating to Canada you might be interested to know that over 600,000 British people are already at home in Canada, and this article examines how you too can find real estate in your favourite Canadian destination and settle into your new life.

When you first relocate to a new country as an expatriate there are many emotions that you’ll be experiencing and one of the strongest of these will be a feeling of displacement.  It is very important to establish a home environment in which you feel familiarity and comfort and from this base you will be able to integrate into every other aspect of your new life in Canada.

Because Canada is such a huge country you may already have picked a general area where you’ll be living - this may be dictated by your employer or it may be dictated by your visa type, your family or your simple desire to find a new home in a particular region.  However, it can be considered unwise to buy the first property you come across in your brand new location!  When you first arrive in any new country it makes a great deal of sense to rent a home at least for the first few months.  You will need to get to know the most suitable areas for you and your family’s requirements and this takes time.

So, upon arrival in Canada you can approach the task of renting a home in a number of ways.  You can begin your search for real estate before you even arrive by looking on the internet at real estate sites and also at newspaper websites.  When you’re on the ground there are letting and property agencies who can assist you as well as notice boards in community locations, newspapers and free property magazines.  You will need some proof of credit history when you go to a landlord to rent a property.  This can be in the form of bank statements from back home for example as you will have yet to build up a significant credit history in Canada!

You might be wise to take a list of references as well as this can work in your favour if the landlord has a number of applicants for his property.  In terms of what it costs to rent a home in Canada a lot comes down to location, the rest comes down to property type of course.  The most expensive areas are in the major cities and the more rural you go the cheaper the accommodation.  Expect to pay a month’s deposit in advance and upwards of 50% of your income for all of your living expenses which include any communal costs and utilities.

Once you’ve settle into life in Canada you might want to make your home a more permanent feature in your life!  I.e., you may reach a point at which you would like to buy real estate in Canada and really build your future in your new country.  If you don’t already have permanent resident status you should at least apply for it before hunting for a new home. 

In Canada most people move between June and September this is part tradition and part weather inspired and it is also the best time to look for real estate to buy as the market is saturated with properties.  If you’re non-resident and applying for a mortgage to buy you’ll need a substantial deposit of up to 35% of the property’s value before a mortgage company will consider your application.  As a resident a 10% deposit is acceptable to a property finance company.

Mortgage rates in Canada have been reducing quite substantially over the past few years which has made the real estate market boom and has also made owning a home in Canada that much more affordable in real terms.  Currently rates are between 4% and 8%.  The most popular property types in Canada are spacious detached properties, with apartments, particularly in the inner city areas the second most popular property type.