Buying pre-construction in Ontario

You are buying a home that is not finished — sometimes a home that is not in the ground yet. The legal document is an Agreement of Purchase and Sale (APS) with the builder (or a builder affiliate), not with this independent team.

Offers are often firm. Many Seaton builders state there is no cooling-off period on freehold deals. Read every schedule: deposits, closing date or occupancy, levies, HST, assignment rules, and what happens if the builder extends the closing.

This site helps you compare communities and prepare. It does not reserve a lot. Only the builder’s sales office can put your name on a unit.

There is no single Seaton-wide deposit formula. Each builder sets amounts and dates in the APS. A common GTA pattern is an initial certified cheque or bank draft at signing, then a series of post-dated cheques. Some releases ask for a larger first cheque; some spread payments over 12–24 months.

Arista’s Seatonville page, as one example, tells buyers to bring a bank draft payable to a named vendor company plus post-dated cheques. That is Arista’s process, not a rule for every builder in Seaton.

Deposits are generally held in trust according to the APS. Ask where the money sits, whether it is credited to the purchase price, and what happens on a failed deal. We walk through the actual schedule with you before you sign.

The advertised price is not the cheque you write on closing. In Pickering you should plan for Ontario land transfer tax (Toronto’s extra municipal tax does not apply here), legal fees and disbursements, title insurance, and adjustments the APS assigns to the purchaser — which can include development charges, education levies, utility meters, and landscaping or driveway charges.

If the builder advertised a price “net of HST” or “including estimated rebates,” you only keep that net number if you qualify and assign the rebates as the APS requires. First-time and non-first-time buyers can have different outcomes. Mattamy and Brookfield both flag rebate assumptions on their Seaton pages.

Tarion enrolment, new-home warranty documentation, and any builder administration fees should appear in the APS. Have a real-estate lawyer who regularly closes new construction quote the file — not a generic internet calculator.

New homes in Ontario generally attract HST. Federal and provincial new-housing rebates may reduce what you pay if you meet residency and other tests, and if the APS says those rebates are assigned to the builder.

Ontario has discussed enhancements to the provincial new-housing rebate. Builder websites sometimes price as if a proposed rebate will apply. If the law changes, or if you do not qualify, the amount due on closing can rise. Treat every “from” price as subject to the rebate language in that builder’s APS.

Builders pay a cooperating commission on most new-home releases when you are represented. You do not pay us a separate buyer commission for that representation unless we agree something different in writing.

We do not work inside the builder’s sales office. We help you shortlist communities, request current prices and incentives, review deposit math, and attend allocations or appointments where the builder allows buyer representation.

If you are already working with another realtor, say so on the form. We will not interfere with that relationship.