First-Time Home Buyers in BC: 12 Costly Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Buying a first home in British Columbia means more than finding the right place at the right price. Between writing an offer and getting the keys, you make decisions about financing, subjects, strata records, title and taxes, and some of them are hard to undo.

This guide sets out twelve mistakes first-time buyers commonly make, the rule behind each one and what to do instead. The figures were checked against official sources on October 22, 2026. Programs and thresholds change, so confirm them before you sign.

1. Budgeting only for the purchase price

The price on the contract is not the amount you need on completion day. On a resale home in BC you will usually also pay property transfer tax, legal fees and disbursements (with GST and PST on the fees), Land Title Office registration fees, title insurance, and adjustments for property taxes and strata fees the seller has prepaid. A new home adds 5% GST. If your down payment is under 20%, your lender will require mortgage default insurance. Then there is home insurance, moving, and any move-in fee set by the strata's bylaws.

Property transfer tax is the largest of these for most buyers. It is 1% of the fair market value up to $200,000, 2% from $200,000 to $2,000,000 and 3% above that, with a further 2% on residential value over $3,000,000. On a $700,000 resale condo that is $12,000 unless an exemption applies. Our guides to closing costs on a BC home purchase and to property transfer tax rates and exemptions walk through a full budget.

If you sign a buyer's agency agreement with a realtor, read the commission terms before you sign. BC Financial Services Authority, which regulates real estate licensees, notes that the agreement can set a commission you agree to pay if the amount your realtor charges is not covered by the listing brokerage.

2. Missing the first-time buyer programs

Several programs can cut what you pay, but each has conditions you must meet on specific dates.

• Property transfer tax exemption. If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, have lived in BC for the 12 months before registration (or filed two BC tax returns in the last six years), and have never owned a principal residence anywhere in the world, you may pay no tax on the first $500,000 of a home worth $835,000 or less. The exemption phases out between $835,000 and $860,000. You must move in within 92 days and live there until the first anniversary of registration. A separate newly built home exemption covers qualifying new homes up to $1,100,000, phasing out at $1,150,000.
• First Home Savings Account (FHSA). You can contribute $8,000 a year, carry forward up to $8,000 of unused room, and contribute $40,000 in total. Qualifying withdrawals for a first home are tax-free.
• RRSP Home Buyers' Plan. You can withdraw up to $60,000 from your RRSPs toward a qualifying home and repay it over 15 years. For a first withdrawal made from 2026 to 2028, the CRA says repayment starts in the fifth year after the withdrawal.
• First-time home buyers' GST rebate. On a newly built home, this federal rebate returns up to $50,000 of the GST: in full on homes valued at $1 million or less, and on a reducing scale up to $1.5 million. It became law on March 12, 2026. For a home bought from a builder, the agreement must be signed on or after March 20, 2025 and before 2031.

Your lawyer or notary claims the property transfer tax exemption in the return filed at registration, so tell them early that you are a first-time buyer. Read more in our guides to first-time home buyer programs in BC, the first-time buyer property transfer tax exemption and the first-time home buyers' GST rebate.

3. Writing an offer without pre-approval or a financing subject

A mortgage pre-approval is not a promise to lend. It tells you roughly what a lender may offer, but the lender still has to approve the specific property, usually through an appraisal, and confirm your income and documents. If the appraisal comes in below your price, the lender will lend against the lower value and you must make up the difference in cash.

A subject to financing clause gives you time to get a firm mortgage commitment before the contract becomes binding. If you remove that subject and the financing later falls apart, the seller can keep your deposit and may claim further losses. Our article on what happens when mortgage financing falls through after subject removal explains the options at that point, and why there are fewer of them than buyers expect.

4. Removing subjects too early

Subjects are conditions written into the contract for your protection: financing, inspection, review of strata documents, title, insurance and anything else you need to confirm. Until you remove them, you can usually walk away if a subject is not satisfied. Once you remove them in writing, the contract is firm.

A buyer who then cannot or will not complete is in breach. The seller can usually keep the deposit and can sue for any further loss, for example if the home resells for less. Offers with no subjects, common in competitive markets, put all of that risk on you from the moment the offer is accepted. If you are tempted to make one, do your checks before you write it. See backing out of a house purchase after subject removal for what that can cost.

5. Misunderstanding the three-day rescission period

Since January 3, 2023, section 42 of the Property Law Act has given buyers of most homes in BC a right to cancel the contract within three business days after the seller signs the acceptance. Saturdays, Sundays and statutory holidays do not count. You cancel by serving written notice on the seller, and you must pay the seller 0.25% of the purchase price, which comes out of your deposit. On a $700,000 home that is $1,750. The right cannot be waived.

It does not apply to every purchase. The regulation excludes homes on leased land, leasehold interests, sales at auction and sales under a court order. It also does not apply to a pre-sale covered by the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, which has its own rescission right (mistake 8).

Three business days is a short window for a backstop, not a substitute for subjects. Our guide to BC's home buyer rescission period explains how to count the days and serve notice correctly, and the BC Financial Services Authority has a consumer summary.

6. Skipping the inspection or relying on the disclosure statement

A Property Disclosure Statement is the seller's account of what they know about the home. It is not a warranty and not an inspection, and a seller may answer "do not know". If a problem appears after completion, a claim against the seller depends on what the seller actually knew and said, which can be hard to prove and expensive to pursue.

A home inspection by a licensed home inspector, completed before you remove subjects, tells you about the building itself. For older homes, ask about the roof, drainage, the electrical system and signs of past water damage, and book a further inspection by the relevant trade where the inspector recommends one. Read more about what a Property Disclosure Statement does and does not cover and about hidden defects discovered after buying.

7. Not reading the strata documents

When you buy a condo or townhouse, you are buying into a corporation with its own finances, rules and repair obligations. Under section 59 of the Strata Property Act, the strata must provide an Information Certificate (Form B) within one week of a request by an owner or purchaser. It discloses the strata fees, any amount owing on the unit, the contingency reserve fund balance, approved special levies, bylaw amendments not yet filed, notice of upcoming major votes, court and tribunal proceedings, and a summary of the strata's insurance. The rules, the current budget and the most recent depreciation report are attached.

Form B is a starting point. Before you remove subjects, also read the minutes of council and general meetings for at least the last two years, the bylaws, the financial statements and the insurance deductibles, which owners can end up sharing. A large repair under discussion in the minutes can become a special levy after you buy. See our guides to reviewing strata documents before buying and to who pays a strata special levy when a unit is sold.

8. Buying a pre-sale without understanding it

A pre-sale is a contract to buy a home that is not yet built. Under section 21 of the Real Estate Development Marketing Act, you can cancel by written notice to the developer within seven days after the later of the date you signed the contract and the date you acknowledged receiving the disclosure statement. Read the disclosure statement in that window, not after.

The Act requires a developer to place your deposit with a brokerage, lawyer, notary or other prescribed person, who holds it in trust. In some cases the Act allows a developer to use deposits that are protected under a deposit protection contract, so ask how yours is held. Pre-sale contracts also contain completion date ranges, rules on delays and amendments, and restrictions on assigning the contract. Assignments are reported to a provincial register, and profit on an assignment within 730 days can attract the BC home flipping tax. Our guides cover the disclosure statement and seven-day rescission right, how pre-sale deposits are protected and buying a pre-sale assignment.

9. Not deciding how to hold title

If you are buying with someone else, you choose how to hold title, and the choice matters when one of you dies or you want to go separate ways. As joint tenants, the survivor takes the whole property automatically, outside the estate. As tenants in common, each owner holds a share, which can be unequal, and each share passes under that owner's will.

When parents help with the down payment, decide whether the money is a gift or a loan, and put it in writing. Your lender will usually want a signed gift letter, and a loan your lender does not know about can cause problems. If a parent goes on title, the first-time buyer exemption applies only to the share held by the person who qualifies. Buying with a partner, sibling or friends calls for a written co-ownership agreement covering contributions, expenses and what happens if one of you wants out. See joint tenants vs tenants in common, when parents help with the down payment and co-ownership agreements for buying with friends.

10. Forgetting the taxes that follow ownership

Owning a home brings recurring obligations, and some apply even when you live in the home.

• Speculation and vacancy tax. If your home is in a taxable area, which includes the Metro Vancouver Regional District, you must complete a declaration each year when your letter arrives. An owner who lives in the home as a principal residence may be exempt, but the exemption is claimed through the declaration. For 2026 the rate is 1% of assessed value for Canadian citizens and permanent residents and 3% for foreign owners and untaxed worldwide earners.
• Vancouver's empty homes tax. In the City of Vancouver, owners must also file an annual declaration with the City. A home declared or deemed empty for the 2025 reference year is taxed at 3% of its assessed value.
• Home owner grant. The grant reduces property tax on a principal residence, but you must apply for it.
• BC home flipping tax. If you sell within 730 days of buying, the profit may be taxed at up to 20%, reducing to nothing at 730 days, unless an exemption applies, for example for certain life events. It is separate from the federal property flipping rules. See the BC home flipping tax on selling within two years.

11. Overlooking residency rules

Since January 1, 2023, the federal Prohibition on the Purchase of Residential Property by Non-Canadians Act has barred most non-Canadians from buying residential property, with limited exceptions. Permanent residents are not caught by the ban. Under the law as it stands on October 22, 2026, the Act is to be repealed on January 1, 2027. If you or anyone buying with you is not a citizen or permanent resident, confirm the position on the day you sign.

Residency also affects the property transfer tax exemption. You must be a citizen or permanent resident when the property is registered. If you become a permanent resident within one year after registration, you may be able to apply for a refund. Our guide to buying a first home in BC as a new permanent resident covers the details.

12. Hiring a lawyer or notary at the last minute

Many buyers call a lawyer or notary only after subjects are removed. By then the contract terms are fixed. If you bring your lawyer in before you remove subjects, they can review the contract, search title for charges and liens, check the strata documents and flag problems while you can still walk away.

Before completion, your lawyer prepares the transfer and the property transfer tax return, claims any exemptions, prepares your mortgage documents, reviews the statement of adjustments, receives your funds and the lender's, pays the seller and registers your ownership. Title fraud is a growing concern, and the Land Title and Survey Authority's BC Property Connect can send you an alert when a change is submitted to your title. Read more about what your real estate lawyer does before completion day, choosing a lawyer or notary for your purchase, title and mortgage fraud and BC Property Connect and the post-completion checklist for new homeowners.

Before you write an offer: a checklist

• Work out your full budget, including property transfer tax, legal fees, adjustments and insurance, not just the down payment.
• Check which first-time buyer programs you qualify for and the dates they depend on.
• Get a mortgage pre-approval, and keep a financing subject in the offer.
• Decide which subjects you need: financing, inspection, strata documents, title and insurance.
• Book a licensed home inspector so the inspection can happen before subject removal.
• For a strata unit, ask for Form B, two years of minutes, the depreciation report and the insurance summary.
• For a pre-sale, read the disclosure statement within the seven-day window.
• Agree with any co-buyer how you will hold title, and put family money in writing.
• If anyone buying is not a citizen or permanent resident, confirm whether the federal ban still applies.
• Choose your lawyer or notary now, so they can review the contract before subjects come off.

Buying your first home? Get advice before you remove subjects

Our real estate lawyers review your contract and strata documents before you remove subjects, claim the property transfer tax exemptions you qualify for, and register your title and mortgage on completion.

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Call 604-259-2844 or send us a message to arrange a consultation at our Vancouver office.