A home is the most expensive thing most of us will ever buy. But the true cost of homeownership is even steeper than many of us realize, according to a new survey commissioned by Intact Insurance.

About 20 per cent of homebuyers in Canada forget to factor in the cost of home insurance and maintenance fees, shows a poll conducted by Angus Reid for Intact.

 

The study also suggests that many current and prospective homeowners likely got a rude awakening when the Bank of Canada decided this summer to start hiking interest rates, as 17 per cent of Canadians fail to take into account the possibility of climbing interest rates when buying a home.

Other unexpected costs include home inspection and legal fees, mortgage insurance, as well as GST/HST, land transfer and property taxes, according to RateHub.ca, an online rates-comparison site.

Increasingly, though, homeowners also will also have to contend with another factor that could significantly impact their bottom line: climate change.

According to Intact, a whopping 60 per cent of Canadians say that they do not factor the impact of things like flood and wildfire risk.

 

Here’s a closer look at many of the line items homebuyers often forget to include in their home-buying budget:

Home insurance

If you own a home, you need to have home insurance. Your premiums will depend on a number of factors, such as the value of the property and its contents, its location, as well as its structural condition and specific features, said Intact Property claims manager Marc Barbeau.

Barbeau advises homebuyers to turn to an insurance broker to get the best deal on a home insurance policy that fits their needs. It’s also a good idea to ask the seller about the property’s claims history, which might uncover hidden issues that might not be immediately apparent.

Also, be sure to let your insurance know about any renovation work, which could affect the value of the property, said Barbeau.

Maintenance costs

A home requires constant upkeep. Many homeowners take up two maintenance projects per year, said Barbeau: It’s important to budget for those ongoing costs.

And whether you just replaced an aging furnace or the shingles on your roof, let your insurance know, he added.

Home inspection costs

Speaking of maintenance costs, you don’t want to walk into your new home and find a number of urgent fixes for which you didn’t budget.

That’s one of the reasons why you should pay for a professional home inspection, which will add $500 to your budget, according to RateHub.

You might also need additional, issue-specific inspections, such as a termite check if you know you’re buying property in an area where other homeowners have had to battle the infesting insects.

 

Legal fees

Legal fees include the cost of a real estate lawyer, who will take care of most of the paperwork and also ensure that whoever you’re buying from has full ownership of the property, with no competing claims on the title deed. That will add a minimum of another $500 plus tax to your costs, according to RateHub.

Mortgage insurance

If you can’t make a downpayment of at least 20 per cent of the value of your home, you must buy mortgage default insurance. This protects your lender (not you) in case you default on your mortgage payments.

The cost of mortgage default insurance depends on the price of your property, and premiums have climbed a bit since Ottawa introduced new mortgage rules in 2016. According to RateHub, if your downpayment is between 5 per cent and 9.99 per cent of the value of your home, the insurance costs 4 per cent of the purchase price. If the down payment is between 10 per cent and 14.99 per cent, mortgage default insurance is 3.1 per cent. And for a down payment of between 15 per cent and 19.99 per cent, you’ll pay 2.8 per cent. This is a one-time cost: You can pay it in a single lump sum or add it to your monthly payments.

 

Also, beware of the difference between mortgage default insurance, which is mandated by the government and generally sold by Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp., and another type of mortgage insurance that is sold by the banks. The latter is widely regarded as a bad deal by personal finance experts, as Global News has previously reported.

Taxes, taxes, taxes

Buying a home invariably comes with a steep tax bill.

A chunk of your money will go to the provincial government (and sometimes the municipal government) for what is known as the land-transfer tax (LLT), which is calculated as a percentage of the purchase price of your home. “Much like income tax, the LTT is progressive. You pay a marginal rate depending on the value of the home,” according to RateHub.

Thankfully, some jurisdictions (Ontario, P.E.I., British Columbia, and the City of Toronto) offer a rebate of the LTT for first-time homebuyers.

Once you own a home, you’ll have to pay property taxes every year. These are generally between 0.5 per cent and 2.5 per cent of the assessed value of your property, according to RateHub.

If the home you’re buying or building is new, you’ll need to pay GST or HST on it.

Climate change, aka more home insurance and/or maintenance costs

Changing climate conditions are making flooding and fires ever more frequent, with the former, in particular, becoming a bigger and bigger risk even for a home