First-Time Condo Buyer Checklist: Every Document You’ll Need Before Closing

Buying your first condo comes with a huge learning curve, and while we like to walk our clients through each step, step-by-step, many clients also like to see the whole picture all at once. If you’re one of those clients, this blog is for you! Also, we would be amiss to not mention… this is just a general blog covering most of the steps to buying a condo as a first-time buyer, for a personalized checklist, reach out to your trusted, experienced realtor for tailored advice. (Or reach out to us if you don’t have an agent!)

This checklist walks through everything in order, from your very first financing conversation to the day you get your keys, so you know exactly what’s coming next and when.

Before You Start Touring Units

1. Get pre-approved with a mortgage broker or bank. A mortgage broker or lender will review your income, credit score, and debts, and give you a maximum purchase price to work from. Ask for a written preapproval letter with your locked-in rate and its expiry date. The benefit of a pre-approval so two-fold; first, it tells you how much you can potentially afford, and secondly, if you buy and close within the expiry, you can take advantage of the locked in rate (even if rates go up, but you can always renegotiate if rates go down).
2. Check your eligibility for first-time buyer programs. Depending on your situation, you may qualify for a First Home Savings Account, the Home Buyers’ Plan, the First-Time Home Buyers’ Tax Credit, and a provincial land transfer tax credit. Confirm current eligibility with your mortgage broker or accountant before you build them into your budget. In some circumstances, people who have purchased real estate before can re-qualify for some of the first-time buyer incentives if they meet specific criteria, ie. after a divorce or death, a spouse may re-qualify to use their RRSPs for their next purchase.
3. Set your deposit aside. Sellers typically expect a 5% deposit with your offer or the next business day, in certified funds like a bank draft or certified cheque. Keep this money in an easily accessible account with a major bank.
4. Pull your downpayment out the stock market. Historically, stock market crashes happen suddenly, and they can be dramatic. If your downpayment is sitting in assets that can be impacted by market shifts, move those assets into secure accounts (like a high-interest savings account).
5. Define your must-haves and nice-to-haves. Purchase price range, target move-in date, building type, number of bedrooms, and any non-negotiables like parking or pet policies. Getting specific here saves you from touring units that were never going to work.

While You’re Searching

5. Work with an agent who knows condos specifically. Condo transactions involve details a house purchase doesn’t, like status certificates and reserve funds. An agent who handles condos regularly will catch things a generalist might miss.
6. Pay attention to proximity of the unit to nuisances. Check the location of the building, as well as the individual unit, to major nuisances. For example, trains, highways, busy intersections are some of the top nuisances that buyers list as things they want to avoid, but many buyers forget about closer nuisances like where the condo gym is located in proximity to their unit, or where the garbage chute is…
7. Pay attention to building age and fees. A lower monthly fee in an older building can sometimes mean a board has deferred costs that are about to catch up. Ask your agent to help you compare fees against similar buildings nearby. A low maintenance fee might indicate a very well-run building, or it can indicate a building which has chosen to fund major repairs through special assessments rather than through the maintenance reserve fund. (A special assessment is when a building levies a one-time repair bill to all unit owners to cover an expense. For example, a building may not have increased it’s maintenance fees enough to cover the replacement of all windows, so when the windows need to be replaced, the building levies a $5,000 charge against all owners, and those owners can pay it in a lump-sum, or in a monthly payment.)
8. Ask to see parking, lockers, and confirm if you own them, or if they are exclusive-use. Not all parking spots and lockers are created equally. Parking garages and locker rooms have pipes, posts, sprinkler systems, and bulkheads that can make some spots smaller than others. (We’ve seen parking spots where you cannot reverse park SUVs). A second thing to clarify is the ownership structure: you can own a parking spot, or the building can own all parking structures and they give you the exclusive right to use it. Obviously, owning the parking spot comes with more advantages (you can resell an owned parking spot even if you don’t sell your condo, but an exclusive use parking spot cannot be sold seperatetly).

Read more about what to look for while you’re looking at condos here. 

Once You’ve Found the Right Unit

8. Review recent comparable sales with your agent. Your agent will prepare a Current Market Analysis comparing recent sales and active listings to help you land on a fair offer price.
9. Decide on your conditions. The most common conditions in a condo offer are financing, status certificate review, and sometimes a home inspection. Don’t waive the status certificate condition to make your offer more competitive, even in a bidding war. Some buyers will take a risk and waive financing, if they are very well-qualified, but in most cases we recommend everyone to keep their financing condition in the offer even if they are very confident in their finances.
10. Submit your offer. Once both parties sign, it’s a legally binding agreement, so make sure every term reflects what you actually want before you sign.
11. Pro Tip… when picking closing dates, decide very carefully with your realtor… for example, we try avoid long weekends, holidays, or Fridays. If there is a delay in closing, which is quite common, the house transfer is delayed to the next business day, so make sure the next business day is the literal next day and not a day 2+ days away.

During Your Conditional Period

11. Get the status certificate to your lawyer immediately. This is the single most important document in a condo purchase. It covers the building’s finances, any lawsuits, the reserve fund’s health, and whether the specific unit is behind on fees. For a full breakdown of what this document includes and what to watch for, see our complete guide to condo status certificates.
12. Finalize your financing. Your lender will review the monthly costs, and proposed mortgage, and confirm whether you meet the requirements for borrowing.
13. Arrange a home inspection, if you’re getting one. Less common for condos than houses, since the corporation maintains the building’s major systems, but still worth considering for the unit’s interior condition. A home inspection inside a condo still looks at major interior parts like the heating/cooling unit, appliances, drains, and electric. A home inspection can also reveal defective plumbing, insulation or electric, a major concern for properties that may have asbestos, aluminum wiring, knob and tube wiring, or Kitec plumbing fixtures. While asbestos, and defective wiring are mostly only found in very old buildings, kitec plumbing can be found in properties built in 1995 to as recent as 2008+.
14. Ask your lawyer directly about any concerns before waiving conditions. Once you waive a condition, it’s gone from the transaction. Make sure you’re comfortable with what the status certificate and financing approval actually say.

After Your Offer Becomes Firm

15. Arrange condo insurance. Most buildings require a minimum liability policy, commonly around $1 million, and your lender will need proof of insurance before releasing mortgage funds. Confirm with your lawyer the type and amount of insurance you need on your property. (Tip: the cost to increase your liability insurance from $1m to $2m is a few dollars a month, it’s money well spent).
16. Confirm your closing costs are ready. Budget for land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, and prorated adjustments for property taxes and condo fees. Read more about closing fees here. 
17. Book your moving elevator with the building’s property management office, ideally as soon as your closing date is confirmed, since popular buildings can book up. Many buildings also block off elevator use during rush hours, on holidays, or on 1 day over the weekend.
18. Sign your move-in documents with the property management office, which may include a move-in fee or deposit depending on the building.

Before Closing Day

19. Do your final revisits. If your agreement includes more than 1 pre-closing walkthrough, book the first one whenever you want, but save the last booking till a few days before closing, so there’s still time to address any issues before you take possession.
20. Confirm your funds are ready. Your lawyer will let you know exactly what’s due and when. Bank-to-bank transfers can take a few hours, so build in a buffer, and consider avoiding Friday closings in case of delays.
21. Pick up your keys. Once registration is complete and funds have transferred, you’re officially a condo owner! The keys might be couriered to your lawyer’s office for pickup, but quite often now days, the keys are left inside the condo and you’re given the combination to a lockbox to enter the unit.

A Few Things First-Time Buyers Often Miss

• Condo fees affect your mortgage approval amount. The lender will calculate property taxes, basic utilities, and condo maintenance into your monthly carrying costs, so don’t assume a pre-approval for a freehold home will come with the same total purchase price when buying a condo.
• Not all condos are high-rises. The term refers to a legal ownership structure, not a building style, so you’ll find condo townhomes and low-rise buildings too.
• Rental and pet restrictions are worth checking early, especially if either matters to your plans, since they’re set out in the building’s declaration and bylaws.

The Bottom Line

Buying your first condo is not a complicated process, but it’s a process that you should be mindful about. There are legal and financial consequences to making mistakes, so lean on the expertise of your mortgage broker, lawyer, and realtor.