FREE GUIDE · 18 PAGES · GREATER VANCOUVER AND THE FRASER VALLEY

Know the real number before you sign

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Luis Alves · REALTOR® · Stonehaus Realty · Serving clients in English and Portuguese

Almost every deal has the same moment. The statement of adjustments arrives a week before closing and the number at the bottom is not the number you had in your head. This guide walks through the whole calculation, early enough that it can still change a decision.

  • Two complete worked examples, line by line, of a real purchase and a real sale
  • The exemptions worth up to $50,000, and the conditions that quietly disqualify you from each
  • A twelve-question checklist to take to your lawyer, your accountant and your lender

WHAT IS INSIDE

Three things in the guide that most people find out too late

$8,000

The first-time buyer exemption wipes out Property Transfer Tax up to $500,000 and is worth $8,000 up to $835,000. Between $835,000 and $860,000 it phases out. Above that, nothing. The guide lays out the five personal conditions and the property condition that all have to be met at once, and meeting all but one is common.

$50,000

Since March 2026 there is a federal GST rebate for first-time buyers of new homes worth up to $50,000. It is recent, plenty of people still do not know it exists, and the guide covers who qualifies, what counts as a first-time buyer under this specific rule, and the difference between the builder crediting it at closing and claiming it from the CRA yourself.

730 days

Selling before you have owned for 730 days can trigger the BC home flipping tax, and the principal residence exemption does not protect you from it. It reaches people who lived in their own home. The clock includes presale contract dates, it started before 2025, and the return is separate with a 90-day deadline. The guide walks through the four situations where it catches people who are not speculators at all.

And the two full calculations. In the buyer example, a $780,000 condo in Surrey needs $11,250 in cash beyond the down payment in closing week. In the seller example, the lines that are not commission come to nearly $12,000, and the biggest one is not the lawyer or the move. It is the mortgage penalty.

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WHO WROTE THIS

Luis Alves

REALTOR® with Stonehaus Realty, working across Greater Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. Serving clients in English and Portuguese.

I work with two kinds of client: people buying for the first time who do not want to get it wrong, and people who already own and are making a move where both ends have to line up. In both cases the first thing I do is the same. I sit down and build the full number, before we look at a single property. This guide is that conversation, in writing.

After you download

  1. 01The guide arrives by email and you read it on your own time. There is no sales sequence dressed up as content.
  2. 02If you want the version with your own numbers, reply to the email or send COST by direct message. It is four short questions.
  3. 03I build your calculation and send it over. From there you decide whether to talk strategy or just keep the numbers. Both answers are fine.
Send me the guide

Luis Alves, REALTOR®, Stonehaus Realty. Informational material, August 2026 edition. Not legal, accounting, tax or mortgage advice. Rules and figures are subject to change. Confirm your specific situation with your lawyer or notary, your accountant and your lender. By submitting your details you agree to receive the guide and occasional updates, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Privacy policy.