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Plain-English notes on buying, selling and owning a home in Toronto, written the way I advise my clients.

First-time buyers October 12, 2026 1 min read Closing costs in Ontario, line by line Most buyers know their down payment to the dollar. Fewer have a number for everything else that's due on closing day. In Ontario, plan for these. Land transfer tax Ontario charges land transfer tax on every purchase, on a sliding scale. If the home is in the City of Toronto, the municipal land transfer tax is charged on top, at roughly the same rates, so Toronto buyers pay it twice. First-time buyers get a rebate of up to $4,000 on the provincial tax and up to $4,475 on the Toronto tax. On most homes this is the largest closing cost by far. The closing cost calculator works it out for any price. Legal fees and disbursements Your real estate lawyer handles the title search, the mortgage documents, the transfer and the funds. Fees vary; get a written quote that includes… Read
Buying October 9, 2026 1 min read Conditions, deposits and firm offers: how an Ontario offer works An offer in Ontario is a written Agreement of Purchase and Sale. Once both sides sign it, it's binding. Everything that protects you has to be in it before you sign. Conditions A condition lets you walk away, with your deposit, if something specific doesn't happen by a set date. The common ones are financing (your lender approves the mortgage on this property), home inspection, and, for condos, a lawyer's review of the status certificate. Each has a deadline; if you don't waive or fulfil it in time, the deal ends. Firm offers In a competitive situation, buyers often offer "firm", with no conditions. That can win the house, but it means the work conditions would have done must happen before the offer: a pre-offer inspection, a full mortgage pre-approval you've confirmed with your lender, and a read of the… Read
Condos October 6, 2026 1 min read The condo status certificate: what I read first When you buy a condo in Ontario, you buy a share of a corporation as well as a unit. The status certificate is the corporation's report card: a package of documents describing its finances, rules and risks. The condominium corporation must provide it on request, for a fee set by regulation. The reserve fund The reserve fund pays for big repairs: roofs, elevators, garage membranes, windows. The certificate tells you the balance and whether the corporation expects it to be enough. A thin reserve can mean a special assessment, a one-time bill to every owner. Fee increases Look for any budgeted or planned increase in monthly fees. A unit that's affordable at today's fee may not be at next year's. Lawsuits and insurance The certificate lists legal actions involving the corporation. A dispute with the builder over construction defects can… Read
First-time buyers October 3, 2026 2 min read First-time buyer in Ontario? The programs worth knowing Buying your first home is the moment the government is most willing to help. The programs below can be combined, and together they can be worth tens of thousands of dollars. Rules change, so confirm the details with your lender, lawyer or accountant before you count on any of them. The First Home Savings Account (FHSA) The FHSA works like an RRSP on the way in and a TFSA on the way out: contributions are tax-deductible, growth is tax-free, and a qualifying withdrawal for your first home is tax-free too. You can contribute up to $8,000 a year, to a lifetime maximum of $40,000, and unused room can carry forward (up to $8,000). If you are buying with a partner, each of you can have one. The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) The HBP lets you withdraw from your RRSP for… Read
Selling September 29, 2026 1 min read Pricing your home: why the first two weeks decide the sale A new listing gets more attention in its first two weeks than it ever will again. Every active buyer and agent in the price range looks at it. If the price, presentation and timing are right, that attention turns into showings and offers. If not, buyers move on, and the listing starts to feel stale. Price for the buyer who is looking today Recent comparable sales are the starting point, adjusted for condition, size, lot, parking and the direction the market is moving. Active and expired listings matter too: they are the homes buyers will compare yours to this week, and the expired ones show where the market said no. Two strategies, one goal In some segments, listing slightly below value with a set offer date brings buyers together on one evening and lets competition set the price. In others,… Read

The approach

With me, you don’t buy with confidence, you close with it.

I'm Nima. My work in commercial and investment real estate has taught me to look beyond the property itself, to the numbers, the risks and the details that matter. I bring that same approach to every residential transaction.

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