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Renting, buying and owning a home
Understand housing costs and the choices that apply to you.
Make this path your own
Renting can be the right ongoing arrangement. Start with your household budget and bill timing if buying is not your question. This journey is not a provincial tenant-rights library; consult your provincial or territorial housing authority for those rules.
For renting and everyday housing costs, start with Build a budget from the month you actually have or Income and cash flow: the amount and the timing. Buying is optional.
Explore the steps
- What does a home cost beyond the mortgage?
Compare the whole housing budget, including costs beyond the mortgage.
- FHSA basics for a first home
If a first home is a goal, check account eligibility and room before moving money.
- How a mortgage works: principal, interest and payments
Read the essential parts of a mortgage without equating a payment with affordability.
- Amortization vs term: two different mortgage clocks
Separate the current contract from the scheduled repayment horizon.
- Fixed vs variable: what can change in your mortgage?
Understand how rates and payments can change under different contracts.
- Mortgage renewal: what to compare before the term ends
Prepare for a new term, switching costs and lender questions.
- Extra mortgage payments or investing: compare the same money
Examine liquidity, risk and assumptions before comparing uses of money.
One useful thing to take away
Choose a question to resolve, the record or source that could answer it, and one next action. You can return here at any time; there is no completion score.
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