Everything You Need To Know About Buying A House In Ottawa

You’ve probably heard the Ottawa housing market is on fire and I can confirm that from my recent experience. My partner and I recently went through the process of buying a house in Ottawa and what a whirlwind experience. From bidding wars to needing a quick mortgage approval, and more, there’s so much to know about buying a house in Ottawa. Here are some things I learned along the way to help you on your home buying journey whether you’re a first-time home buyer or looking to move in today’s crazy market. Everything below is my own opinion but I’ll share some recommendations of professionals along the way.

Why We Bought A House In Ottawa

Truth be told I did not expect to be buying a house in Ottawa in 2020. When COVID19 hit and the lockdowns started, a lot of priorities changed for us. Spending so much time in our apartment had us wishing for more space. We’d had many conversations of one day buying a house in Ottawa but the pandemic certainly sped up the process. We started casually browsing to see what was out there a year ago and then starting getting more serious towards the end of 2020. 

Renting Vs. Buying

For the longest time, renting is what made the most sense for us. We paid an affordable price for an apartment downtown and we were able to save and travel at the same time. After crunching some numbers we realized we could afford a mortgage similar to what we pay in rent while building equity. That’s what made us make the big leap. I highly recommend doing this before you go house hunting. It’s easy to get wrapped up in wanting a beautiful home but crunch the numbers so you know what number you’re comfortable with first. Think of what kind of lifestyle you want. If you like living downtown and being walking distance to lots of attractions, renting might make more sense. 

Searching for Houses To Buy In Ottawa

I knew the house market was fast but we got to experience the full extent of it. We would go see a house and offers were being put in while we were visiting so we knew that whatever decision we made needed to be quick. The housing market in Ottawa is super competitive and you generally need to be willing to put higher than the asking price to beat out other offers. Your real estate agent can help with this. If we wanted to view a place we had our real estate book a viewing ASAP. 

Your real estate agent can make lots of recommendations on houses and neighbourhoods. We also searched the listings ourselves so we had a good idea of what was out there. 

Working With A Real Estate Agent

Our Real Estate Agent was Ely Babb. We met her when we went to go look at that first house we put an offer on and immediately felt comfortable. We really appreciated her expertise and honest opinion. There were a few houses that really didn’t work for us and she never felt pushy and always encouraged us to keep looking. She coached us on the bidding process and also made sure we knew our absolute maximum before entering any offers. She gave us so many tips and made the whole process easier. 

The Ottawa Housing Market

I’m no expert but I don’t think the housing market in Ottawa is slowing down any time soon. COVID19 shifted priorities for a lot of people and more people are looking at buying a house for more space or moving to Ottawa because they can work remotely. 

Where To Live in Ottawa

This is largely determined by budget. If we could have, we probably would have stayed downtown but the prices were way out of our budget. Moving farther away from downtown you’ll find more affordable prices and more room. 

Neighbourhoods like Hintonburg, Glebe, or Westboro would be amazing but they come with a high price tag. Kanata, Orleans and Barrhaven are popular suburbs but the house prices are rising quickly here as well. 

I was leaning more towards the west end because that’s where I grew up but we were still searching ads across the city that were within our budget. We visited the most houses in Kanata. We knew we couldn’t be too picky but I just wasn’t willing to pay such crazy prices for what was offered from lots of the houses.There’s also lots of great houses in Gatineau that are cheaper than the Ottawa market but it all depends on where you want to end up. 

As a young couple, we and many of our friends are moving into older communities where the homeowners are generally looking to downsize. The majority of my friends have bought bungalows in neighbourhoods like this to start off.  

Check out these guides for more information on Kanata, Barrhaven, and Westboro.

What Type of House Do You Want?

We knew our dream house wouldn’t be our first house. We wanted to find a spot that was move-in ready but that we could also do improvements on to bring up the value. At this stage, for every house we were looking at we were going up against other millenials and house flippers. 

The very first house we went to see was a 70s bungalow. It was a cute house but definitely needed kitchen updates, new flooring and we would have finished the basement. The second house we went to see was basically that same bungalow we saw but with all the renovations needed. It was like we were able to see the before and after of what the first house could look like. With the renovations, those owners were able to put their asking price significantly higher and had many offers put in. 

We ended up putting an offer on that very first house. I was shocked! I figured we would have had to see lots of houses before putting in an offer. We had a good feeling about this house and felt up to the challenge of the renovations. We didn’t end up getting this house but we learned a lot from that first offer. 

There’s lots of modern houses that look amazing and don’t need any work done but you’re going to pay more for them. If you’re willing to put in some work you can get houses at a lower price and update it exactly how you want it to look.

We went in with a rule though, any house we put an offer on we had to be comfortable living in with no renovations. Buying a house in Ottawa has lots of upfront costs and we wanted to make sure that we weren’t in a position where we needed to put in more money right away. There’s some houses we saw that the amount of work needed on it wouldn’t have turned into a way bigger price tag. 

Don’t Give Up Hope When Buying A House in Ottawa

Looking for houses can be really discouraging. We were pretty lucky on our journey but it’s tough getting your hopes up for a house and losing to another offer. The problem is that you need to be able to see yourself in that house and you get really excited and start making plans. 

I had been keeping an eye on the listings and a house near the Carp Village popped up. It was an old farm house and I thought it would be the perfect spot to end up. What I didn’t realize is that many of the old farmhouses have really strange layouts. It was an immediate no from me. It would have needed too many tricky renovations. 

Feeling discouraged, we stopped by my parents house in Carp on our way back downtown. On our way we noticed owners putting up a for sale sign on their lawn. It was a cute bungalow and I immediately said “we have to go see it.” So grateful we went to see the farmhouse that day because that second house we stumbled upon is the one we bought. 

The House We Bought In Ottawa

I feel very grateful to have found the house we did. Our house is a 60s bungalow near where I grew up in Carp. The house is surrounded by trees and has a good size backyard with privacy. It’s nice inside but there’s definitely some work that needs to be done like a new kitchen and landscaping but we’re up for the challenge and expect it to bring up the value.

We’ve been in the house for almost 2 months now and we haven’t changed anything yet. Friends and family told us to live in it for a while before making any big changes. We’ve loved this because it allows us to get used to the space and really plan out what we want. Send me all your decor tips! 

Why Did We Choose Carp?

I grew up in Carp and absolutely loved it. My family moved from Kanata to Carp when I was in grade 8. My sisters and I could easily go for nature walks, the community was so friendly, and it also has some great local businesses with strong support. 

Getting Mortgage Approved

Before you get too far in the hunt, get pre-approved! We weren’t pre-approved for our first offer so we had to get rush approved and put an offer conditional on financing. By getting pre-approved you’ll know the maximum amount the lender is willing to provide. Although you may be eligible, if it takes too long to get approved you may lose the offer. We learned that putting an offer conditional on financing makes choosing your offer more risky for the buyer. 

By getting pre-approved it also gives you the flexibility to shop around. Going with a mortgage broker is ideal because they can get you a competitive rate. They also gave us lots of tips. There’s so many things that can affect getting approved. Recently closing a credit card, applying for loans at the same time, and more can also have an effect on your mortgage. Since I’m self-employed that also added another level to the process.

Ely recommended Jerry Schindelheim as our mortgage broker. Jerry was super quick and even worked on the weekend so we could get everything ready for that first offer we put in. We were able to get a really good rate for the house we bought. 

What’s Your Budget?

While you may get approved for a high amount, I recommend deciding what your hard budget is besides that. Crunch the numbers on your own and see what numbers you’re comfortable with. What kind of lifestyle do you want while being a homeowner? Some people want to put a lot of money into their house and there’s nothing wrong with that but we wanted to make sure we were still saving beyond our house and could still afford travel and a similar lifestyle we had when we were renting. Travel is so important to me and I wanted to make sure that buying a house in Ottawa wouldn’t interfere with this. 

We had a number in mind that would make our mortgage + utilities similar to what we were paying in rent. Add an emergency fund onto your budget in case something goes wrong when you move in.  

Keep in mind, the price a house is listed at isn’t what it will sell for. People are adding to their offer to make there’s more competitive. We bumped our offer up to make sure we didn’t lose this house. 

The Closing Process

The closing process in our experience was super quick. The first time we put an offer in there were more than 9 other offers. We found many houses for sale were accepting offers at a certain time or date or time. The stressful part about this is your real estate agent doesn’t have the same opportunity to negotiate so you need to guess what the best offer is and make yours better. Generally this means adding more money to your offer. This is where it’s really important to know what number you’re comfortable with. Even for the house we bought, there was only so high we were willing to pay so if it reached that level we would have been willing to walk away.

Our offer for our house was over asking and conditional on a septic inspection. Since we’re in Carp we are on a septic tank. That didn’t matter to me because that’s common for houses in Carp. However, the inspection is important because if there are septic tank issues that can be a high cost. Since the septic tank is old we were able to negotiate the price down. 

Closing Costs for Buying A House in Ottawa

Something else I learned is that you need to put a deposit on the house when you put an offer. This is different from the down payment. This money is only used if your offer goes forward but the deposit goes towards expenses such as legal and anything left over goes towards your down payment. This was important to know because you need to have this money immediately available. 

For our downpayment, we put the lowest amount possible down. There was no advantage to us to put down a higher level. By putting the lowest down payment we were able to access low financing. 

If you’re a first time home-buyer in Ontario you get a rebate on land transfer tax so that saved us a few thousand. 

Legal Side of Buying A House in Ottawa

You’ll need a lawyer to close the deal for you. We went with Spiteri & Ursulak LLP. My friend Gabriela Kratchanov was our lawyer so I knew we were in good hands. Our closing date was quick so we really appreciated her fast work and walking us through all the details. 

Time For The Move

Packing with Frogbox

This Canadian company made our move so much easier! Frogbox rents reusable boxes that you use to pack all your belongings. They’re sturdy and stable so your belongings are safe inside and they also make it easy to pack and for the movers to carry them out. We’ll definitely be getting Frogbox for our next move.

We were short a few Frog Boxes (my bad) and had to use some cardboard boxes. I quickly remembered just how flimsy they are and it made me extra grateful to be using Frog Box. They drop them off at your house too so you can get right to packing instead of searching the city for boxes to use. 

Use Code LMO20 to save $20 off your order of $100 or more. Check them out here.

Moving Day With Pack My Move

Pack My Move was so professional and made our move super quick and efficient. We were moving out of  a 3 flight apartment with stairs so moving out took the longest but they moved all our stuff into the bungalow in 30 minutes! Everything arrived in perfect condition. They had great pricing and made the whole move so much easier.

Let me know if you have any questions about buying a house in Ottawa 🙂 Now the decorating and renovating begins. If you have any tips I would love to hear them!