We bought last spring in Calgary. Signed on for a 20 year variable rate. Rates rose 3 times in the last year (or was it 4... with the recent hike last week...) so we locked in before this last rate hike. 5 year fixed rate for 3.19%. Bi-weekly accelerated payments. A couple months of the year will have 3 payments.
If you're not extremely handy, buy something that is move-in ready.
If you're quite handy and have experience in framing, drywalling, plumbing, electrical etc, then buying a bit of a fixer-upper is a good alternative.
Get as much money put together as you can WHILE STILL having a nice cushion left over for regular living expenses and normal life expenses. We put 12% down on our house. IF we would've put 20% down, we would've saved $10,000 on CMHC fees sure, but we may not have even been able to afford KD and O'douls. lol
Good luck.
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