The common mistakes of first-time home buyers in Quebec in 2026, and how to avoid them

Buying · First purchase · September 15, 2026

Ten mistakes we keep seeing with first-time buyers, what they cost, and the order of steps that avoids all of them.

The most common mistakes of first-time home buyers in Quebec are always the same: visiting before getting a pre-approval, qualifying at the contract rate rather than at the stress test (the higher of 5.25% or the rate plus 2 points), leaving the welcome tax and closing costs out of the budget, skipping or rushing the pre-purchase inspection, buying a condo without reading the contingency fund study and the syndicate's minutes, opening the FHSA too late or withdrawing the HBP without planning its repayment, offering on the asking price rather than on comparable sales, and reading the certificate of location at the notary instead of before the offer. Each one is corrected by a simple order: financing, documents, inspection, offer. Our buyer services are paid by the seller's commission.

The ten mistakes, in the order they happen

1. Visiting before the pre-approval. You fall for a house you cannot finance, or you lose the offer because the seller demands a pre-approval in hand. It sets your real ceiling and holds a rate for 90 to 120 days.
2. Qualifying at the contract rate. The lender tests you at the higher of 5.25% or your rate plus 2 points: a 4.3% rate is tested at 6.3%. Our mortgage calculator runs the math with the test and the insurance premium.
3. Forgetting what is added to the price. The welcome tax, notary fees, the inspection, the insurance premium under a 20% down payment, tax adjustments and the move. First-time buyers are entitled to a partial refund of the welcome tax in some cities: our refund page explains who qualifies.
4. Skipping or rushing the inspection. A pre-purchase inspection costs a few hundred dollars and reveals what costs tens of thousands. Waiving the inspection condition to win a bidding war is the costliest bet of a first purchase.
5. Buying a condo without reading the syndicate's documents. The contingency fund study required under Bill 16, the minutes of the last two years, the special assessments voted or considered, the declaration of co-ownership: they are read before the offer. Our condo buyer guide details every point.
6. Opening the FHSA too late. Contribution room only accumulates once the account is open: every year without an account is a year of room lost. See our FHSA guide and the 2026 maximum.
7. Withdrawing the HBP without planning the repayment. The withdrawal is repaid to the RRSP over 15 years; every missed instalment becomes taxable income. Our page HBP or FHSA explains the order to follow.
8. Offering on the asking price. The asking price is a starting point; the right price is that of the last three comparable sales on the street. A promise to purchase built on those sales, with fair conditions, is worth more than a bidding war.
9. Discovering the certificate of location at the notary. The certificate reveals encroachments, servitudes and non-compliance: read before the offer, it is negotiated; read at the notary, it delays or derails the sale.
10. Believing the buyer's broker costs something. Our buyer services are paid by the seller's commission: a first-time buyer who skips a broker to save money gains nothing and negotiates alone against a represented seller.

The order that avoids all of them

Financing, documents, inspection, offer. First the pre-approval, with the stress test and the full budget (price, welcome tax, notary, inspection, premium). Then the documents: certificate of location, seller's declaration and, in co-ownership, the syndicate's documents, all read before writing an offer. Then the inspection, as a condition of the promise to purchase, never as an option. Finally the offer, on comparable sales. Our guide to first-time buyer programs in Quebec lists every incentive, and our current mortgage rates page gives this month's benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

What is the costliest mistake a first-time buyer makes?

Waiving the pre-purchase inspection to win a bidding war. A roof, foundations or plumbing to redo cost tens of thousands of dollars, and without an inspection or a seller's warranty on those points, the buyer carries them alone.

What salary do you need to buy a first home in Quebec?

It depends on the price, the down payment and the stress test, not only on the rate obtained. Our page what salary you need to buy a house turns the price into required income.

FHSA or HBP first?

The FHSA first, because its withdrawal is never repaid, then the HBP as a top-up if the targeted down payment requires it. Both can be combined for the same purchase.

Our proof, not our promises

The Loaa & Manseur team, led by Lotfi Manseur and Loaa Al Daow, is the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 of large residential teams according to the official RE/MAX ranking, computed on actual transactions. Its Google profile counts more than 220 reviews with a 4.9 rating. Its offices are at 55 avenue de l'Équinoxe in Brossard, one bridge from the island, and every broker's licence can be checked in the OACIQ public register. Three things to verify yourself before calling us, and to demand of any other broker.

Also available in French: version française de ce guide.

Published September 7, 2026 by the Loaa & Manseur team, the number 1 team at RE/MAX Platine in 2024 and 2025, 6th RE/MAX team in Quebec, 15th in Canada and in the global top 50 according to the official RE/MAX ranking. Tell us about your project.