House Closing Costs in Nova Scotia
Home Buying Closing and other Costs for Buyers in the Halifax Nova Scotia Area
There are a number of costs associated with buying a house in the Halifax area. Count on about 3% of the purchase price. Most of these costs are paid on closing. Here is a summary:
Home Inspection Fee - It is a must to have the property you are buying inspected. The cost for this service is about $400-$600 plus HST tax but varies from inspector to inspector. This fee is paid at the time of inspection.
Well and septic inspections/tests - If you are buying a property on well and septic count on another $1000-$1500 in tests and inspections. Some of these tests are optional. See our inspections page. Paid at time of tests which is usually a few days after accepted offer.
Radon Test - Radon gas is a cancer causing gas that is found in some homes in the HRM area. It usually comes in the house through the basement floors or walls. You can buy a test kit for about $60 and test yourself or you can hire a professional testing company to do it for a between $200 and $300. If a property has higher than recommended levels of radon mediation is between $1,500 and $2000.
Legal fees- You will need a lawyer to complete the purchase of your home. Legal fees vary from lawyer to lawyer but on average it is safe to allow $800 - $1000 for legal fees and another $300 - $400 for disbursements such as registering the deed etc. The legal fees for a purchase of a $250,000 home would be about $1000 for the lawyer and $300 for disbursements for a total of $1300. Paid on closing.
Deed Transfer tax- The municipality the home is located in will charge a fee to transfer the deed into your name. This fee is 1.5 % of the purchase price of the home. For example in a $300,000 purchase you would pay $4,500 deed transfer tax. This tax is paid on closing.
Tax adjustment- The sellers of the home you are buying have paid property taxes to the municipality. These taxes are paid twice a year and are paid ahead. You will be required on closing to reimburse them for the taxes they have prepaid. For example if the seller has paid $2000 for 6 months starting on April 1st and you were closing June 30th you would be required to pay the owner half of the taxes prepaid or $1,000. Count on 3 months taxes and you should be safe. Go to our property taxes page for more details. Paid on closing.
Fuel adjustment -If the home you are buying has oil heating or has a propane fireplace you will be required to pay the seller for a full tank of fuel on closing. The owner will fill the tank(s) the day before closing. You will pay this at your lawyer's office on the closing date. The cost for this will vary. Count on a $800-$1000 for a full tank of oil and $400-$500 for full tank of propane.
Other Costs: Moving, power/phone/internet/television.
Closing Costs for Seller: The closing costs for a seller in Halifax Nova Scotia are considerably less than for a buyer. The closing costs for a seller would include what they will have to pay for a lawyer which would cost less than $1000. If the property title is not migrated the seller will have to pay to migrate the title which would be about $1000. Real estate fees are paid on closing but aren't considered closing costs.
Table of Estimated Buyer Closing and other costs below . All properties will have deed transfer tax, leg fees, tax adjustment and inspection. There will be additional costs if you buy a property on a well and septic or one that has oil heating and/or a propane fireplace or stove. Fuel adjustments will vary as the cost of the those fuels goes up or down. hookups, appliances/curtains/mirrors etc.
| House Price | $150,000 | $200,000 | $250,000 | $300,000 | $350,000 | $400,000 | $500,000 | $750,000 |
| Deed Transfer |
$2250 |
$3000 |
$3750 |
$4500 |
$5250 |
$6000 |
$7500 |
$11250 |
| Legal | $1200 | $1200 | $1200 | $1200 | $1200 | $1200 | $,200 | $1200 |
| Tax Adjustment | $500 |
$550 |
$600 |
$650 |
$700 |
$1000 |
$1500 |
$2250 |
| House Inspection | $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 | $600 |
| Substotal: | $4550 | $5400 | $6150 | $6950 | $7750 | $8800 | $10800 | $15200 |
| Add Costs: | ||||||||
| Oil adjusmtnet | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 | $800-$1000 |
| Propane Adjust | $400-$500 | $400-$500 | $400-$500 | $400-$500 | $400-$500 | $400-$500 | $400-$500 | $400-$500 |
| Well quality tests | $250-$350 | $250-$350 | $250-$350 | $250-$350 | $250-$350 | $250-$350 | $250-$350 | $250-$350 |
| Well flow test | $300-$450 | $300-$450 | $300-$450 | $300-$450 | $300-$450 | $300-$450 | $300-$450 | $300-$450 |
| Septic test | $300-400 | $300-$400 | $300-$400 | $300-$400 | $300-$400 | $300-$400 | $300-$400 | $300-$400 |
| Radon Test | $50-$300 | $50-$300 | $50-$300 | $50-$300 | $50-$300 | $50-$300 | $50-$300 | $50-$300 |