Navera Brampton › Blog › Buying a Pre-Construction Detached Home
A builder's agreement runs to dozens of pages and is written by the builder's lawyers. These nine questions cover the clauses that cost buyers money most often. Ask them before you sign, not after.
Deposits on a detached home are paid in stages, usually over several months. Ask for the amounts and the dates, and make sure the total and the timing fit your savings. Deposits are not paid from the mortgage.
New freehold homes in Ontario have Tarion deposit protection. On a home priced above $600,000 it covers 10% of the purchase price, to a maximum of $100,000. Register your purchase with Tarion within 45 days of signing the agreement to qualify for the maximum coverage.
Every agreement for a new freehold home includes a Tarion addendum that sets out the closing date. It will say whether the date is firm or tentative, how far the builder can extend it and what notice is required. Read the addendum's dates page carefully. It also sets out the compensation you may be owed if closing is delayed beyond the permitted extensions.
Buyers of new condominiums in Ontario have a 10-day cooling-off period. For new freehold homes, a similar 10-day right has been legislated and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Ask your lawyer whether it applies to your agreement. If it does not, make your offer conditional on your lawyer's review and on financing.
Builders add adjustments on closing: the Tarion enrolment fee, utility connections, increases in development charges and levies, paving, grading and administration fees. Ask for the list and ask for a cap on the total, written into the agreement.
Ask whether the price includes HST and assumes a rebate, and what you owe if you do not qualify. On a home near $1 million the difference can be as much as $130,000. See how the 2026 HST rebate works at this price.
Model homes and renderings show upgrades. Ask for the standard features list in writing: ceiling heights, flooring, kitchen counters, the staircase, air conditioning, and whether the water heater is a rental. Ask what a finished basement or a separate entrance costs, if you want one.
Choose the lot and the plan together. Ask for the lot's width, depth and grading, what is behind and beside it, and the premium. Read 38-foot vs 41-foot lots for how width changes the home.
If your plans could change before closing, ask whether the builder allows an assignment, what it charges, and whether there are restrictions on listing the home for sale or for rent before or shortly after closing.
For Navera, none of these details have been published yet. Register for Platinum Access and we will send the price list, floor plans and deposit schedule when they are released, and go through the agreement with you.
The 10-day cooling-off period currently applies to new condominiums. A 10-day right for new freehold homes has been legislated and is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027. Ask your lawyer whether it applies to your agreement.
On a new freehold home priced above $600,000, Tarion deposit protection covers 10% of the purchase price to a maximum of $100,000. On homes priced at $600,000 or less it covers up to $60,000. Register your purchase with Tarion within 45 days of signing.
Ask about the deposit schedule, deposit protection, the closing date and extensions, closing adjustments and whether they are capped, how HST is handled, the standard features, the lot premium, and whether assignment is allowed.
Yes. A real estate lawyer reviews the builder's agreement, including the Tarion addendum and the adjustment and HST clauses, and completes the closing. Have the agreement reviewed before any conditional period ends.
Last checked October 4, 2026. General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice. Builder details can change without notice.
Price list, floor plans and launch updates, sent to you before the public release.
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