Sutton Group Envelope Real Estate Brokerage Inc.

You Haven't Bought a Home in 15 Years. The Closing Costs Are Not What You Remember.

That moment ten days before closing when your lawyer sends the statement and asks for a wire transfer you weren't quite expecting!

It happens to move-up buyers and downsizers in London, Ontario more often than it should.

On an $850,000 home — typical in Byron, Westmount, or Sunningdale — the costs beyond your down payment add up to roughly $23,300.

Land Transfer Tax alone is $12,950. Legal fees, title insurance, inspection, adjustments, appraisal, and moving costs make up the rest.

None of it appears in your mortgage approval. All of it appears on closing day.

If you last bought a home 15 or 20 years ago, the categories are the same. The numbers are not.

The full breakdown is on the blog — line by line, with the math done for you.

The Best Time to Downsize Your Home in London, Ontario, Was Before You Needed To

If you've been thinking about downsizing your home in London, Ontario — even quietly, even just occasionally — this post is worth 3 minutes of your time.

I want to tell you about two people I knew.

They loved their home. Thirty-plus years in the same neighbourhood. The garden was their pride. The house was their identity. Their kids suggested for years it was time to make a move. Stubbornness said no. Pride said no.

Then the body started making the decision for them.

They eventually sold, moved to a lovely two-bedroom plus den nearby, and said the same thing I hear every time this happens too late: "I wish we had done this sooner."

Within two months, one of them was gone.

The homeowners who make this transition well — financially and emotionally — are almost always the ones who started the conversation six to twelve months before they needed to. Not because they were more organized. Because they gave themselves room to think.

In established London neighbourhoods like Byron, Riverbend, and Sunningdale, homes that go to market prepared and on the seller's timeline consistently outperform homes listed under pressure.

You don't need to be ready to move to have this conversation. You just need to be thinking about it.

That's enough to start.

👉 Read the full post: enveloperealestate.com/blog.html/best-time-to-downsize-a-house-in-london-ontario-ty-lacroix-8865209

12 Mistakes Real Estate Investors Make in London, Ontario 🏠

After 50 years of personal investment experience and 24 years brokering income property transactions in London, Ontario, I have seen every one of these mistakes cost investors real money.

Some are obvious. Some are not.

The one that surprises people most?

What the seller told you about existing tenancies and what the tenants actually understand to be true are not always the same thing.

Get written confirmation from every existing tenant before closing — agreed rent, lease start date, deposit held, and any side arrangements with the current owner.

Find out before you own the building. Not after.

That is just one of 12 mistakes outlined in the full post — each one with the real consequence of getting it wrong.

If you are thinking about buying an income property in London, Ontario — or selling one — this is worth 10 minutes of your time before you make any decisions.