Is C$10,800 enough to keep after closing on a C$1.282m home?

S

small_quill

First-time buyer
Established
The figure that changed my view was the cash remaining at the end: only about C$10,800 after the deposit and estimated closing costs. The property is a 2-bed country home around Montreal priced near C$1,282,000. I can manage the scheduled mortgage payment, but that small reserve could disappear quickly if the inspection identifies urgent work.

How much should remain completely untouched after allowing for the move, the first mortgage payment and essential repairs? Furniture can wait, but failed equipment or a serious inspection finding cannot. I am trying to work out whether a lower purchase price is the sensible answer rather than stretching the same C$10,800 across too many needs.
 
I wouldn’t divide all C$10,800 among spending categories. First ring-fence an emergency amount that moving and furniture cannot touch. Then price the move, the first mortgage payment and any immediate inspection items separately. Furniture can be bought gradually; an insurance deductible or failed essential item cannot wait. At that purchase price, the remaining cash sounds tight unless you can rebuild it quickly.
 
Does the C$10,800 remain after paying movers, setting up insurance and allowing for the timing of the first mortgage payment, or only after the legal closing costs? Also, will this particular property have any recurring service charges? Those answers could turn the same headline number into either a modest cushion or almost no emergency fund.
 
The inspection could change the answer completely. A reserve of C$10,800 may be workable after a low-cost move if nothing urgent is found, but it could be gone quickly if several essential jobs coincide.

I would not choose the final buffer until the report separates immediate safety or deterioration concerns from maintenance that can wait and purely cosmetic work. Price the urgent items individually, then see what remains after moving and the first mortgage payment. A recommendation to monitor something is not the same as a bill due in the first month.
 
Make four lists rather than four percentages: costs due before possession, costs due in the first month, repairs that can wait, and optional purchases. Put an actual estimate beside every first-month item. Keep the remainder untouched for emergencies, ideally enough to cover both a household interruption and the insurance excess. If the untouched remainder looks uncomfortable, lower the target price rather than pretending furniture is the only flexible expense.
 
The C$10,800 figure is after the deposit and my current estimate of closing costs, but not after moving or furniture. I had treated the first mortgage payment as part of the normal monthly budget rather than the closing buffer. Service charges would depend on the property, so I need to verify those before offering. Based on these replies, I’m leaning toward delaying nearly all furniture and setting a minimum cash amount that must remain untouched after the move.
 
That distinction matters: you don’t really have C$10,800 of emergency savings if the move still has to come from it. Get written moving estimates, an insurance quote showing the deductible, and the expected payment dates before deciding on your minimum. Then add only inspection work that truly cannot wait. If the remaining figure is too low, buying slightly below C$1,282,000 is the cleanest adjustment.
 
And leave room for estimates being wrong. Closing and moving costs are not always known to the dollar when you first set the budget. I’d run the calculation once with your expected figures and again with each flexible cost somewhat higher. If the second version wipes out the untouched reserve, the purchase is still too close to your maximum even if the monthly mortgage looks comfortable.
 
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