First Home Buyer Guide
Buying your first home.
The honest version.
Most of what you'll find out there tells you what you want to hear. This guide tells you what you actually need to know — the numbers, the deadlines, and the stuff most agents skip over.
What's inside
- The FHSA and Home Buyers' Plan, side by side. What each one actually gets you, when to use which, and what happens if you get it wrong.
- The $835,000 cliff. BC's first-time buyer PTT exemption cuts off at that number. Nobody puts this in their marketing. You need to know it before you make an offer.
- The GST rebate on new construction. The federal first-time buyer rebate, what triggers it, and why a lot of buyers miss it entirely.
- New build vs resale — a real cost comparison. Not "new is nicer." An actual breakdown of where the money goes over the first five years.
- What your monthly number actually looks like. Mortgage payment, property tax, strata fees where applicable, insurance — the full picture, not just the part the bank calculates.
- Entry-level pricing by neighbourhood on the Westside. What the market actually looks like right now, neighbourhood by neighbourhood.
- The 90-day checklist. What to do, in order, from "thinking about it" to keys in hand.
About me
I'm Luke. I'm originally from Australia — I ended up in West Kelowna in 2014, got my real estate licence in 2015, and I've been raising my kids on the Westside ever since. First home buyers are my favourite part of this job. There's something about that moment when a client stops looking at a house and starts imagining their life in it that never gets old.
I wrote this guide because the information first-time buyers actually need is scattered across government websites, buried in mortgage broker fine print, and often just missing from what agents put in front of you. That's not helpful.
I'm not going to pressure you. If something doesn't make sense for your situation, I'll tell you. If now isn't the right time to buy, I'll tell you that too. The goal is for you to make a good decision — whether that involves me or not.
If you have questions after reading it, reply to the email or reach out directly. I'm pretty easy to get ahold of.
Send me the guide
First name and email. That's it. No calls, no drip campaign — just the guide.
You're all set.
Check your inbox — the guide is on its way. Usually arrives in a minute or two.