The Padster Guide
Plain-language writing on what your rent actually buys in Edmonton.
25 vs. 30-Year Amortization: Which Should You Take?
A longer amortization lowers the payment but raises total interest. Who can get 30 years, how it changes what you qualify for, and the strategy buyers miss.
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Aluminum Wiring in Edmonton Homes: Insurable, Fixable, or Walk Away?
Aluminum wiring turns up in Edmonton homes built from the mid-1960s to late 1970s. What an electrician checks, and how insurers actually treat it.
Asbestos and Vermiculite in Older Edmonton Homes
Where asbestos turns up in pre-1990 Edmonton homes, why vermiculite insulation is suspect until tested, and why it shapes a renovation, not the purchase.
Deposit vs. Down Payment: What Edmonton Buyers Mix Up
The deposit is due days after an accepted offer; the down payment at closing. What's normal in Edmonton, who holds the money, and the timing trap.
Foundation Cracks and Grading in Edmonton: What Actually Matters
Edmonton's clay soil moves every year, so most foundation cracks are cosmetic. Which ones need a structural opinion, and why drainage is the bigger risk.
GST on a New Build in Edmonton, and the Rebate You Might Get Back
New construction pays GST in Alberta; resale generally does not. How the New Housing Rebate works, why many Edmonton new builds miss it, and what to confirm.
How Debt Changes What You Can Buy in Edmonton
GDS and TDS without the jargon: why a car payment costs you more house than the same savings gain you, how each debt is counted, and what to avoid.
Poly-B Plumbing in Edmonton Homes: What It Is and What to Ask
Poly-B went into Canadian homes from about 1978 to 1995. Why insurers ask about it, how to tell if it's been replaced, and what to do if it hasn't.
Radon in Edmonton Homes: Testing, Levels and What a Fix Involves
Health Canada's radon guideline is 200 Bq/m³ and the Prairies test high. Why a listing can't tell you, how long a real test takes, and what a fix involves.
What a Real Estate Lawyer Does in Alberta, and What They Cost
Title review, Land Titles registration, mortgage funds and tax adjustments: what an Alberta conveyance involves and how to compare lawyer quotes properly.
Real Property Report vs. Title Insurance in Alberta
An RPR shows where buildings sit and whether they comply; title insurance covers defined risks. Which one Alberta contracts require, and why RPR dates matter.
Can You Buy a Home in Edmonton With Bad Credit? Here's the Honest Answer
What a low credit score actually rules out in Canada, what alternative lenders really cost, and five actions that move a score fastest before you apply.
Buying at 25 vs. Buying at 35 in Edmonton: Does It Matter?
The real trade-offs of buying earlier or later in Edmonton, what lenders assess instead of age, and the five readiness checks that decide the outcome.
Buying With a Roommate or Partner: Splitting a Mortgage vs. Splitting Rent
What changes when two people buy together in Alberta: combined qualifying, joint liability, joint tenancy vs. tenants in common, and the exit plan.
Co-Signer vs. Guarantor on a Mortgage: What's the Difference?
What separates a mortgage co-signer from a guarantor in Canada, what each is liable for, the Alberta title and tax consequences, and how to remove them.
What Credit Score Do You Actually Need to Buy a Home in Alberta?
The minimum credit score for insured financing in Canada, what each score band gets you, and the five factors that move your score before you apply.
First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Canada: What's Actually Still Available in 2026
The federal accounts and credits first-time buyers can still use, how the FHSA and Home Buyers' Plan stack, and why Alberta has no first-time buyer rebate.
Fixed vs. Variable Mortgage Rate: Which Should a First-Time Buyer Pick?
How fixed and variable mortgage rates differ in Canada, why the two kinds of variable are not the same product, and what should decide it for a first home.
Using Gifted Funds for Your Down Payment: The Rules Lenders Actually Check
What lenders require to accept a gifted down payment in Canada: the gift letter, fund tracing, the donor's tax position, and gift vs. loan vs. co-owning.
What a Landlord Doesn't Tell You: Hidden Costs of Renting in Edmonton
The utility, deposit, parking, insurance and renewal costs missing from Edmonton rental listings, and what Alberta law actually limits on rent increases.
How Much Do You Need to Make to Qualify for a $400K Mortgage?
The income range needed for a $400,000 mortgage in Canada, the two debt ratios that decide it, and why identical salaries qualify for different amounts.
Is It Cheaper to Rent or Buy in Edmonton Right Now?
How Edmonton's price-to-rent ratio compares with the rest of Canada, what owning adds beyond the mortgage, and when buying actually beats renting for you.
Joint Mortgage Applications: Buying With a Sibling, Parent or Friend
How joint mortgage applications are assessed in Canada, joint tenancy vs. tenants in common in Alberta, and what a co-ownership agreement must cover.
Mortgage Broker vs. Your Bank: Who Actually Gets You the Better Rate?
What a mortgage broker does differently from your bank, how Alberta brokers are paid, why shopping won't hurt your credit, and what to compare besides rate.
The Mortgage Stress Test, Explained With Real Edmonton Numbers
How the federal stress test sets your qualifying rate, what it does to your maximum mortgage, and the five things that actually raise your approved amount.
New to Canada? How Newcomers Qualify for a Mortgage in Edmonton
How newcomer mortgage programs work in Canada, what lenders accept instead of a Canadian credit score, and how PR status and work permits are treated.
What Happens If Your Mortgage Pre-Approval Expires Before You Find a Home?
How long a mortgage pre-approval lasts in Canada, what happens when it expires, what renewing involves, and three things that change your renewed amount.
Rent-to-Own in Alberta: How It Works and Why Almost Nobody Uses It
How Alberta rent-to-own agreements are structured, why option fees and rent credits are usually forfeited, and the cheaper routes to try first.
The Break-Even Point: How Many Years of Renting Equal a Down Payment?
Why there's no single rent-versus-buy break-even year, how long an Edmonton down payment takes to save, and the accounts that shorten the timeline.
Renting at $1,800 a Month in Edmonton? Here's What You Could Own Instead
What $1,800 a month in Edmonton rent converts to as a home price, why the honest number is lower than the headline, and the down payment it needs.
Renting vs. Buying a Condo in Edmonton: The Fee Math Nobody Runs
Why condo fees belong in every rent-versus-buy comparison, how a low fee can cost more than a high one, and what to check before your conditions come off.
Should You Keep Renting While Rates Are High? What the Math Actually Says
What a higher rate does to your qualifying number, why lower rates often arrive with higher prices, and how a pre-approval rate hold protects the wait.
How to Get a Mortgage in Canada If You're Self-Employed
What lenders require from self-employed applicants in Canada, why business write-offs cut your borrowing power, and how long you need to be self-employed.
What Happens to Your Rent Money If You Never Buy? A 10-Year Look
The mechanism behind 'rent is wasted money', how a mortgage payment splits between interest and equity over ten years, and the costs the slogan skips.
Renting Forever Is a Plan Too — Here's When It Actually Wins
When renting is the sound financial decision in Edmonton: short time horizons, concentration risk, liquidity, and buying without a maintenance reserve.
Property Assessment Versus What Your Home Is Actually Worth
Why the City's assessed value and your home's market value disagree, when each one is useful, and the deadline for challenging the one you can change.
Your First Month of Bills as an Edmonton Homeowner
Who bills you for what in Edmonton, the default energy rates you land on by doing nothing, and the costs that arrive annually with no warning.
How to Choose an Edmonton Neighbourhood
Schools, parks, transit and tree canopy — the public data behind a decision most people make on a Saturday drive, and how to visit properly.
Is That Basement Suite Legal? How to Check Before You Offer
The permits an Edmonton secondary suite needs, the City's public registry of the ones that have them, and exactly what to ask when an address is not on it.
Reading the Alberta Purchase Contract
The standard Alberta form, section by section: what your deposit is doing, what a condition day means, and what 12 noon on completion day actually promises.
Renting in Edmonton While You Save
Timing a lease against a possession date, the cash you need before the down payment, and the overlap month nobody budgets for.
How to Research a Condo Building Before You Offer
Reserve fund study, minutes, budget and bylaws — what to read, in what order, and what each one tells you about the years ahead.
The Sewer Line Inspection Nobody Books
In Edmonton the homeowner owns the sewer line to the main, pre-1970 houses were laid in clay, and a standard home inspection does not look at it.
What Can Stop You Insuring an Edmonton Home
Electrical service, older wiring and plumbing, wood stoves: why insurability is a financing problem in disguise, and what to ask before conditions come off.
What Edmonton Actually Has for Sale
The Edmonton market by bedroom count — why three-bedroom homes dominate, why one-bedroom listings are the scarcest, and what that means for your search.
Lot Sizes Across Edmonton
How much land Edmonton homes actually sit on, why the newest and priciest communities have the smallest lots, and what a lot gives you beyond the number.
Price Per Square Foot in Edmonton, and What It Doesn't Tell You
Why Edmonton's detached houses cost more per square foot than its condos, what the measure actually captures, and the narrow range where it's useful.
What a Price Cut Actually Means When You See One
How often Edmonton listings reduce and by how much — and why a typical cut is a correction rather than a sign of a motivated seller.
Where Edmonton Is Actually Building
The Edmonton communities with the most development permits right now, what buying into a developing area is actually like, and what to check before you do.
Buying in Central Edmonton: What Your Money Reaches
What homes cost in Central Edmonton right now: median payment, housing mix, price per square foot and the busiest communities, from the live listing feed.
Buying in Northeast Edmonton: What Your Money Reaches
What homes cost in Northeast Edmonton right now: median payment, housing mix, price per square foot and the busiest communities, from the live listing feed.
Buying in Northwest Edmonton: What Your Money Reaches
What homes cost in Northwest Edmonton right now: median payment, housing mix, price per square foot and the busiest communities, from the live listing feed.
Buying in Southeast Edmonton: What Your Money Reaches
What homes cost in Southeast Edmonton right now: median payment, housing mix, price per square foot and the busiest communities, from the live listing feed.
Buying in Southwest Edmonton: What Your Money Reaches
What homes cost in Southwest Edmonton right now: median payment, housing mix, price per square foot and the busiest communities, from the live listing feed.
Buying in West Edmonton: What Your Money Reaches
What homes cost in West Edmonton right now: median payment, housing mix, price per square foot and the busiest communities, from the live listing feed.
Condo, Townhouse, Duplex or Detached: Which First Home Is Right?
Comparing Edmonton's property types on total monthly cost, fees, maintenance and resale — with current median payments from the live listing feed.
How to Search for a Home in Edmonton Without Wasting Six Months
Turning a budget into a shortlist: why every filter shrinks the pool faster than expected, how many homes to view, and what photographs never show.
How to Make an Offer on a House in Edmonton
Price, deposit, conditions and dates — what each part of an Alberta purchase contract does, which conditions protect you, and what to confirm before signing.
Offer Accepted: What Happens Between Here and Possession Day
Removing conditions, the lender's final checks, your lawyer's role, and the closing costs to have ready, including why Alberta's are lower than most.
Buying an Edmonton Home With a Basement Suite
Legal versus non-conforming suites, how lenders treat the rental income, and what to settle before you rely on a tenant to afford the house.
What to Check When Buying an Older Edmonton Home
Aluminum wiring, poly-B plumbing, asbestos-era materials and the other era-specific questions worth asking — and why insurance is the practical constraint.
Closing Costs in Alberta: The Complete List
Every cost between accepted offer and possession in Alberta: registration fees calculated exactly, plus legal fees, inspection, adjustments and insurance.
Condo Fees in Edmonton: What They Cover and What's Reasonable
What an Edmonton condo fee actually buys, why a low fee is often the expensive option, and the documents that show whether a building saves enough.
Buying Near the LRT in Edmonton
What homes near the LRT actually cost in Edmonton, why the lower median reflects housing mix rather than a discount, and how to test the access.
Edmonton Property Taxes Explained
How an Edmonton assessment becomes a tax bill, why a rising assessment does not always mean a rising bill, and how to budget for it as a first-time owner.
FHSA or the Home Buyers' Plan: Which Should You Use First?
Two federal first-home programs that work together: what each does, why the FHSA usually comes first, and the deadlines that catch savers out.
What Income Do You Need to Buy a Home in Edmonton?
Working back from lender ratios to the household income each Edmonton price band needs, at the stress-test rate, with the costs calculators omit.
The Most Affordable Edmonton Neighbourhoods for First-Time Buyers
Where Edmonton's lowest median monthly payments are, ranked from the live listing feed and limited to communities with enough listings to mean something.
New Build or Resale in Edmonton: Which Is the Better First Home?
What each construction era costs in Edmonton, why the oldest homes aren't the cheapest, and the costs (GST, warranty, landscaping) only one option carries.
Rent or Buy in Edmonton: At What Rent Does Buying Make Sense?
The monthly comparison done honestly: what ownership adds beyond the mortgage, why time horizon decides it, and what each payment level buys in Edmonton.
What $1,500 a Month Actually Buys in Edmonton
One budget across every Edmonton property type: the purchase price $1,500 a month supports, how much of each market it reaches, and what it leaves out.
Are You Ready to Buy a Home in Edmonton? A Renter's Checklist
A practical readiness check for Edmonton renters: the savings, credit, income stability and full monthly cost to have in place before you start shopping.
How Much Home Can You Afford in Edmonton Based on Your Rent?
Turn your Edmonton rent into a realistic home price: what to subtract for ownership costs, how lenders calculate your maximum, and what each budget reaches.
How to Save for a Down Payment in Canada Using an FHSA, RRSP and Other Programs
How much you need, and which account to fill first: the FHSA and Home Buyers' Plan compared, plus the Alberta closing costs most national guides get wrong.
How to Get Pre-Approved for a Mortgage in Edmonton — and What Not to Do Next
What pre-approval involves, what documents to bring, and the common moves between approval and possession that can quietly undo it.
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