Quick answers

Quick answers about the First-Time Buyer Starter Kit

What's inside, who it's for, and the questions most people ask before they put their email in.

What's inside the First-Time Buyer Starter Kit?

A 17-page guide covering the 90-day runway, pre-approval sequence, down-payment stacking (FHSA + HBP), Coquitlam and Tri-Cities neighbourhood primer, condo/townhome red flags, offer-writing playbook, closing-cost ledger, and the first-week-after-move checklist. Specific to the Coquitlam, Port Moody, and Port Coquitlam markets, not generic national advice.

Is the First-Time Buyer Starter Kit free?

Yes — fully free, no credit-card capture, no paywall. The only ask is your email so the kit delivers instantly and you receive the seven-email onboarding sequence over the following two weeks. You can unsubscribe at any point; the link works and there's no hard feelings.

Who should download the Starter Kit?

Anyone considering a first home purchase in Coquitlam, Port Moody, or Port Coquitlam within the next 6–18 months. It's particularly useful if you're 3–9 months from writing an offer — far enough out that pre-approval paperwork can be prepared properly, close enough that the neighbourhood content is immediately actionable.

What's the biggest mistake first-time buyers make in Coquitlam?

Getting pre-approved too late — usually the weekend after they find a home they love, rather than six months earlier. A rushed pre-approval is often 5–15% lower than an underwritten one, and rate-hold windows are the difference between a workable purchase and a collapsed offer. Pre-approval is step one, not step five.

When should I start the home-buying process in Coquitlam?

Open an FHSA the day you decide you're buying in Canada. Pre-approve 6 months before you plan to write an offer. Interview REALTORs 3 months before. Shop seriously 1–3 months out. The actual offer and closing stage takes 30–60 days. Total runway from decision to keys-in-hand is usually 9–18 months.

How much does the kit cost?

Zero dollars. The kit is the start of a relationship. If it helps you — great, use it. If it leads to a strategy call and I'm the right agent for you, even better. If it doesn't fit, you keep the kit and go your own way. No strings.

Sources referenced on this page include the Real Estate Board of Greater Vancouver, BCREA, CMHC, the Government of British Columbia, School District 43, and the City of Coquitlam. Last reviewed 2026-04-20.

FREE DOWNLOAD — 17 pages

Craig Johnston · Top 2% Nationwide Team · Coquitlam

The First-Time Buyer Starter Kit — Coquitlam & Tri-Cities

Updated April 22, 2026 · Craig Johnston, REALTOR® · The Macnabs

A 17-page honest primer on buying your first home in Coquitlam, Port Moody, or Port Coquitlam. Written by a local REALTOR who has walked dozens of first-time buyers through the full process and wants to save you the expensive mistakes.

Book the 20-minute Strategy Call → Get Your Home Evaluation 📞 604-202-6092

✓The actual carrying-cost math for a $700K condo, $1.1M townhome, and $1.8M detached — mortgage, tax, strata, insurance, utilities, maintenance reserve.
✓The BC Property Transfer Tax exemption rules (partial up to $870K, full below $835K) plus FHSA and Home Buyers' Plan stacking to maximize your down payment.
✓The stress-test math explained plainly — what $800K, $1.2M, and $1.5M actually buys when qualified at the higher of contract-plus-2% or 5.25%.
✓The 12 red-flag checklist I run before removing subjects on any Coquitlam property — unpermitted suites, poly-B plumbing, strata CRF, oil-tank history.

No sales calls. No drip of 30 emails. One download, one monthly market update, unsubscribe any time.

Get the First-Time Buyer Starter Kit

Where should I send it?

Enter your email and I'll send the PDF directly. You'll also get my monthly Coquitlam market update — the same one REALTORS in my office read first.

What's inside

Every page in the First-Time Buyer Starter Kit — built from real Coquitlam deals

No filler, no generic advice you've read ten times. Every section pulls from the conversations I have with clients in my office each week.

The 90-day buyer runway

Week-by-week planning from the decision to buy through completion day. What to do when.

Pre-approval to rate hold

The full sequence — what documents you need, which lenders work best for first-time Coquitlam files, how long your rate stays held.

Down-payment stacking

FHSA + HBP + savings + gift letter logic, plus the partial PTT exemption math for purchases under $870K.

Neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood primer

Burquitlam, Coquitlam Centre, Maillardville, West Coquitlam, Eagle Ridge — price bands, lifestyle fit, SkyTrain access, catchment notes.

The 12 red flags

Every item I check before offering on a first home — poly-B, oil tank, depreciation report, CRF ratio, unpermitted additions, roof age, grow-op.

The offer-writing primer

Subjects, subject-removal math, how to write a clean offer that still protects you in a multi-offer scenario.

Closing-cost stack

Legal, PTT, inspection, appraisal, GST (new construction only), title insurance, first-year insurance premium — the full number.

Week 1 after you move in

Utility transfers, insurance activation, strata bylaw review, the ten things a first-year owner forgets until they're a problem.

What happens after you sign up

No pressure, no spam, no surprise calls

Here's exactly what lands in your inbox over the next week — and what doesn't.

Minute 1 — you get the PDF

A confirmation email arrives within a minute with a direct download link. The PDF is yours, no strings attached.

Day 3 — one short follow-up

A brief email asking if anything in the guide raised a question. Reply if it did. Ignore it if it didn't. That's the entire sequence.

First of each month — Coquitlam market update

Current inventory, pricing by neighbourhood, DOM trends, and one commentary note on what it means if you're buying your first home. Unsubscribe with one click, any time.

✗

What you will not get

No phone calls unless you ask. No 30-day drip with urgency tactics. No list-rental or shared-with-partners. No "are you ready to buy?" emails every week. This is a signup, not a sales funnel.

About the author

Craig Johnston, REALTOR® — The Macnabs

I've been in the Tri-Cities since 1982 and on Burke Mountain for the last nine years. I built this guide the way I'd build a briefing for a close friend — honest numbers, genuine trade-offs, and specific streets and buildings named where naming them mattered. You don't get that from templated PDFs.

If the guide answers your questions, great. If it raises new ones, my contact details are on the last page and you're welcome to email or text. I reply personally within a business day — no assistant, no call centre.

How I actually work with you

A five-step process built around clarity, strategy, and no-surprise execution — whether you're buying your first home or moving up.

01

Evaluate — where you actually stand

We start with a real conversation about your goals, timeline, and numbers. I'll pull current comps, assess your buying power or home's true market value, and tell you exactly what the data says — not what you want to hear.
02

Strategize — a plan built for your situation

I build a written strategy around your priorities: target neighbourhoods, pricing strategy, timeline, financing structure, and the trade-offs at each decision point. Every recommendation comes with a reason.
03

Prepare — listings, offers, and due diligence

For sellers: pre-list prep, staging direction, pro photography, and a pricing framework that draws interest without leaving money on the table. For buyers: offer structure, subject clauses, and the due-diligence checklist for every property that matters.
04

Negotiate — protecting your position

This is where experience pays for itself. I negotiate price, terms, subjects, deposit, completion dates, and the small details that don't show up in listings but decide whether a deal closes well or falls apart.
05

Close — and stay with you after

From subject removal through completion and possession, I coordinate with lawyers, lenders, inspectors, and trades so nothing drops. After closing, I stay in your corner for everything from tax-assessment appeals to the next move.

Book a Strategy Call →

Frequently asked

Questions about the First-Time Buyer Starter Kit

Do I really get the PDF instantly? +

Yes. A confirmation email with the direct download link arrives within about one minute of you submitting the form. If it doesn't, check your spam folder (look for mail from craig@themacnabs.com) and reply to any of my emails to have me send it manually.

Is this actually free, or is there a catch? +

Actually free. The only thing you get beyond the PDF is my monthly market update email, which you can unsubscribe from with one click. I don't sell lists, I don't share emails with partners, and I don't call unless you ask me to. My business model is relationships over time, not pressure selling.

What if I'm not a first-time buyer — just haven't bought in Coquitlam before? +

Most of the kit still applies. The financing sections, neighbourhood primers, red-flag checklist, and closing-cost stack all transfer. If you're specifically upsizing with an existing home to sell, the Move-Up Planner is the better fit — I link to it at the back of this kit.

Is the information accurate for 2026? +

Yes — I last updated the kit in April 2026 with current mortgage stress-test rates, updated PTT exemption thresholds (raised to $835K / $870K in the 2024 BC budget), and current Coquitlam market data. I refresh the kit every six months.

Who this is for

Three kinds of people get the most out of this page.

Tri-Cities first-time buyers under $1.2M

You've saved, you've qualified, you're ready — but every neighbourhood gives you different advice. Craig gives you one, based on where your money actually goes the furthest.

Couples + young families starting out

You're buying for the next 5-10 years, not just right now. Craig's targeting framework keeps resale in mind from day one.

Solo buyers / new-to-Canada buyers

You don't have a family playbook or a realtor uncle. Craig steps you through it without the assumption that you've done this before.

The five-step protocol

Every Craig file runs on the same five steps. No exceptions, no improvisation.

Whether you're a first-time buyer at $850K or a luxury seller at $4.2M, the sequence is identical. The scale changes. The discipline doesn't.

Frame the file

Your numbers, your timeline, your non-negotiables, your trade-offs — written down before we pick any houses or pick any comps.

Run the market

Current supply, current absorption, current days-on-market, current buyer pool — per neighbourhood, per property type, not 'Metro Vancouver' averages.

Lock the strategy

Target neighbourhoods, target price band, target timeline, target offer structure. Written. Agreed.

Execute on offer / list

Whether buying or selling, the offer / listing is engineered — structure, contingencies, comps, pricing logic — not improvised.

Close + follow-through

Conditions, completion, possession, and the six-month check-in. Most agents stop at keys. Craig doesn't.

Answers Craig gives

The three questions people ask Craig most on this topic.

How much can I afford in Coquitlam right now?

Rule of thumb: 4-5x combined household income for detached, 3.5-4.5x for townhome/condo, depending on down payment. But 'afford' and 'carry comfortably' are different numbers. Craig runs both.

Should I buy a townhome or a detached first?

If you'll be there 3+ years, townhome is often the right entry. If you're holding 5-7+ years and can stretch, detached wins on appreciation. Craig runs the hold-period math with you.

Do I need a buyer's agent as a first-time buyer?

Yes. The listing agent works for the seller, not you. A good buyer's agent costs the seller, not you, and saves first-timers 3-5% on average through better offer structure alone.

Data, Sources & Methodology

How this guide is built — and where the numbers come from

Every benchmark price, sales ratio, and market signal on this page is drawn from named, publicly-verifiable sources refreshed monthly. I write from a licensed B.C. REALTOR®'s vantage point (license V99960) and tie claims to the reports real buyers, sellers, and appraisers actually rely on.

Pricing & sales data

Greater Vancouver REALTORS® (GVR) — Monthly MLS® HPI benchmark prices, sales volume, days on market, and list-to-sale ratios for Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, and Anmore.

Demographics & households

Statistics Canada 2021 Census plus BC Stats projections — population, household composition, median household income, and tenure splits for every Tri-Cities neighbourhood.

Taxes, thresholds & grants

BC Ministry of Finance and Canada Revenue Agency — current Property Transfer Tax exemption thresholds, GST/HST rules on new homes, BC Home Owner Grant amounts, and first-time home buyer programs.

Mortgage & financing

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) and Bank of Canada — stress-test qualifying rate, posted mortgage rates, insured vs uninsured lending rules, and rental market data for the Vancouver CMA.

Schools & catchments

SD43 Coquitlam catchment maps plus Fraser Institute annual school report card rankings — used for every school-linked neighbourhood claim.

Property records & assessment

BC Assessment and BC Land Title & Survey Authority — assessed values, property-type classifications, title registry data, and historical ownership records.

Methodology & refresh cadence

This page is reviewed monthly. Benchmark pricing reflects the most recent GVR HPI release. Census figures are the 2021 Statistics Canada release with BC Stats growth projections. Tax thresholds are current as of the 2026 BC Budget and federal rules in effect at time of publication.

Last reviewed: April 22, 2026 · Written and signed by Craig Johnston, licensed REALTOR® V99960, The Macnabs · Royal LePage Elite West.