One of the biggest differences between buying resale and buying pre-construction is how the deposit works. On a resale home, your deposit is a single lump sum paid on signing. On a pre-construction unit, it’s broken into scheduled installments — which changes how you should plan your cash flow.

Why Pre-Construction Deposits Are Structured Differently

Because you’re typically buying years before the building is complete, builders spread the deposit out over a series of payments rather than collecting it all up front. This gives buyers time to save between installments, but it also means your total deposit — often 15-20% of the purchase price on a typical condo, though this varies significantly by project and builder — is committed in stages rather than all at once.

A Typical Deposit Schedule

While every project sets its own schedule, a common pattern for condos is a portion due on signing, followed by further installments at set intervals over the following 6-18 months (for example, at 30, 90, 180 and 365 days after signing). Detached and townhome deposit structures are often simpler, sometimes with fewer, larger installments. Your Agreement of Purchase and Sale will spell out the exact schedule for your specific unit — never assume it matches a different project’s structure.

How Deposits Are Protected

In Ontario, new home deposits are subject to specific regulatory protections, and the rules and dollar limits around this have changed over the years as oversight shifted from Tarion to the Home Construction Regulatory Authority (HCRA). Because these protections and their limits are periodically updated, the exact current coverage should always be confirmed with your lawyer at the time you sign — not assumed from any general guide, including this one.

Deposit Structures Vary by Builder and Project

Don’t assume one project’s deposit structure applies to another — even two towers from the same builder can have different schedules depending on financing arrangements and construction timelines. This is one of the specific details we confirm for you before you register interest in a project.

How We Help

When you register with us, we walk you through the exact deposit schedule for any project you’re considering before you sign, so there are no surprises about what’s due and when.