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Free Coquitlam buyer's checklist · 2026

The Coquitlam Buyer's Checklist 2026 — print-ready PDF.

Everything you need to verify before writing an offer on a Coquitlam home in 2026. Use the print button below to save as PDF, or print directly. Updated for September 2026 GVR® market conditions.

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5.0 across 36+ Google reviews Top 1% Team — Greater Vancouver REALTORS®, 2023–2025 47+ years in the Tri-Cities

Quick Answer

What should I check before writing an offer on a Coquitlam home?

Before writing an offer anywhere in Coquitlam, Port Moody or Port Coquitlam, confirm a current pre-approval and a cash reserve for property transfer tax and legal fees, verify the address's SD43 catchment and your real commute, review strata documents and an inspection, and price from recent comparable sales. Once your offer is accepted, BC's three-business-day rescission period applies, with a 0.25% fee to cancel.

Craig Johnston, REALTOR® · soldbycraig.ca · Updated October 2026

The Coquitlam Buyer's Checklist 2026 — print-ready PDF.

Everything you need to verify before writing an offer on a Coquitlam home in 2026. Use the print button below to save as PDF, or print directly. Updated for September 2026 GVR® market conditions.

Before you start shopping

Mortgage pre-approval — completed with a major lender or mortgage broker, with the BC stress test math applied. Pre-approval letter dated within last 90 days.
Budget defined — target purchase price, maximum stretch price, minimum down payment, closing-cost reserve (property transfer tax is 1% on the first $200,000 and 2% up to $2,000,000 — $18,000 on a $1,000,000 home — plus legal fees with GST and PST, and adjustments; qualifying first-time buyers may pay less).
Timeline clarity — your move-in window, any deadlines tied to existing lease or sale, school-year considerations if applicable.
Realtor selected — interviewed at least one buyer's agent. Confirmed they specialize in your target neighbourhood, not just the broader Tri-Cities.

Verifying the right neighbourhood

SkyTrain commute tested — actually rode the Evergreen Line from the target station at your peak commute time. Four SkyTrain stations are in Coquitlam: Burquitlam, Coquitlam Central, Lincoln and Lafarge Lake–Douglas (Port Moody has Moody Centre and Inlet Centre; West Coast Express also stops at Coquitlam Central).
School catchment verified — verified your specific target address through SD43's online catchment lookup. NOT just listing claim.
Sub-neighbourhood character matches — visited the area at 4pm on a weekday + Saturday morning + Sunday evening. Driven the streets, not just the listed home.
Amenity inventory — confirmed walking distance to your daily needs (grocery, transit, schools, parks). Drive-time tested to your workplace.

Verifying the specific property

Property type confirmed — detached vs townhome vs condo decision finalized based on lifestyle priorities, not just price.
Strata documents reviewed (if strata) — depreciation report, recent minutes, financial statements, bylaws + rules, Form B. Look for any pending special assessments.
Pre-listing inspection report reviewed if seller provided one. If not provided, your own inspection is non-negotiable on any 5+ year old home.
Comps verified independently — recent sales in your block radius within last 90 days. Don't rely solely on HouseSigma or listing agent's claims.

Writing the offer

Offer price strategy — anchored to recent comparable sales in the same pocket, not the seller's list price. Decide your walk-away number before you write.
Subject conditions list — financing approval, home inspection, title review, strata documents review (if applicable). The subject period is negotiated in each contract. Separately, BC's Home Buyer Rescission Period lets you cancel in writing within three business days of acceptance for a fee of 0.25% of the price.
Deposit amount — typically 3-5% of purchase price, usually held in a real estate brokerage's trust account as a neutral stakeholder and applied to the price on completion.
Closing date — aligned with your move-in plan, your mortgage rate hold expiry, and the seller's needs. 30-90 days standard.

After offer accepted, before completion

Final mortgage approval from your lender — they may require additional documents (T4s, employment letter, bank statements). Allow 5-10 business days.
Home inspection complete — review the report carefully. Negotiate any major issues with the seller before subject removal.
Title insurance + lawyer selected — your lawyer reviews title, prepares closing documents, coordinates with seller's lawyer + mortgage lender.
Insurance bound — home insurance policy active starting from closing date. Lender will require proof.
Utility transfers scheduled — BC Hydro, FortisBC and your internet/phone provider — schedule for your possession date. City water, sewer and garbage fees are billed to the property once a year and adjusted on your statement of adjustments; just confirm the City has your mailing address.

Closing + move-in

Final walkthrough — 24-48 hours before closing, verify property is in same condition as when you wrote your offer. Note any new damage.
Closing funds wired — your lawyer or notary sends the purchase funds (your down payment plus the mortgage advance) to the seller's lawyer and registers the transfer at the Land Title Office, paying property transfer tax with it.
Keys received — usually handed over on the possession date in your contract — in BC that's typically one to three days after completion, not completion day itself.
Move-in coordinated — moving company booked, utilities scheduled, address change submitted to government + banks + employers.

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Craig Johnston, REALTOR® · 604-202-6092 · Craig@SoldByCraig.ca

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© 2026 Craig Johnston, REALTOR® V99960 · Royal LePage Elite West
This checklist is general information, not legal/tax/financial advice. Work with your own lawyer, accountant, and mortgage professional. Market conditions change; information current as of October 2026.

By the numbers
The BC rules behind each stage of this checklist
Checklist stageWhat appliesSet by
Writing the offerSubject clauses (financing, inspection, title, strata documents) and their deadlines are negotiated in your contractYou and the seller
Offer acceptedHome Buyer Rescission Period: up to 3 business days to cancel by written notice; fee of 0.25% of the priceProvincial law (BCFSA)
Deposit paidHeld by the brokerage in trust as a neutral stakeholder; if the deal collapses on subjects, release needs both parties' signaturesProvincial law (BCFSA)
CompletionTitle transfers and property transfer tax is paid on registration; risk passes to you at 12:01 a.m. on the completion dateProvince and standard contract
PossessionKeys usually 1–3 days after completion; the home must be in substantially the same condition as when you viewed itStandard contract
First July as owner2026 property taxes were due July 2 in Coquitlam, Port Moody and Port CoquitlamYour city

Sources: BCFSA (Home Buyer Rescission Period; deposits; completing your purchase); gov.bc.ca property transfer tax; BCREA Legally Speaking on the standard Contract of Purchase and Sale; City of Coquitlam, City of Port Moody and City of Port Coquitlam 2026 property-tax notices.

Across the Tri-Cities

Using this checklist across the Tri-Cities

The paperwork is the same in every Tri-Cities community; the neighbourhood checks aren't. Here's what changes on the "Verifying the right neighbourhood" and "After offer accepted" sections depending on where you're buying. Benchmarks are September 2026 Greater Vancouver REALTORS® figures.

Coquitlam

Four SkyTrain stations — Burquitlam, Coquitlam Central, Lincoln and Lafarge Lake–Douglas — plus West Coast Express at Coquitlam Central. Annual utility bill due March 31 (2026). Benchmarks: detached $1,584,400, townhouse $976,600, apartment $640,100. Coquitlam guide.

Port Moody

SkyTrain at Moody Centre and Inlet Centre, with West Coast Express also stopping at Moody Centre. 2026 utility fees were due February 27 — earlier than its neighbours. Benchmarks: detached $1,903,500, townhouse $940,900, apartment $676,200. Port Moody guide.

Port Coquitlam

No SkyTrain station; West Coast Express stops at Port Coquitlam on weekday peak trips only (westbound mornings, eastbound evenings), so test the commute you'll really use. Water and sewer billed annually, due March 31 (2026). Benchmarks: detached $1,240,600, townhouse $834,300, apartment $550,000. Port Coquitlam guide.

Anmore and Belcarra

Neither village has a rail station, so drive-test the route to work and to the nearest SkyTrain station. Both are in SD43, so the catchment check runs through the same district locator. Confirm how the specific lot is serviced before you remove subjects. Anmore's detached benchmark was $3,063,700.

Tip: choose "Save as PDF" in the print dialog destination dropdown to save a clean PDF copy.

Where BC's 3-day rescission period sits in this checklist

Since January 3, 2023, most resale purchases in BC come with a Home Buyer Rescission Period. After the seller accepts your offer, you have up to three business days — weekends and statutory holidays don't count — to cancel by giving the seller written notice. If you rescind, you pay a fee of 0.25% of the purchase price, which is $2,500 on a $1,000,000 offer. It applies to detached homes, townhouses, duplexes, strata lots, manufactured homes on land and co-op interests. It does not apply to leasehold properties, homes on leased land, auctions or court-ordered sales, so check before you write on a court-ordered sale or a leasehold condo.

On this checklist, the rescission period falls between "Writing the offer" and "After offer accepted". I use those three business days for the things that can move quickly: requesting the strata documents, booking the inspector and getting the lender started on the full file. It's a safety valve, not a substitute for subject clauses. Subjects for financing, inspection, title and strata documents run on their own timeline, written into your contract, and they give you a way out without the rescission fee if a condition isn't satisfied.

Your deposit follows its own rules. BCFSA explains that the brokerage holds it in trust as a neutral stakeholder and applies it to the price on completion. Outside a rescission, if a deal collapses the deposit isn't automatically returned: both buyer and seller must sign a release, and if they don't agree the brokerage can ask the BC Supreme Court to decide. That's one reason I like every subject to carry a clear written deadline.

Two practical notes. Written notice has to reach the seller before the period expires, so don't leave it to the last evening. And the clock counts business days, so an offer accepted on the Friday before a long weekend gives you more calendar time than one accepted on a Monday.

Budgeting the cash you'll need on completion day

Your down payment isn't the only cheque. Before you shop, build these into the checklist's closing-cost reserve:

  • Property transfer tax. BC charges 1% on the first $200,000 of fair market value, 2% from $200,000 to $2,000,000 and 3% above $2,000,000, plus a further 2% on the part of a residential property's value above $3,000,000. That's $18,000 on a $1,000,000 home and $53,000 on a $2,500,000 home, paid when your lawyer or notary registers the transfer. More detail: property transfer tax explained.
  • First-time buyer exemption. If you qualify, there's no tax on the first $500,000 for homes up to $835,000 — a saving of up to $8,000 — with a partial exemption up to $860,000. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and meet the BC residency test.
  • Legal or notary fees. Legal services in BC carry 7% PST as well as 5% GST, so ask for a quote that shows taxes and disbursements.
  • Property tax adjustment. Coquitlam, Port Moody and Port Coquitlam all set July 2 as the 2026 due date, and Coquitlam's bill covers the full calendar year. Complete before the seller has paid and you'll pay the year's bill yourself, with a credit from the seller for the days they owned the home; complete after they've paid and you reimburse them for the rest of the year.
  • Utility adjustment. City utility fees are billed annually — due March 31 in Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam and February 27 in Port Moody in 2026 — so a prepaid bill is usually adjusted the same way.

Your lawyer or notary pulls all of this together on the statement of adjustments, which shows exactly how much you need to bring to complete. Ask for it a few days ahead so the funds can be arranged without a rush. For a fuller breakdown, see the Coquitlam closing costs guide.

How I work

How I take buyers through this checklist, step by step

The checklist is the what; this is how I work through it with buyers in Coquitlam, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Anmore and Belcarra.

  1. Step 1

    Budget and pre-approval first

    Before we tour anything, I build your all-in number with you: down payment, a current pre-approval, property transfer tax at your target price, legal fees with GST and PST, and the adjustments. If you may qualify as a first-time buyer, we check the $835,000 threshold so you know where the full exemption stops.

  2. Step 2

    Check the address, not just the house

    For each serious contender I confirm the SD43 catchment through the district's own locator, map the walk or drive to your SkyTrain or West Coast Express station, and suggest visits at rush hour and on a weekend. On strata homes I request the Form B, bylaws, minutes and depreciation report early.

  3. Step 3

    Write the offer around real comparables

    I pull recent sold prices from the same pocket and property type, adjust for lot, age and updates, and help you set a walk-away number before we write. Subject clauses, deadlines, deposit timing and the completion and possession dates are then drafted around your financing, inspection and move.

  4. Step 4

    Manage the three days and the subjects

    Once your offer is accepted, I track the three-business-day rescission window and every subject deadline in writing, coordinate the licensed inspector, your lender and your lawyer or notary, and suggest viewing the home again before completion and at possession so any change in condition is raised early.

If you'd like to see how this has worked for other buyers, read my Tri-Cities case studies. Read the Tri-Cities case studies →

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FAQ

Buying in the Tri-Cities — your checklist questions, answered

Does this checklist work for buying in Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Anmore or Belcarra?

Yes. The legal steps are provincial, so they're the same anywhere in the Tri-Cities: the same property transfer tax rates, the same three-business-day Home Buyer Rescission Period and the same brokerage trust rules for your deposit. All five communities are served by SD43, so the catchment check works the same way. What changes is local: which SkyTrain or West Coast Express station you'd use, when the city's utility bill is due, and price levels. In September 2026 the detached benchmark was $1,584,400 in Coquitlam, $1,903,500 in Port Moody and $1,240,600 in Port Coquitlam.

How do I check that a home inspector is licensed in BC?

Look them up with Consumer Protection BC, which licenses home inspectors in British Columbia and lets you check a business's current licence status on its website. Do that before you book: the regulator has suspended inspectors' licences for failing to keep the required insurance in place. I'd also ask for a sample report, confirm the inspector can attend well inside your subject period, and plan to be there for the walk-through so you see any issues in person rather than only reading about them afterwards.

What should I do if the final walkthrough turns up new damage?

Photograph it and tell me and your lawyer or notary right away, before completion if possible. The standard BC Contract of Purchase and Sale says the property must be in substantially the same condition on the possession date as when you viewed it, and risk passes to you at 12:01 a.m. on the completion date. That's why I suggest having insurance in place from completion and viewing the home again at possession. How new damage is resolved is between the parties and their lawyers, so put everything in writing and don't agree to anything verbally.

Why does the checklist say to visit a neighbourhood at different times of day?

Because a mid-afternoon showing tells you very little about morning school traffic, evening parking or how busy the street is on a Saturday. In the Tri-Cities that can matter: streets near SkyTrain stations such as Burquitlam, Lincoln or Inlet Centre, blocks near a secondary school, and the hillside routes up to Burke Mountain or Westwood Plateau can all feel different through the day. I suggest one weekday rush-hour visit, one weekend visit and one evening drive-by before you remove subjects. It costs nothing, and it's the only way to see the street you'll actually live on.

How recent should comparable sales be when I'm deciding what to offer?

As recent as you can get, from the same pocket and the same property type, because values move. In September 2026, Coquitlam's detached benchmark changed −0.9% in a single month and −6.6% year over year, so a sale from last spring can mislead you. I weigh sold prices over list prices, adjust for lot, age and updates, and look at days on market, which was 50 for Coquitlam detached homes that month. If recent comparables are thin, I widen the area before I widen the date range.

Do I need to set up City of Coquitlam water and garbage service in my name?

Not the way you do with BC Hydro or FortisBC. Coquitlam bills water, sewer, garbage and green-waste collection to the property once a year, separately from property taxes; the 2026 bill covered January 1 to December 31 and was due March 31. Any share the seller has prepaid is normally adjusted on the statement of adjustments your lawyer or notary prepares. Port Coquitlam also bills water and sewer annually (due March 31 in 2026), while Port Moody's 2026 utility fees were due February 27. Confirm the City has your mailing address so next year's bill reaches you.

Verified Google reviews

What clients say.

5.0 stars across 36+ verified Google reviews. Three from recent clients below.

★★★★★
“We had a fantastic experience working with Craig on the purchase of our first home in Coquitlam. He was incredibly friendly and responsive, always quick to answer our messages and questions. Throughout the process, he took the time to walk us through each step so my partner and I always knew exactly what was going on and what to expect next. Craig also gave us honest, helpful opinions on properties we were considering, which really helped guide us toward a place we love. On top of that, he connected us with a great broker and lawyer, making the whole process feel seamless. We're so happy in our new home and couldn't have done it without him. Highly recommend Craig to anyone buying a home!”
Rohit & Georgie
First-Time Buyers · July 2026 · Google Review
★★★★★
“His creativity, top-notch communication skills, and a solid plan were instrumental in selling high and buying low. His foresight in negotiation, predicting outcomes before they happened, truly set him apart. He's also humble and very respectful.”
Sue H.
Sold + Bought · Google Review
★★★★★
“Throughout our journey, Craig demonstrated immense patience and understanding. He went out of his way to provide extra resources and various options to consider on both the buy and sell side.”
Justin J.
Buyer + Seller · Google Review

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