Hi Viva. Here’s a document you may want to read:
And this one: Dos and Don'ts: CCA for Rental Property Explained | 2022 TurboTax® Canada Tips
If this is your first home - and you are immediately renting it after purchase - you will NOT qualify for the First Time Home Buyers Plan where you can use any RRSPs towards the down-payment. You should also get pre-approved if you require a mortgage. One other thing - due to having a pre-existing disability - it’s unlikely the bank with give you life/disability insurance on the mortgage. There’s a lot of things to consider.
My question to you would also be - has the Disability Insurer guaranteed you that you are permanently disabled. If not and they believe at some point you may be able to work - there’s a good chance they will continue to pursue that avenue - especially depending on your age. I was approved for LTD beyond the 2 year mark and then after 6 months into my 3rd year they decided I was no longer permanently disabled and cut off my benefits. I fought back, was denied again and then had to hire a Disability Lawyer. After a year of pursuing legal action against the Disability Insurer my employer discontinued further benefits and terminated my employment due to a “Frustrated Contract”. As I had just turned 55 they then encouraged me to retire. I had no choice as we had been living for 18 months without my high income. Losing my employer also meant there was no hope of getting back on the LTD Benefit plan therefore I had to sue for Compensation. 6 months after retiring with my Employer the Disability Insurer settled. It was the most terrifying time of my life. I had been with my Employer for 36 years - the last 4 of those I was on Disability. I felt mistreated, was in deep debt, my once great credit rating was trashed and we were on the edge of losing our home. By the Grace of God we were able to keep the house and pay off our debt load after my retirement and getting the settlement.
I found that the Insurance Company was brutal the entire time and my health had greatly deteriorated due to their constant pursuit to get me back to work. Personally, there needs to be more laws regulating their actions - but that’s a whole other conversation.
My personal advice to you would be to ensure you set yourself up so that SHOULD the Disability Insurer cut off your benefits - you absolutely need to be prepared for that! Don’t get yourself in a position where you are fighting to not end up on the streets. Purchasing and renting a home will only pay the costs of the mortgage, utilities and upkeep. Should the home require any major repairs - roof, furnace, water heaters, etc. - you need to ensure you have the income to fix those for your Tenants. Also - PLEASE PLEASE I beg you to call all 3 (at least) of their former Landlords. I speak from experience! I purchased a really nice home - put $30,000 worth of repairs and upgrades into it - rented it to what I thought was a nice young family. I always got my rent on time - I would visit them now and again - everything seemed great. After 3 years we offered them the opportunity to purchase the home. We gave them another 2 years to come up with a downpayment and work with a bank to get pre-approved for the mortgage. However, they couldn’t purchase it at the end - I brought a Realtor in to inspect the home (we went with him) to give us a re-sale value. OMG - the house had been trashed! There were holes in walls & doors, the dog they had defectated on every available spot outdoors because they never picked it up! I have at least 100 photos of all the damage done. Brand new carpets were so badly soiled they had to be replaced. I was devastated. We also found legal paperwork they left behind that showed they had been arrested for abandoning their small children and were drug dealers. Could it have gotten any worse!
Anyway - that’s my personal advice. Ensure you have enough income in case you’re cut off of disability and have to hire a lawyer and should you decide to purchase a home and rent - make darn sure you call their references!! Homes are not much of an investment in my opinion only because our house prices have not increased since 2009. Again, I speak from personal experience. And even if they do - you’ll only reap the benefits upon the sale of the home. Again - my personal opinion.