How to score cashback when buying a house in the GTA

Tapas Kolte and Diksha Khosla thought they’d live in their Toronto condo for years to come. The two-bedroom-plus-den unit they purchased in the summer of 2021 was approximately 1,000 square feet, providing more than enough space for two people and occasional guests. Located in the heart of St. Lawrence Market, it was close to work and offered the urban lifestyle the couple wanted. But then, everything changed. “We adopted a dog and, shortly thereafter, decided to have a baby,” says Tapas. “Suddenly, the condo seemed too cramped.”

Last fall, they began house hunting and came across an ad for Wahi. The digital real estate platform offers homebuyers cashback on purchases and puts a host of tech tools at their fingertips. “I liked the business model, offering a technology platform, and on top of that they’d give you cashback,” says Tapas. “The cashback was the number-one hook for us.”

Using Wahi, the Toronto-area couple was able to find a home that ticked all the boxes, and they earned thousands in return. Here’s how Tapas and Diksha did it.

The call

In early January, the couple booked an online video consultation with a Wahi realtor. They learned how Wahi’s digital business model allows the brokerage to operate more efficiently and puts up to one per cent of a home’s sale price back in the buyers’ pockets.

Tapas and Diksha also got to know more about their potential realtor. “We felt that she was quite knowledgeable,” says Diksha. “One other thing I liked about her is that she said she’d go the extra mile in answering our questions or helping us.” The realtor, she adds, lived up to her word.

The hunt

In mid-January, the couple was ready to view properties with Wahi. “Right off the bat, we started to schedule our appointments,” says Tapas. With a budget of about $1.4 million, Tapas and Diksha were in the market for a house big enough for their growing family. It also had to be on the GO train line for an easy commute, since both worked full-time in offices downtown. A finished basement with income potential was a key consideration, plus it was important for them to be in a good school district.

Right away, their Wahi realtor and the Wahi app helped to narrow their search. In Pickering, their money would go further than it would in Oakville or the Toronto Beaches neighbourhood—other top locations they considered.

Booking showings through the app was a breeze, which was fortunate as there would be many ahead. “I would say we saw 50 properties or so,” says Tapas, who explains there was a lot more bidding competition at the time. The app’s chat feature was especially useful for quickly getting more info about the scores of properties they’d see. “You drop a message and somebody from the team will promptly reach out to you, which is amazing,” says Diksha.

Meanwhile, Wahi’s home-value estimator helped them avoid unrealistically priced homes, and smart listing recommendations saved additional time. “You’re not wasting your time researching or looking at maps,” says Diksha.

The final offer

In March, the couple placed an offer on a four-bedroom detached home in Rosebank, a Pickering neighbourhood nestled between the Rouge Valley, Lake Ontario and Petticoat Creek, with easy access to the 401, which takes you downtown in 30 to 45 minutes.

The property had everything the couple wanted, including a two-car garage and a yard large enough for their dog and kid to play. However, having submitted numerous offers previously, they tried not to get too excited. The next day, while skiing on the slopes of Mount St. Louis Moonstone, Tapas and Diksha got the call: their offer had been accepted. “It was the best ski day of my life,” Tapas recalls.

And because they took advantage of the Wahi Cashback Program, the deal got even sweeter after closing when over $20,000 was deposited into their account. “The cashback really goes a long way,” says Tapas. “One way to look at it is that the cashback helped recover a substantial portion of our closing costs.”

While cashback had been the main draw, in the end, something else about Wahi stood out even more. “The cashback actually then turned out to be a secondary thing,” says Tapas. “We liked the no-pressure experience with Wahi, and the unbiased, independent advice we received from the Wahi team when submitting offers and conducting our due diligence.”