An important first step in the home-buying process is being pre-approved for a mortgage. This affords you the luxury of knowing your purchasing power and the calm that you have inched closer to completing the mortgage application. You can be pre-approved in as little as an hour. As long as you have all of the documentation necessary for this endeavour and you have shopped around for the best rates, it is not a tiring ordeal. That said, if you are in the market for a new home and have already... [read more]

Is change needed in mortgage qualifications? Current tests require that a new borrower be able to afford a payment that is two percentage points above the actual contracted interest rate.   The federal governments regulations about residential mortgages have become unbalanced, and the rules are causing more harm than good.   One significant concern is about the mortgage stress test that are required by the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions... [read more]

The downpayment on a home can start as low as 5% of the purchase price.  Less than 20% downpayment must be insured which is an additional cost to the borrower.  Regardless of the downpayment amount, those funds are under the scrutiny of anti-money laundering laws. That could mean a lot of paper work for borrowers seeking a mortgage. Funds can be gifted or partially borrowed on credit, but that's a specific program that has its own process and requirements.  Most lenders do... [read more]

When you purchase a home, a down payment is typically applied to the purchase price, and the balance is to be paid off over your term of the mortgage. The loan you receive from a lender in order to pay for the house is called a mortgage.  Simply put, a mortgage is a legal and binding agreement between a lender and a borrower for a specific amount of money that must be paid back within a predefined amount of time. The mortgage is a secured loan in that the house you are buying is... [read more]

Debt helps determine the borrowers’ creditworthiness and commitment to their financial obligations. Understanding the different types of debt and how they affect mortgage approval helps potential homebuyers take the necessary steps to get higher chances of securing a mortgage. Moreover, recognizing the factors when evaluating a borrower’s debt-to-income ratio will help individuals meet the criteria before applying for a mortgage. 1. Credit Card High credit card debt... [read more]