The best place to begin is to find out how much you could afford to borrow. The amount you qualify for depends on how much you earn, have saved for a downpayment and your outgoing expenses. It's always good to know how much is in your wallet before you go to the grocery store, shopping for a mortgage is no different!

While the rules (i.e. stress test) have made it more difficult to qualify in recent years, there is still some hope. We take our time to get "creative", utilizing the varying underwriting guidelines of the over 50 lenders we have access to as your broker. 

Short answer - Yes. 

As your broker, we already work with the banks, and we'll include them in your lender comparison report. 

Since your bank can only offer single product solutions, they are only serving their own best interests. Meaning they won't educate you on alternative options, which might better suit your needs. We, on the other hand, can offer you a wide variety of solutions. 

They also can have slow turn around times and have low staff training, the same staff who get paid regardless of whether they provide accurate information. They typically come with clunky, manual processes so you can count on doing the heavy lifting. 

Modern brokers like us, on the other hand, offer a quick and convenient online experience. All while spending as much time as you need to help you understand the lending guideline landscape. 

Minimum down payment for your first (or fiftieth) home purchase is 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% on anything above that. There is a common misconception that after first home, the down payment is 20% - it is not. 

Down payments can consist of your savings, RRSP's of up to $35,000 per applicant (first-time homebuyers only or if you've recently separated), gifted down payment, inheritance, and to clarify, can still even be borrowed (example from a line of credit or a loan).

A deposit is a sum of money, showing good faith to the Seller as intent to move forward with your accepted purchase and sale agreement. The deposit is typically held in trust by the Buyers Agent’s real estate office In Trust. 

The deposit can be and generally is part of the down payment, so if down payment total is $50,000 and you've given a $25,000 deposit that counts towards the total (i.e. not in addition to).  

For most geographic regions, deposits vary and are negotiable with the Sellers. On a typical residential home purchase you can expect the deposit to be approximately 10% of the Purchase Price. 

Click any of the "get started" buttons on our website. It's that easy! The first step is simple information gathering, taking you mere minutes to complete. Based on this information there will be supporting documentation required in order to move to the next step. We’ve built systems to do as much of this work for you as we can. 

From there, our team will get to work immediately, to underwrite and provide your pre-approval within 48 business hours. Using our proprietary software, we'll also create your custom lender comparison report outlining the top 5 lender options for your review. 

Your report includes a qualification verification area. It allows you to enter quickly; subject property purchase price, down payment amount and property taxes and condo fees if applicable.  You can also confirm your approval. 

You may have noticed you haven't left your couch yet, and there's a reason why. Us humans can only retain 20% of the information gathered in an hour-long meeting. To make things as productive for you as possible, we'll create a personalized reference video walking you through your pre-approval. You'll also learn about the resources provided and your next steps up to and after your first home purchase (i.e. you can have the other 80% and eat it too).

When you find the house you want to make a home, you'll work with your Realtor to submit your offer to the sellers. With your pre-approval and qualification report in hand, you'll be able to shop with confidence. 

We'll be working alongside you and your realtor to make sure you have the conditions in place to protect you, but not over conditioning to ensure you are competitive in the offer. 

By providing all supporting documents in the pre-approval process, our clients enjoy the ability to waive the condition of financing in a timely manner, making their offers more favorable in comparison.

We will outline your unique closing costs in your lender comparison and qualification report. 

These may include: 

Property Transfer Tax 

As a first-time homebuyer, you'll enjoy a Property Transfer Tax exemption when buying a home under $500,000. Or if you’re buying a brand new home that qualifies, you’ll be exempt from PTT if the home is less than $750,000. Otherwise, PTT is 1% of the first $200,000 of Purchase Price and 2% of the remainder of the price up to $2,000,000. If buying above $2,000,000 there is an additional increase. 

Land Transfer Tax

As a first time homebuyer, you'll enjoy up to a $4,000 land transfer tax credit applied against the total on closing. 

Solicitor Fees

These fees will vary from lawyer to lawyer, budget for $2,000 to be conservative. 

Home Inspection

$300 - 600. Now is not the time to shop for the cheapest. Paying $300 more may save you over $20,000 by identifying potential issues with the home. The quality and complexity of the tools available to your home inspector will be a direct by-product of the fees they charge. These tools include thermal imaging equipment, moisture meters and the time amount of time they can spend with you. 

Provincial Sales Tax

PST on the mortgage default insurance premium (most commonly known as CMHC)

7%, if less than 20% down payment.

Solicitor Fees

These fees will vary from lawyer to lawyer, budget for $2,000 to be conservative. 

Home Inspection

$300 - 600. Now is not the time to shop for the cheapest. Paying $300 more may save you over $20,000 by identifying potential issues with the home. The quality and complexity of the tools available to your home inspector will be a direct by-product of the fees they charge. These tools include thermal imaging equipment, moisture meters and the time amount of time they can spend with you. 

Appraisal (if applicable)

$300-500. You'll only potentially need this if you're putting 20% down or more. We'll be seeking approval with an online valuation first at a lower cost of $99. This online valuation is generally accepted; however, if not, a full appraisal is required. Some lenders will offer to cover these costs, and we'll outline the ones that do in your lender comparison report. However, these typically come with higher interest rates, costing you more than the savings of the appraisal.

Short answer - No. 

We can have the structure set up on titles such that parents are registered as merely 1% owners and yourself as 99%, allowing you access to 99% of your first-time homebuyer tax credit. 

No. Even if your name is not on the title of the mortgage or property, you are no longer considered a first-time home-buyer, as you are occupying a matrimonial home.

As long as you aren't changing any material pieces of your application, you will still qualify for the amount as the pre-approval that was issued.  I.e. you haven't changed your job or downpayment, applied for any loans or increased your credit liabilities ongoing,  

If making any changes to the above, please notify your broker immediately.  

When your pre-approval is issued, a rate hold will be put in place with one of our lenders on your behalf. This rate will be held for a maximum of up to 120 days depending on the lender. Your broker should be reviewing and renewing this rate hold on your behalf before the end of this period. 

You are considered a first-time homebuyer if you did not occupy a home that you or your current spouse or common-law partner owned, in the four year period.

Each applicant can withdraw up to $35,000 from their RRSP's (if a group or company RRSP, ensure you contact the group policy owner to confirm eligibility). These funds can be used for any part of the home-buying costs, including and not limited to land transfer tax, legal fees, home furnishings etc. Meaning they don't need to be used for downpayment specifically. 

Your RRSP contributions must stay in the RRSP for at least 90 days before you can withdraw them under the HBP. If this is not the case, the contributions may not be deductible for any year. 

You can also withdraw from your RRSP up to 30 days after your home purchase (closing). However, there can only be one withdrawal, whether before or after.