By Chris Cabel – Dominion Lending Centres – AMP

It is a reoccurring but common misconception that you will qualify for a mortgage in the future because you have qualified for a mortgage in the past.

This is not accurate!

Do. Not. Assume. Anything.

Even if your financial situation has remained the same or has improved, securing mortgage financing is more difficult now than it has in recent years.
The latest changes to mortgage qualification by the federal government has left Canadians qualifying 20-25% less. On top of that, guidelines that lenders would use in determining your suitability have been replaced with non-negotiable rules and declarations.

As mortgage professionals, we keep up to date with the latest trends going on in the mortgage world by understanding lender products and staying attentive to evolving changes.

From experience, we can tell you that having a plan is crucial to a successful mortgage application. Making assumptions about your qualification or just “winging it” is a recipe for disaster. Here are a few points on why a mortgage broker is a must for the first time home-buyer.

1. We have access to over 40 different lenders, not just one
2. We work for you, not for the lender
3. We will guide you through the application process
4. We save you valuable time by shopping for you
5. We pull your credit once — if you go to multiple banks, you will have multiple credit pulls

If you are thinking about buying a property, please feel free to contact me and I can help you devise a full-proof plan!

By Geoff Lee – Dominion Lending Centres, AMP

On March 19, the Federal Government announced the official 2019 budget. One major topic on the discussion table (and one we were all holding our breath for) was the discussion of affordable housing in Canada. So just what happened on “Budget Day?” Here are the highlights of the 2019 Federal Budget:

MORTGAGE INDUSTRY RELATED:

CMHC First Time Home Buyers Incentive Plan

-This would give first time home buyers the ability to share the cost of buying a home with CMHC
-For existing homes – the incentive would provide up to 5% (funding/equity sharing) of the PURCHASE PRICE
-For newly constructed homes the incentive would provide up to 10% (funding/equity sharing) of the PURCHASE PRICE
-Funding/Equity sharing means that CMHC would cover a percentage of the purchase price

Example:

• 400K purchase price, 5% down payment (20K), AND 5% CHMC shared equity mortgage (20K), the size of the insured mortgage would be reduced from 380K down to 360K, which would lower the monthly payment amount for the first time home buyer

To qualify for the program:

• 120K max household income
• Cannot borrow more than 4x their annual household income – making max purchase price approx. 505K
• 100k household income would mean max 400K mortgage in order to use this program.

HOME BUYERS PLAN RRSP INCREASE

An increase of the previous $25,000 for RRSP withdrawal amount through the Home Buyers Plan to $35,000
These were the only two key changes that came out of the Federal Budget (so far). It provides minimal assistance for First Time Home Buyers, especially in a market like Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, who have home prices well above the 505k purchase price limit. However, it could provide assistance to those looking to purchase condos or townhomes ore in more rural areas. One area that will remain the same for the mortgage industry is the continued B-20 stress testing measures (which have recently come under fire)

The predicted start time is Fall 2019 for these guidelines. We will keep you updated on any new additions or changes as the information becomes available. If you have any mortgage related questions, contact me anytime.