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Understand the various buyer programs
New To Canada
New to Canada mortgage programs allow permanent and temporary residents with limited or no Canadian credit history to buy a home with a down payment as low as 5%
First Time Home Buyers
Canada offers several key federal programs and tax benefits for first-time home buyers..
*First Home Savings Account (FHSA
*Home Buyers' Plan (HBP)
*First-Time Home Buyers' Tax Credit (HBTC)
*GST/HST New Housing
*Provincial & Municipal Rebates
Business For Self and Professionals
Self-employed mortgage programs in Canada allow business owners, freelancers, and contractors to qualify for home financing using alternative income verification. If write-offs lower your net taxable income. Professional mortgage programs are specialized home-financing packages tailored for high-earning or high-potential fields—most commonly medicine, law, and accounting. Major lenders often offer higher borrowing limits, waived default insurance for conventional ratios, and approval based on employment contracts rather than historical tax returns.
Insights & Analysis
If you are tired of paying for someone else's home, and you want to invest for yourself...
Explore Our Range of Options and Take the First Step Towards Home Ownership Today!
If you are in the market for a new house, I strongly recommend using Harry! My fiance and i bought our first home back in December, and due to some past financial issues, no bank would even look at my situation despite making good money, and on track for many years! Harry never let that stop him, in fact, he accepted the challenge and pushed that much harder for us! He puts his all into his clients and was so reassuring, and honest throughout the entire process. He went to bat for us and was accessible any time we had questions or needed help with anything. He’s the one person in your house purchase that you won’t regret using!!"
Ashley Fox - Charlottetown, PE
How much down payment do I need?
In Canada, the minimum down payment depends on the purchase price of the home. It is 5% for homes up to $500,000, 5% on the first $500,000 and 10% on the portion above it for homes up to $1.5 million, and 20% for homes priced at $1.5 million or more
Do I require default insurance?
Default insurance is required in Canada if your down payment is less than 20% of the home’s purchase price. This is known as a high-ratio mortgage. It protects the lender and is provided by organizations like the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) or private insurer
- Low Down Payment: Any down payment under 20% makes the insurance mandatory.
- Risk Factors: Lenders may sometimes require it even with a 20% down payment if the borrower has unique risk factors like a lower credit score or unique property types.Â
- Conventional Mortgages: If you put 20% or more down, the mortgage is a conventional low-ratio mortgage and default insurance is generally not needed.Â
- High-Priced Homes: Default insurance is not available for purchase prices at or above specific federal thresholds (homes priced at $1.5 million or more cannot be insured), meaning you must put down at least 20%.Â
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How much are the closing costs?
- Land transfer tax: Often the largest expense, varying widely by province and municipality (ranging from 0.5% to over 2% of the property value).
- Legal fees and disbursements: Usually $1,000 to $2,000 for a real estate lawyer to handle contracts, title searches, and registration.
- Title insurance: Roughly $400 to $1,000 to protect against losses from title defects or fraud.
- Home inspection and appraisal: $300 to $600 each, usually paid during the negotiation and mortgage approval process.
- Property tax and utility adjustments: $500 to $2,000 to reimburse the seller for prepaid property taxes or utilities.
- HST/GST on new builds: Up to 5% GST or provincial harmonized sales tax if you buy a newly built home (though rebates may apply)
Should I get a fix rate or variable rate?
Choose a fixed-rate mortgage if you are on a strict budget and need total payment predictability. Choose a variable-rate mortgage if you want lower initial borrowing costs, can handle market shifts, and want a lower penalty if you break your contract early
- Locked-in rate: Your interest rate and payment stay the same for your entire term (usually 1 to 5 years).
- Easy budgeting: You always know what you will pay.
- Peace of mind: Market rate hikes will not affect your payments.
- Higher break penalties: Breaking the contract early can cost a large fee (Interest Rate Differential).Â
- Fluctuating rate: Your rate moves up or down when the bank prime rate changes.
- Historical savings: Statistics show variable rates cost less over time than fixed rates in most normal economic cycles.
- Lower break penalties: Breaking a variable mortgage usually costs only three months of interest.
- More risk: Payments or interest costs can rise if rates go up
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F.A.Q.
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