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A mortgage can be used for financing many different things, including:
Purchasing or constructing a new home
Purchasing an existing home
Refinancing to consolidate debts
Financing a renovation
Financing the purchase of other investments
Financing the purchase of investment property
Since a mortgage is a fully secured form of financing, the interest you pay is usually less than with most other types of financing. Many people use the equity in their homes to finance the purchase of investments. Using a Secured Line of Credit, or a fixed-rate mortgage, the interest costs are lower, and they can even write off those interest costs against their taxable incomes.
The Application Process
Chances are you’ll spend that initial meeting nervously waiting for the lender to approve you. You give the lender all of your information and they spend some time inputting that into a computer. Then you give them the information on the house you’re buying. At some point the lender pulls your credit report as well. If the lender likes the information, the borrower is approved. If not, borrowers are rejected and they probably cry. At least, that’s what I would do.
After that initial approval, a borrower must then prove to the mortgage lender that the information contained in the application is factual. If you’re dealing with your bank some of this verification comes easy; after all, they can just check your account to see whether you have as much money as you say. Other verifications are a little harder and might require some hustling on your part to get these things done.
A borrower will need several kinds of statements to prove their income, the source of their down payment and other paperwork such as information on the house being purchased, any child support or alimony payments (either paid out or received) and a copy of the purchase contract. Income is proven by paystubs and a letter from the employer for salaried borrowers, and by 2 years of Notice of Assessment's for self employed borrowers.
With all the mortgage fraud that exists in the market, lenders remain extra cautious when it comes to confirming a borrower’s information. By the end of the process, most borrowers will be frustrated by the mountains of paperwork.
The Down Payment
To get a mortgage in Canada, a borrower has to have at least 5% of the property’s value for a down payment. The lender supplies the rest of the money to pay for the house and the borrower slowly pays back the lender. To avoid CMHC insurance premiums, a borrower must put 20% of the house’s value up as a down payment.
For the most part, any money you have sitting in any account can be used as a down payment. Money in a chequing or savings account obviously can. It’s the same thing with money or even securities sitting in a brokerage account, except the securities will have to be sold. Even a borrower’s RRSP can be used, providing the borrower pays that money back in 15 years. If the borrower doesn’t, that money will be taxed. You can even use your TFSA or equity in an existing property as a down payment.
The borrower has two options if they don’t have the cash available to cover the down payment. They can either borrow the money or get the money as a gift from a relative. A borrower can either borrower the money in the form of a unsecured line of credit, or use a cash back mortgage to repay a down payment loan. A cash back mortgage can’t be used directly for the down payment. Or, if a borrower has a relative that is willing to help them, they can get a gift from that relative, providing both parties sign a simple agreement that there is no expectation of repayment.
Canadian lenders are extremely flexible when it comes to down payments. If you can’t come up with the required down payment, then maybe homeownership should be rethought.
Income Qualifying
The two ratios that determine your maximum mortgage are gross debt service ratio (GDS) and total debt service ratio (TDS). The formula's are as follows:
GDS: Payment + Property Tax + Heat + ½ Condo Fees = less than 32% of gross income
TDS: Payment + Property Tax + Heat + ½ Condo Fees + All Other Debts = less than 40% of gross income
The formula's are much less complicated than they appear to be. If you made $72,000 per year (that’s $6,000) per month then all you’d need to do is multiply 6000 by .32 and .40 to get the maximums, in this case being $1920 and $2400.
What that means is $1920 per month maximum can go toward the mortgage payment, property tax, gas bills and half the condo fees (if applicable). This also gives the borrower a maximum of $480 per month of debt payments the lender will tolerate.
Depending on how high a borrower’s credit score is, GDS and TDS ratios can go higher. Any borrower with a credit score above 680 can have a GDS of 39% and TDS up to 44% of their gross income.
Let’s look at a real world example.
Couple A makes a combined $80,000 per year. What’s the maximum mortgage they’d qualify for? They have excellent credit (both above 700) and have a car payment of $400 per month. They’re looking for a 5 year fixed rate of 4.5%.
Income: $6666 per month
Debt: $400
Property Taxes (estimate) $400
Heat: $85
Condo Fees: N/A
So we multiply $6666 by .44 to get $2933.33. This is the maximum the couple can pay for their commitments.
$2933.33-$400-$400-$85 = $2048.33
$2048.33 is the maximum mortgage payment this couple can have. Plugging that back into a mortgage calculator, it means the couple can max themselves out at $370,087, assuming they take out a 25 year amortization.
Of course, just because a borrower can qualify for a specific number, doesn’t mean they should max themselves out. I would recommend to everyone not surpassing the 32%/40% ratios, no matter what their credit score is. Ideally, I’d want a borrower to not spend 32% of their income on housing plus debt. However, I realize in many Canadian cities this isn’t very realistic.
CMHC Default Insurance
CMHC has all sorts of different homeowner products (more info on them can be found at CMHC’s website) that have different insurance policies depending on the size of the down payment and the length of the amortization. If you have a bigger down payment then the premium amount goes down.
CMHC insurance is mandatory for any mortgage with less than 20% down. Sometimes it required by the lender on properties with more than 20% down, especially rental properties. Once a borrower applies for a mortgage and the lender approves it, the lender then sends that mortgage into CMHC for their approval. CMHC receives the electronic submission and looks at two things- the borrower and the property.
Since so many homes have CMHC insurance, the system has a large database of similar homes in the very same neighbourhood that it can use as comparables. Using the database, the system comes up with a value for the home, a number they will insure up to. Once the borrower’s credit is also verified CMHC will approve the property.
The premium is added to the principle owing the borrower doesn’t have to come up with the case for an insurance policy totalling thousands of dollars. Don’t confuse mortgage default insurance with mortgage life insurance. The only person mortgage default insurance protects is the lender. The borrower won’t see two dimes if the bank is forced to take back the house.
Fixed Or Variable Rate
Typically a borrower will save money if they go with a variable rate. According to mortgage guru Moshe Milevsky in a study published in 2001, variable rate mortgages came out ahead of their fixed rate counterparts 88% of the time since 1950. Those savings can really add up on a mortgage in the hundreds of thousands and over 25 years.
Advocates of fixed rate mortgages often cite the stability of the payment as the biggest advantage of having a fixed rate and they are absolutely correct. The borrowers who take on the standard 5 year fixed loan take comfort that their payment will be the same every month, no matter what interest rates do. For them, taking out the fixed rate hedges their interest rate risk.
Ultimately, a borrower needs to decide how much this payment certainty is worth to them before deciding on a fixed or variable rate mortgage.
There are other options for borrowers who can’t decide between a fixed or variable mortgage. They could take a short term fixed term (say 1 or 2 years) which will have an interest rate lower than a 5 year fixed. Lenders are also starting to offer hybrid products that combine a fixed and variable mortgage, giving borrowers a lower interest rate and increased rate protection if interest rates go up.
Mortgage Affordability: How Much Can I Afford?
Read the following mortgage affordability tips before you set out to find the home of your dreams:
Consider your annual household income. This is a key factor when determining how much of a mortgage you can afford. In addition to calculating your annual household income, consider any income changes that may impact your ability to make your payments. For example, if there are currently two major income sources within your household, would you still be able to afford your mortgage if one was removed? What if a child comes into the picture and your partner decides to become a stay-at-home parent? Consider all factors before deciding.
Consider your down payment. Currently, you are required to have at least a 5% down payment when buying a house. The size of your down payment is one factor in determining the size of mortgage you can afford.
Consider your debt. When determining “How much can I afford?” one of the other important factors to take into account is the amount of debt you currently have. The lower your debt-to-income ratio, the more money you’ll likely have to put towards your mortgage. In addition, your debt level will also help to determine how large of a mortgage you will qualify for.
Consider your amortization period. If you are simply trying to keep your regular mortgage payments low in order to comfortably fit the payment into your budget, you will probably want to apply for a mortgage with a longer amortization period. However, if you don’t mind a somewhat larger regular mortgage payment in order to save money on interest in the long run, you may want to consider a shorter amortization period.
Consider your closing costs. Closing costs are an often overlooked expense that will definitely help determine how much money you can afford as a down payment.
Consider your property taxes, various types of homeowner’s insurance such as damage, title etc and additional expenses. Lastly, there are a few additional expenses that may impact how much money you have to put towards your mortgage each month. Expenses like property taxes, homeowner’s insurance and even things like home maintenance should be factored in before making your final decision. These costs are often overlooked but should be considered before settling on the home of your dreams.
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