Mortgage Managers can make buying your first home, and getting your first mortgage, easier by helping you through each of the following steps:

•    Order a Free Home Buyers Guide
•    Why is getting pre-approved important?
•    What are all the costs of buying?
•    How much can I borrow?
•    How much do I need for a down payment?
•    What are the first time home buyer incentives?

Order Free Mortgage & Home Buyers Guides
These Guides are full of useful information and tips to help walk you through the mortgage and home buying process.  Order these Free Guides now.

Getting Pre-Approved
Getting pre-approved or pre-qualified before shopping for a home is a very important first step in the home buying process.  Finding out your credit rating, how much you qualify for based on your income and debt load,  and if you have the proper income documentation are just a few of the key factors in making your home buying experience easier. 

Once you have finalized the purchase price and have signed a Purchase & Sale Agreement, you typically have 5-10 days to arrange your mortgage.  If you try to arrange a mortgage at this point you will be under pressure to shop and apply for a mortgage, which often results in not finding the best mortgage for your situation or perhaps even not being approved because your debt ratio is too high, there an error on your credit report, or you cannot located the required paperwork.  When this occurs, you may not be able to meet the financing condition within the required time.  Therefore, you will likely lose the opportunity to purchase that home, and possibly your deposit. 

Costs of buying
Some of the costs of buying a home may include:
•    Land Transfer Tax
•    Legal Fees
•    Home Inspection
•    Title Insurance
•    Fire Insurance
•    Life & Disability Insurance

How much can I borrow?
The amount that you can borrow depends on your Gross Income and your current Debt Load.  Generally speaking, you can calculate the amount you can afford to pay monthly by multiplying your Monthly Gross Income by 40%.  Then subtract your monthly loan and credit card payments.  The amount remaining is the amount you can afford to pay for a monthly mortgage payment.

Down Payment
Depending on your situation, you may or may not have a down payment.  Generally, down payments are 5%, 10%, 15%, etc of the selling price.  Not only does having a down payment give you more options, it reduces the amount you are financing and decreases the "high ratio" insurance premium.

However, there are numerous reasons for someone not making a Down Payment on the purchase of a property, such as:
•    No Savings
•    Prefer to use cash to pay off other debts
•    Want to keep cash in other investments
•    Want to do improvements to the property after purchase
•    Will need to purchase furniture and appliances


Free Down Payment : 95% + 5% Cash Back:
This Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC) insured mortgage product is designed for clients with a good credit score and verifiable income.  Under this program, the lender will "give" you 5% of the purchase price in addition to financing 95% on the mortgage.  There is a small interest rate premium for this kind of mortgage.  And, if you pay off the mortgage before the end of the Term, you would have to repay the 5% Cash Back on a pro-rata basis.  Because this mortgage is CMHC insured, the lenders are able to offer very attractive interest rates.   You will have to prove you have 1.5% (of the purchase price) in your savings account to be used towards your Closing Costs.  However, in reality, you will need about 3% of the selling price to cover all of your closing costs.


Home buyer incentives
The Federal Government recently announced some additions & changes to the First Time Home Buyers programs.

Federal Government Home Buyers Plan
The Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) is a program that allows you to withdraw up to $20,000 from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSPs) to buy or build a

First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit
For 2009 and subsequent years, the budget proposes to introduce a new non-refundable tax credit, based on an amount of $5,000, for certain home buyers that acquire a qualifying home after January 27, 2009.