Why, why, why it is so challenging for entrepreneurs to obtain a mortgage in Canada?
If you’re among the 2.7 million Canadians who are self-employed, regrettably your income is not as easy to document as someone who’s traditionally employed.

Since 2008, mortgage regulations in Canada have made it more challenging for those who work for themselves to qualify for a mortgage due to tighter restrictions on “stated income” loans. In 2012, Canada’s Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) introduced Guideline B-20, which requires federally regulated banks to evaluate applications for residential mortgages and home equity lines of credit with more scrutiny. These rulings made it more challenging for the self-employed to prove income.

Here’s what Self-Employed home buyers need to know:

1. Most self-employed are motivated to decrease their earnings to avoid paying tax through legitimate expenses and personal deductions.
-Therefore, much of one’s self-employed income does not show up on paper.

2. I’m sorry… but you can’t have your cake and eat it too! If you choose to write off as much of your income as legally possible to avoid paying taxes, claiming low take-home pay, you will end up paying a higher interest rate on your mortgage.
– i.e. home buyer is a tradesperson, they earn $70,000/year and legitimately write off their business expenses to $40,000/year on Line 150 of their tax return. Lenders use income from Line 150… not gross income to determine affordability.
– Some lenders allow you to “gross up” your declared taxable income (as opposed to stated income) by adding up to 15%.
– i.e. if your declared income on your Notice of Assessment (NOA) is $40,000, the lender could add 15% for a total of $46,000. In most cases this doesn’t really help the business owner, as their income is still too low to qualify for the mortgage they want.

3. The new mortgage rules mean the assessment of a self-employed applicant’s income has become far more rigorous. Lenders now analyze the average income for the industry a self-employed candidate works in, and study the person’s employment history and earnings in the field. Their stated income should be reasonable, based on:
– industry sector
– type of business
– length of time the operation has been in business

4. Work with professionals. You need to hire a qualified book keeper and a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). Their job is to know the ins and outs of taxes so that you can put your focus on growing your business.
– You need to keep all your financial affairs up to date. That means getting the accountant prepared financials, filing your annual tax returns and most importantly paying your taxes. Government always gets first dibs on any money. Lenders won’t be interested in you haven’t paid your taxes.
– I recommend having a discussion with your CPA. Let them know that you want to buy a home. Come up with a budget of what income you need to be able to prove on your tax returns.

Suggestion: you could choose to pay more personal income tax this year, to push your line 150 income up and help you qualify for any mortgage transactions you hope to make. Please note: most lenders will want to see 2 years history, to prove consistency in earnings.

5. For self-employed borrowers, being able to document income for the past 2-3 years gives you more lending options. Some of the documents your lender may request include:
– Credit bureau (within 30 days of purchase)
– Personal tax Notice of Assessment (NOA) for the previous two to three years.
– Proof that you have paid HST and/or GST in full.
– Financial statements for your business prepared by a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA).
– Contracts showing your expected revenue for the coming years (if applicable).
– Copies of your Article of Incorporation (if applicable).
– Proof that you are a principal owner in the business.
– Business or GST license or Article of Incorporation

6. If you have less than 20% down payment, Genworth is the only option of the 3 mortgage default insurers that still has a stated income program.

Self-employed home buyers, who can document proof of income, can generally access the same mortgage products and rates as traditional borrowers.

Tips for self-employed applying for a mortgage to ensure the process goes smoothly:

1. Get your finances in order. Pay down your debt!!
– Every $400/month in loan payments lowers your mortgage eligibility by $100,000
– Every $12,000 in credit card debt lowers your mortgage eligibility by $100,000
– Do you see a theme here? Pay down your debt! Resist buying/leasing a new vehicle or taking on any additional debt prior to buying your home

2. 3 “Rules of Lending” what Banks look at when you apply for a Mortgage in Canada
– Debt-service ratios are a major factor in a loan-approval assessment based on your provable income (Line 150 – what you paid taxes on)
– Maintain good credit. Solving the Puzzle – 5 factors used in determining your Credit Score
– Consider a larger down-payment.
– If you run into difficulty qualifying on your own, consider having someone co-sign for your mortgage. Would a Co-Signer Enable You to Qualify for a Mortgage?

3. Have two to three years’ worth of your self-employed supporting documentation available so your mortgage broker can work with you to set up your Mortgage Preapproval.

4. Be consistent and show stability. Lenders prefer self-employed borrowers who work in a business that’s established and have expertise in that field.

What happens if the banks still don’t want you for a conventional mortgage?

Many high net worth business owners with low stated incomes turn to private mortgage lenders for financing, since they can’t prove their income.
It is difficult to navigate which lenders specialize in self-employed mortgages. Using a mortgage broker has obvious advantages, since mortgage brokers have access to multiple lenders and have a broad knowledge of the mortgage market.

If you have any questions, contact a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage specialist for help.

Written by Kelly Hudson

Any time a down payment for the mortgage is less than 20%, it is required that the mortgage must be insured thru an Insurer. Why does this mortgage need to be insured, who provides this type of insurance, what does this insurance mean, who is the beneficiary, how much does this insurance cost? All these questions need to be addressed when your down payment is less than 20%.
To start, we need to know certain terms.
High Ratio Mortgage – Also known as insured mortgage is any mortgage where the down payment is less than 20%, also defined where the loan to value ratio is more than 80%.
Conventional Mortgage – Any mortgage where the down payment or equity is 20% or more and in other words the loan to value ratio is less than 80%.
There are three companies in Canada that provide this type of insurance, Canada Mortgage Housing Corporation, Canada Capital and Genworth.
The insurance is needed to provide flexibility to buyers in Canada to purchase a property with as little as 5% down payment at the same time the lender is the beneficiary as it protects them in case the borrower defaults on the loan.
The insurance premium is paid once as a lump sum at the time of the purchase of the property and can be added to the mortgage. Premium amount depends upon the down payment and the insurer and can be anywhere from 1.8% to 4.5% of the borrowed amount.
Since insured mortgages are less risk to the lenders, they in turn can offer lesser and more attractive interest rates and mortgage terms.
Another thing to keep in mind is that this insurance is NOT the same as Mortgage Life Insurance. In your life insurance, the beneficiary is the person who you select to be; usually a family member so in case anything happens to you then your family is protected, and your mortgage loan is paid off. But in High Ratio Mortgage Insurance the lender is protected in case the loan defaults. If you have any questions contact a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional near you.

Written by Asif Qureshi

Ask people this question and you will get a variety of answers.  Most home owners will say 10% is what you should put down. However, if you speak with your grandparents, they are likely to suggest that 20% is what you need for a down payment.

The truth is 5% is the minimum down payment that you can make on a home in Canada. If you are planning on buying a $200,000 home then you need $10,000.

It all can be explained by the creation of the Canadian Mortgage and Housing corporation (CMHC) by the Canadian government on January 1^st, 1946. Before this time, you needed to have 20% down payment to purchase a home . This made home ownership difficult for many Canadians. CMHC  was created to ease home ownership. This was done by offering mortgage default insurance. Basically what CMHC does is it guarantees that you will not default on your mortgage payments. If you do, they will reimburse the lender who gave you the mortgage up to 100% of what the homeowner borrowed. In return lenders allow you to purchase a home with a smaller down payment and a lower interest rate.

CMHC charges an insurance premium for this service to cover any losses that may occur from defaulted mortgages. This program was so successful that CMHC lowered the minimum down payment to 5% in the 1980’s.

However, if you have little credit history or some late payments in the past they may ask you to provide 10% instead of the tradition 5% if they feel there is a risk that you may default at some time.

You should also be aware that the more money you put down, the lower your monthly mortgage payments will be. You also can save thousands in mortgage default insurance premiums by putting 20% down.  At this time,  home buyers who put 5% down have to pay a fee of 4% to CMHC or one of the other mortgage default insurers to obtain home financing. On a $400,000 home this is close to $16,000.

If you can provide a 10% down payment the insurance premium falls to 3.10% and if you can provide 20% it drops to zero.  While 20% can seem like an impossible amount to save, you can use a combination of savings, a gift from family and/or a portion of your RRSP savings to achieve this figure. The best recommendation that I can make is to speak with your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional to discuss your options and where to start on your home buying adventure.

Written by David Cooke

Canada shed 88,000 jobs in January, the most significant drop in nine years, driven by a record 137,000 plunge in part-time work. Full-time employment was up 49,000 while the unemployment rate increased a tick to 5.9%–only slightly above the lowest jobless rate since 1976. January’s sharp decline brings to an end a stunning 17-month streak of gains. While the top-line loss of 88,000 jobs is striking, it still only retraced about 60% of the 146,000 jump in the past two months.

The disappointing employment report will no doubt keep the Bank of Canada on the sidelines for a while, but it follows the most robust job market in 15 years. More than 400,000 net new jobs were created in 2017. Expectations are now that the Bank will hike interest rates cautiously, taking a pass at the March meeting.

Average hourly wages jumped 3.3% year-over-year, the strongest gain since March 2016. This was boosted by the rise in the minimum wage to $14.00 an hour in Ontario at the start of this year. Ontario now has the highest minimum wage in the country.

The largest employment losses were in Ontario and Quebec. There were also decreases in New Brunswick and Manitoba. Declines were spread across some industries including educational services; finance, insurance, real estate rental and leasing; professional, scientific and technical services; construction; and healthcare and social assistance. Employment increased in business, building, and other support services.

Canada’s economy has still seen employment increase by 288,700 jobs over the past 12 months — 146,000 of which came in November and December. Full-time employment is up 558,900 over the past 18 months, which is unprecedented.

DR. SHERRY COOPER

Chief Economist, Dominion Lending Centres
Sherry is an award-winning authority on finance and economics with over 30 years of bringing economic insights and clarity to Canadians.

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When you purchase your home, there are 6 additional costs to account for. They include:

• Home Fire and Flood Insurance
• Title Insurance
• Legal Fees
• Adjustments
• Land Transfer Tax
• GST

Here’s an overview of what you can expect.

Home and Fire Insurance. Mortgage lenders will require a certificate of fire insurance to be in place by the time you take possession of your home. The amount required is generally at least the amount of the mortgage or the replacement cost of the home. This cost can vary on the property size and extras being insured, as well as the insurance company and the municipality. Home insurance can vary anywhere from $400 per year for condos to $2,000 for large homes.

Title Insurance. This is a one-time fee of about $150 and it protects you against any issues, defects or fraud on your title. Your lawyer or notary helps you purchase this.

Legal Fees. Thirdly, you are required to pay legal fees. Your lawyer or notary will charge you anywhere from $700 to $1,000 to help with your purchase. There are also fees to register your title with the municipalities. All told, you’re looking at around $1,000 to 1,300, after tax.

Adjustments. An adjustment is a cost to you to pay the seller back for prepaying any property tax or condo fees on your behalf. Simply put, if you take possession in the middle of a month, the seller has already paid for the whole month and you must pay the seller back for what they’re not using.

Land transfer tax. Land transfer tax, or property transfer tax (PTT) as it’s known as in British Columbia, is a fee that is charged to you by the province. First-time home buyers are exempt from this fee if they are purchasing a property under $500,000. All home buyers are exempt if they are purchasing a new property under $750,000.

In British Columbia, the PTT is 1% on the first $200,000 of purchase and 2% thereafter. However, if the property being purchased is over $2,000,000, then it is 3% on any value over $2,000,000.

GST. GST is only paid on new construction purchases. GST is 5% on the purchase price. However, there is a partial GST rebate on properties under $450,000.

Please don’t hesitate to contact a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional for your home financing and mortgage needs.

Written by Eitan Pinsky

The following is a summary of the choices available for clients when looking at the four different types of lending groups. Which one is best will all depend on who you are as a borrower, what your current situation is now, and what your situation will look like in the future.

Big Banks

Currently, mortgage brokers have access to TD Canada Trust and Scotiabank. These are especially appealing to first-time home buyers as it offers a sense of comfort knowing your mortgage is being dealt with a nationally recognized financial institution. TD offers very fast review of documents with the ability for collateral charges, multiple branch locations, and competitive privileges such as pre-payment abilities. Scotiabank is also an advantageous option for home owners as they have one of the most comprehensive and easy-to-use home equity lines of credit, referred to as their Scotia-Step. Being able to access a home equity line of credit (HELOC) and roll it into your mortgage offers simplicity and efficient methods of borrowing for home owners. The draw back with both banks is that they are in fact chartered banks. When a client decides to use them for fixed rate mortgages, specifically the 5-year terms, they can potentially be on the hook for penalties north of $10,000 due to breaking their mortgage early. Career changes, moving from different neighborhoods or cities, upgrading or downgrading home sizes, marital issues, these are all reason why someone may need to break their mortgage early and being in a long term fixed rate mortgage with a chartered bank can be unpleasant.

Credit Unions

One of the biggest benefits of Credit Unions, such as Westminster Savings, or Coast Capital to name a few, is they are not federally regulated, they are provincially regulated. They are not required to adopt federal mortgage rule changes unless they want to. This can be an extreme benefit to those considering rental properties, those with unique income/employment situations, or complex transactions that chartered banks do not or cannot work with. Some of the negative attributes are, however, a reputation for slow review times of documents and mortgage applications, as well as portability. If you work for a company or in an industry that is known for relocation and re-assignment across provinces, you will pay a penalty to a Credit Union every time. This is something that is likely not to happen when working with Charted Banks or Monoline Lenders as they will have more flexibility in allowing you to port your mortgage to a new property in other provinces.

Monoline Lenders

Monoline Lenders are supported by mortgage brokers, and in turn, mortgage brokers are supported by Monoline Lenders. You cannot access mortgage products that a Monoline Lender offers without using a broker as they typically do not have physical branches or locations. They are funded by private investors dealing only in mortgage transactions, allowing their products to be more customized based on the investors’ risk tolerance. Extremely low interest rates, very competitive privileges with pre-payment and portability, fast turnaround-times, and the best part, significantly lower penalties for breaking a mortgage. With a big bank, a $10,000 penalty for breaking mortgage early, may only cost you $3,000 with a Monoline Lender. This is highly advantageous to someone who wants the security of a long term fixed rate but isn’t 100% certain they will be carrying out their mortgage at that property for the full five years. The disadvantage is the almost blind trust a client must have. These Monoline Lenders do not have much brand recognition with the public, they have limited direct access, and usually do not have any physical locations to visit. This makes it hard for some people to feel comfortable using them as their mortgage provider.

Private Lenders

The benefit of a Private Lender is that anyone who has inconsistent income, unique properties, poor credit history or any type of severe risk in their application, can get an approval. When a Chartered Bank says no, a Credit Union says no, and a Monoline Lender says no, a Private Lender can say yes. The disadvantage- your interest rate is going to be significantly higher and the privileges such as prepayment and portability are going to be significantly less. As well, with most lenders, they will pay the mortgage brokers commission themselves. In this case, you the borrower will be paying a fee to the broker.

This information is extremely powerful to you as a home buyer and even as a current home owner. As always, please contact a Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Professional if you wish to discuss any of these options further or how they may be of benefit to you!

Written by Ryan Oake

Banks and Credit unions are often grouped together into one category under “financial institutions”. While they may have several similarities in terms of financial service offerings, in the world of mortgages the banks and credit unions have little in common. As mortgage professionals, we work with both of them and are well versed in the differences between the two. To start with, we will first need to look at the definition of each institution.

A BANK

A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits, lends money and transfers funds. They are listed as public, licensed corporations and have declared earnings that are paid to stockholders. A key point: they are regulated by the federal government-Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions.

A CREDIT UNION

Credit unions also deposit, lend and transfer funds. However, after that, we run into some differences between the two. Credit Unions have an elected Board of Directors that consist of elected members from their community. They are local and community-based organizations and unlike the banks, they are not federally but Provincially regulated.

Now that we have to clear definitions, we are going to focus on just one of the differences between the two: Who they are regulated by. Credit Unions are not regulated by OSFI therefore, they are not always subject to the mortgage lending rules imposed by the federal government (at least not right away). Take for example the recent changes to the B-20 guidelines. Since Credit Unions are not classified as a Federally Regulated Institution, they currently do not need to comply with the implications listed in the new rule changes. What does this mean for the consumer? Let’s walk through an example.

Say you have a dual income family with a combined annual income of $85,000. The current value of their home is listed at $700,000 and they have a mortgage balance of $415,000. Lenders have agreed to refinance to a maximum amount of 80% LTV (loan to value). That gives us a total of $560,000 minus the existing mortgage and you have $145,000 available provided you qualify to borrow it.

Now let’s put the Bank and the Credit Union toe-to-toe:

Difference between Bank and Credit Union when Refinancing

That means you are able to qualify for $105,000 LESS with the bank when refinancing!

Take the same scenario listed above and let’s apply it to purchasing:

Difference between Bank and Credit Union when Purchasing a Home

Again, you have a reduced amount of $105,000 towards the purchase of your new home.

A few disadvantages to Credit Unions that you should be aware of:

• You cannot port your mortgage out of province
• With the introduction of the new B-20 guidelines, there has been an increased demand for Credit Unions. This increasing demand has led to higher rates and sometimes these are not the most competitive for the client. Working with a broker can ensure that you receive the best rate and product for your situation.
• Credit Unions also have a typically lower debt qualification ratio for how much house you can afford and how much debt you can carry

With those considerations, there are limitations to what Credit Unions are able to offer you. As always, working with a Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional is one of the best ways to ensure you are not only getting the sharpest rate, but also the best product for you and your unique situation. Give us a call today-we would love to talk to you about your options and how we can help you.

Written by Geoff Lee

Are you in a Variable Rate Mortgage? Me too.

If you’re in a fixed rate mortgage, this news does not impact you. Mind you ‘impact’ is too strong a word to use for the subtle shift that occurred Jan 17, 2018.

Short Version

The math is as follows:

A payment increase of ~$13.10 per $100,000.00 of mortgage balance. (unless you are with TD or a specific Credit Union, in which case payments are fixed and change only at your specific request)

i.e. – A mortgage balance of $400,000.00 will see a payment increase of ~$54.40 per month

Personally, we are staying variable, for a variety of reasons…

Long Version

Qualification for variable rate mortgages has been at 4.64% or higher for some time. This required a household income of greater than $70,000.00 for said $400,000.00 mortgage .

Can 99% of said households handle a payment increase of $54.40 per month? Yes.

Will 99% of households be frustrated with this added expense? Yes.

Ability and annoyance are not the same thing.

Have these households enjoyed monthly payments up to $216.80 lower than those that chose a fixed rate mortgage originally? Yes.

Are 99% still saving money over having locked into a long term fixed from day one? Yes.

Should I lock in?

A more important question is ‘why did we choose variable to start with’? And this may lead to a critical question ‘Is there any chance I will break my mortgage before renewal’?

The penalty to prepay a variable mortgage is ~0.50% of the mortgage balance.

The penalty to prepay a 5-year fixed mortgage can increase by ~900% to ~4.5% of the mortgage balance. A massive increase in risk.

There are many considerations before locking in, many of which your lender is unlikely to discuss with you. It’s to the lenders advantage to have you locked into a fixed rate, rarely is it to your own benefit.

At the moment decisions are being made primarily out of fear. Fear of $13.10 per month per $100,000.00

What about locking into a shorter term?

Not a bad idea, although this depends on two things:

Which lender you are with as policies vary.
2. How many years into the mortgage term you are.

If your net rate is now 2.95%, and have the option of a 2-year or 3-year fixed ~3.00% – this may be a better move than full 5-year commitment.

Do not forget the difference in prepayment penalties, this is significant.

Bottom line – Know your numbers, know your product, stay cool, and ask your Dominion Lending Centres Broker.

These are small and manageable increases.

P.S.

It was a bit disappointing to see logic and fairness fail to enter the picture, after the last two Federal cuts to Prime in 2015 of 0.25% each the public received cuts of only 0.15% each time.

Every single lender moved in unison, not one dropped the full 0.25%.

Amazingly, not a single lender saw fit to increase rates by the exact same 0.15% on the way back up. Every lender has instead increased by 0.25% – a full 100% of the increase passed on to you, the borrower.

Not cool man, not cool at all.

We share all the pain of increases, and get only part of the pleasure of decreases.

I am disappointed by this, not surprised, but disappointed.

Written by Dustan Woodhouse

A recent article featured on www.mortgagebrokernews.ca brings up some interesting points to consider.
With approximately 47% of mortgages in Canada coming up for renewal in 2018 and in a rising rate climate, it would be wise to consider the impact on our personal mortgage. What will these increases mean for you?
70% of Canadians are in 5-year fixed rate mortgages and the rates these people secured in 2013 are still similar to what is being offered in 2018, so a possible increase in payment that comes along with a slightly higher rate could be quite easy to handle.
However, in 2019 rates will likely be significantly higher than what consumers locked into in 2014. The payment shock could be substantial. Not to mention that increases in the Prime rate will also affect unsecured credit such as lines of credit and credit cards. And the Bank of Canada is certainly in an upward trend with the Prime.
Translation… as rates go up for mortgages and other credit accounts, so do payments.
What can you do? If your mortgage is maturing this year or in 2019, it is highly advisable to contact an experienced Dominion Lending Centres Mortgage Broker to evaluate your position. You will likely have seen a healthy appreciation in value in your home in the past few years, so perhaps it’s time to get ahead of the “rate train” and consider consolidating your unsecured credit with your mortgage and lock in at today’s still low rates before you start to feel the pinch.
The latest rule changes that came into effect January 1, 2018 could also have an impact on your ability to qualify for what you need, so getting a free evaluation will be more valuable than ever.
As always, feel free to contact a mortgage professional for any questions you may have.

Written by Kristin Woolard

Every year Canadian families are caught in unexpected bad circumstances only to find out that in most cases the banks and the credit unions are there (to lend you money) only in the good times, not so much during the bad times.

This is where thousands of families have benefited over the years from the services of a skilled mortgage broker that has access to dozens of different lending solutions including trust companies and private lending corporations. These short-term solutions can help a family bridge the gap through business challenges, employment challenges, health challenges, etc.

The key to taking on these sorts of mortgages is always in having a clear exit strategy, which in some cases may be a simple as a sale deferred to the Spring market. Most times the exit strategy involves cleaning up credit challenges, getting consistent income back in place and moving the mortgage debt back to a mainstream lender. Or as we would say in the business an ‘A-lender’.

The challenge for our clients, and for us as mortgage brokers, over the past few years, arguably over the past nine years, has been the constant tinkering with lending guidelines by the federal government. And the upcoming changes of Jan. 1, 2018 represent far more than just ‘tinkering’.

This next set of changes are significant, and will effectively move the goal posts well out of reach for many clients currently in ‘B’ or private mortgages. Clients who have made strides in improving their credit or increasing their income will find that the new standards taking effect will put that A-lender mortgage just a little bit out of reach as of the New Year.

There is concern that the new rules will create far more problems than they solve, especially when it seems quite clear to all involved that there are no current problems with mortgage repayment to be solved.

Yet these changes are coming our way fast.

Are you expecting to make a move to the A-Side in 2018?

It just might be worth your time to pick up the phone and give your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage specialist a call today.

We’re here and ready to help.

Written by Dustan Woodhouse