For our first time buyers....

Welcome!

For some people, the thought of getting a mortgage sounds like a daunting prospect and often an unatainable possibility. It's really not. It's just a serious of steps to be taken and criteria to be met. Our job is to explain this process to you and make getting a mortgage on a home seamless and even enjoyable.

But where do you start?

The first step is for us to learn about you. Everyone is different, and your personal situation is unique and will dictate how we proceed. Experience counts and we use it to determine how to get you approved and what is the best mortgage for you - now and into the future. So, the first thing to do is contact us at either 780-474-7900 or via this form. We will require a filled out mortgage application to get going. This will tell us most of the information we need to know about you to get started. After that, we will have a long discussion with you about your plans, needs, wants, and how we can help you get there.

There are some basic questions almost all our first time buyers have. We've tried to answer them below:

Q. - WHAT DO I NEED TO QUALIFY FOR A MORTGAGE?

Q. - SHOULD I GET PRE-APPROVED?

Q. - WHAT CAN IS USE AS A DOWNPAYMENT?

Q. - WHAT IS CMHC INSURANCE?

Q. - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A MORTGAGE?

Q. - WHAT COSTS WILL I HAVE TO PAY?

Q. - WHY DO YOU GET ME BETTER RATES THAN MY OWN BANK?

Q. - WHAT DO I NEED TO QUALIFY FOR A MORTGAGE?

A. - It’s easier than most people think to qualify for a mortgage. Basically, there are 4 main areas of criteria that you have to meet:

Credit - you must have an average to good credit score. Your credit rating is a report card about your behaviour with credit. If you pay your bills on time each month, you should have a good credit rating. For more information about credit, please visit our "Credit, How It Really Works" page.
Downpayment. In Canada, you must have a minimum of 5% of the purchase price of the property as a downpayment. This money can come from savings, a gift, RRSP, sweat equity, etc. We can show you ways to create a downpayment.
Ability to Repay the Mortgage Each Month. You must show that you have a steady income from employment, your own business, pension, etc..
Debts. The amount of money you owe on debt cannot be more than ___% of the monthly mortgage payment.

If all of these areas are in line then you will qualify for the lowest interest rates available. If you are weak in one of these areas, there are still ways to buy a property. It is our job to work with you and come up with either a short, or long term plan, that will help you get a mortgage and buy your first home.

Q. - SHOULD I GET PRE-APPROVED?

A. - Yes.

A pre-approval just means that you know, before you start home shopping, what mortgage amount a lender will loan you. There are several benefits of doing this:

You will know how much you can afford and what your payments will be
You can lock in your interest rate at today's rate (or lower if rates drop), guaranteed for 120 days
It demonstrates that you are a serious buyer, which can help in your negotiations with sellers and their agents

In order to get pre-approved, we will require a filled out mortgage application and a conversaton with you about your personal situation. A pre-approval generally takes about 2-days.

Q. - WHAT CAN IS USE AS A DOWNPAYMENT?

A. - There are several ways to create a downpayment. We will work with you to determine what is best for you, but the following items are on the general list:

Gift from immediate family
Accumulated savings
Sale of existing home
Sweat equity
Registered Retirement Savings Plan - You may use an RRSP as a down payment up to a maximum amount of 20,000 and is not subject to income tax if repaid within a specific time period.

Q. - WHAT IS CMHC INSURANCE?

A. - If you have less than 20% of the purchase price of the home as downpayment, then the mortgage must be "insured" by either CMCH, GE, or AIG.

Please visit our mortgage insurance page for more information.

Q. - HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO GET A MORTGAGE?

A. - From the time we start to work on a file, to the time you move in can vary, but if you have a quick possession date, a mortgage can be done in as little as two weeks.

Q. - WHAT COSTS WILL I HAVE TO PAY?

A. - There are some basic costs that are standard:

Legal fees ($1,000 is a good estimate)
Insurance on the property
Utility hook ups
An appraisal (in some cases) Estmate: $300