The Goal Posts Move, Yet Again!

Michael Hallett • Oct 05, 2016
Will you qualify for less now? If you have less than 20% to put down on your purchase then the answer is, Yes. It's that simple!

There are a new mortgage lending rules on the horizon. They are on their way whether we like it or not. For some of you, this might be old news and for some of this is might be new news. When this new rules coming into effect on October 17, 2016 we as borrowers with less than 20% down will qualify for less available financing from the lenders. All mortgages, regardless of the term (6 months to 10 years) or type (fixed or variable) of mortgage will be subject to the same stress test. The qualifying rate that will be used going forward is the Bank of Canada 5 year benchmark rate. Today that interest rate is 4.64%.

For borrowers to qualify for mortgage insurance, their debt-servicing ratios must be no higher than the maximum allowable levels when calculated using the greater of the contract rate and the Bank of Canada posted rate. Lenders and mortgage insurers assess two key debt-servicing ratios to determine if a homebuyer qualifies for an insured mortgage:

  • Gross Debt Service (GDS) ratio—the carrying costs of the home, including the mortgage payment and taxes and heating costs, relative to the homebuyer’s income;
  • Total Debt Service (TDS) ratio—the carrying costs of the home and all other debt payments relative to the homebuyer’s income.

To qualify for mortgage insurance, a homebuyer must have a GDS ratio no greater than 39% and a TDS ratio no greater than 44%.

As mentioned above the announcement will apply to new mortgage insurance applications received on October 17, 2016 or after. Mortgage loans for which mortgage insurance applications are received after October 2, 2016 and before October 17, 2016 are also not affected by the rule change, provided that the mortgage is funded by March 1, 2017. Homeowners with an existing insured mortgage or those renewing existing insured mortgages are not affected by this measure.

Lenders have the option to purchase mortgage insurance for homebuyers who make a down payment of at least 20% or more of the value of the property. These mortgages are known as  conventional or low-ratio mortgages. It's generally because the loan amounts are relatively low relation to the value of the subject property. There are two types of low-ratio mortgage insurance: transactional insurance on individual mortgages at the point of origination which are typically paid for by the borrower as well as portfolio (or bulk pooled) insurance that is acquired after origination and typically paid for by the lender. The majority of low-ratio mortgage insurance is portfolio insurance.

Lender access to low-ratio insurance supports access to mortgage credit for some borrowers, but primarily supports lender access to mortgage funding through government-sponsored securitization programs.

Effective November 30, 2016, mortgage loans that lenders insure using portfolio insurance and other discretionary low loan-to-value ratio mortgage insurance must meet the eligibility criteria that previously only applied to high-ratio insured mortgages. New criteria for low-ratio mortgages to be insured will include the following requirements:

  1. A loan whose purpose includes the purchase of a property or subsequent renewal of such a loan;
  2. A maximum amortization length of 25 years;
  3. A maximum property purchase price below $1,000,000 at the time the loan is approved;
  4. For variable rate mortgages that allow fluctuations in the amortization period, loan payments that are recalculated at least once every five years to conform to the original amortization schedule;
  5. A minimum credit score of 600 at the time the loan is approved;
  6. A maximum Gross Debt Service ratio of 39 per cent and a maximum Total Debt Service ratio of 44 per cent at the time the loan is approved, calculated by applying the greater of the mortgage contract rate or the Bank of Canada conventional five-year fixed posted rate; and,
  7. A property that will be owner-occupied.

So, what does this all mean? Here is an example of how it will affect borrowers going forward. A client with annual income of $100,000,  no monthly debt, great credit buying a strata home can utilizing today's lending criteria and qualify for a $625,000 purchase with 10% down, starting mortgage balance of $576,000. Once the new rules are in place that same client will only qualify for a $510,000 purchase price. These new qualifying rules are likely to decrease the purchasing power of all high ratio mortgagors by 20-25% across Canada.

Please contact me to find out how this will personally affect you. I can be reached by phone 604-616-2266 or by email michael@hallettmortgage.com.

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MICHAEL HALLETT
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The Property Matters in Mortgage Financing

By Michael Hallett • 08 May, 2024
When looking to qualify for a mortgage, typically, a lender will want to review four areas of your mortgage application: income, credit, downpayment/equity and the property itself. Assuming you have a great job, excellent credit, and sufficient money in the bank to qualify for a mortgage, if the property you’re looking to purchase isn’t in good condition, if you don't have a plan, you might get some pushback from the lender. The property matters to the lender because they hold it as collateral if you default on your mortgage. As such, you can expect that a lender will make every effort to ensure that any property they finance is in good repair. Because in the rare case that you happen to default on your mortgage, they want to know that if they have to repossess, they can sell the property quickly and recoup their money. So when assessing the property as part of any mortgage transaction, an appraisal is always required to establish value. If your mortgage requires default mortgage insurance through CMHC, Sagen (formerly Genworth), or Canada Guaranty, they’ll likely use an automated system to appraise the property where the assessment happens online. A physical appraisal is required for conventional mortgage applications, which means an appraiser will assess the property on-site. So why is this important to know? Well, because even if you have a great job, excellent credit, and money in the bank, you shouldn’t assume that you’ll be guaranteed mortgage financing. A preapproval can only take you so far. Once the mortgage process has started, the lender will always assess the property you’re looking to purchase. Understanding this ahead of time prevents misunderstandings and will bring clarity to the mortgage process. Practically applied, if you’re attempting to buy a property in a hot housing market and you go in with an offer without a condition of financing, once the appraisal is complete, if the lender isn’t satisfied with the state or value of the property, you could lose your deposit. Now, what happens if you’d like to purchase a property that isn’t in the best condition? Being proactive includes knowing that there is a purchase plus improvements program that can allow you to buy a property and include some of the cost of the renovations in the mortgage. It’s not as simple as just increasing the mortgage amount and then getting the work done, there’s a process to follow, but it’s very doable. So if you have any questions about financing your next property or potentially using a purchase plus improvements to buy a property that needs a little work, please connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to walk you through the process.

Getting a Mortgage While on Parental Leave

By Michael Hallett • 01 May, 2024
Chances are if the title of this article piqued your interest enough to get you here, your family is probably growing. Congratulations! If you’ve thought now is the time to find a new property to accommodate your growing family, but you’re unsure how your parental leave will impact your ability to get a mortgage, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s how it works. When you work with an independent mortgage professional, it won’t be a problem to qualify your income on a mortgage application while on parental leave, as long as you have documentation proving that you have guaranteed employment when you return to work. A word of caution, if you walk into your local bank to look for a mortgage and you disclose that you’re currently collecting parental leave, there’s a chance they’ll only allow you to use that income to qualify. This reduction in income isn’t ideal because at 55% of your previous income up to $595/week, you won’t be eligible to borrow as much, limiting your options. The advantage of working with an independent mortgage professional is choice. You have a choice between lenders and mortgage products, including lenders who use 100% of your return-to-work income. To qualify, you’ll need an employment letter from your current employer that states the following: Your employer’s name preferably on the company letterhead Your position Your initial start date to ensure you’ve passed any probationary period Your scheduled return to work date Your guaranteed salary For a lender to feel confident about your ability to cover your mortgage payments, they want to see that you have a position waiting for you once your parental leave is over. You might also be required to provide a history of your income for the past couple of years, but that is typical of mortgage financing. Whether you intend to return to work after your parental leave is over or not, once the mortgage is in place, what you decide to do is entirely up to you. Mortgage qualification requires only that you have a position waiting for you. If you have any questions about this or anything else mortgage-related, please connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work with you.
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