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Mortgages
Feds May Change Mortgage Rules to Cool Down Real Estate Market
Jan 8th
CTV News reports that finance minister Jim Flaherty is considering raising the minimum down payment required for a mortgage in Canada and possibly reducing the maximum amortization period allowed in an effort to cool down Canada’s hot real estate market.
Flaherty warns “If we see further evidence that there is excessive demand in the housing market or that there’s an indication that people are taking on obligations that they will not be able to handle in the future when interest rates rise, then we will take some action,”
“The likely action we will take is to increase the size of the down payment from 5 per cent to a higher number, reduce the amortization — bring it down from 35 years to something less,” he said.
Low interest rates have been one of the key drivers behind the quick turnaround in Canada’s real estate market. The federal government is looking for ways to cool the demand in the real estate market without raising interest rates. Increasing interest rates would have a negative effect on the other sectors of Canada’s recovering economy.
Self-Employed? You Can Get a Mortgage
Dec 23rd
You will need to present the following documents to a banker or other lender for the application of your new mortgage:
Self-Employed
- 2 years of Notice of Assessments
- 2 years of T1 general tax return forms
- 2 years’ proof of business (your GST number and article of incorporation)
Employed
- Written employment letter from Human Resources stating salary or hour wage /minimum hourly work week/position /start date – if less than 3 months (letter stating you are not on probation)
- Current pay stub
- 2 years of T4 statements if you would like to use overtime earnings
Have these documents ready when you meet with your mortgage specialist and things will move swiftly for you.
