Dispelling myths around Canada’s new mortgage rules
Posted Apr 20, 2010 01:41:29 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The head of the Nova Scotia Home Builders’ Association isn’t too worried about Canada’s new mortgage rules.
Many potential home buyers have been worrying about the new 20 per cent down payment but it’s not the case.
“(The 20 per cent down payment) is for rentals and investment properties,” says the association’s CEO Paul Pettipas. “It is not for people buying single-family dwellings.”
That means home buyers can still get 95 per cent financing for a single-family home, and 90 per cent on refinancing.
Another misconception, he says, is that your rate will be a fixed five-year rate.
“You have to qualify at the five-year Bank of Canada benchmark rate, which is now about 4.85 (per cent). Once you qualify then you can negotiate a lower rate,” says Pettipas.
Pettipas says it all comes to qualifying and he says if you can’t qualify for a 4.85 per cent mortgage he’s wondering if you should be getting a house in the first place
