Mortgage Terms
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Canada Child Benefit and Your Mortgage
Raising a family in Canada comes with significant financial responsibilities, from childcare costs to daily household expenses. For many families, the Canada Child Benefit (CCB) serves as a crucial financial lifeline, providing tax-free monthly payments to support...
Understanding Debt Service Ratios GDS/TDS
Understanding Debt Service Rations GDS/TDS: When you hear that your mortgage application is ‘a little tight on ratios,’ it can sound like lender-speak for a hard no. It is not quite that simple. Canadian lenders use two percentages – Gross Debt Service, or GDS, and Total Debt Service, or TDS – to compare your gross income with the payments you are expected to carry.
Mortgage Term: Disability Assistance Payment
Discover what disability assistance payments are, and how they help parents save for the long-term financial security and housing of their disabled children.
Gifted Funds and Mortgages
In the ever-evolving landscape of Canadian real estate, rising home prices have made it increasingly challenging for many buyers to enter the market. As a result, gifted funds for down payments have become a significant enabler for many prospective homeowners,...
Understanding Variable Mortgages
Understanding Variable Mortgages: The right choice depends on how the product works, what your lender’s contract says, how long you expect to keep the mortgage, and – most importantly – whether your monthly cash flow has enough breathing room when rates move against you.
Understanding Fixed Mortgages
Understanding Fixed Mortgages: A fixed mortgage can feel like putting a fence around one of your household’s biggest expenses: for the length of your term, the interest rate—and usually the required principal-and-interest payment—stays put.
Canada’s Non-Federally Regulated Mortgage Providers
Mortgage providers in Canada are either federally or provincially regulated. Canada's chartered banks are federally regulated while many other lenders (see below) are not. Getting a mortgage from a non-federally regulated mortgage provider in Canada has both...
Ontario Land Transfer Tax Rebate Explained
Imagine you and your partner are excited to buy your first home in Ontario. You spend your weekends looking at homes, dreaming of your future, and planning your perfect space. But then, you start to worry about the extra costs, like the land transfer tax. That's when...
Struggling Under the Stress Test
Discover how the mortgage stress test in Canada impacts the ability of Canadians to afford homes and the actionable steps you can take to address this requirement.
Variable Rate Mortgages: Not All Calculated the Same
Canadians are changing their preferences for mortgages. With a recent decrease in interest rates and speculation that more could be coming, brokers have been advising their clients to return to variable-rate mortgages from the 5-year fixed mortgages that have been the...
Mortgage Term: Insolvency
Discover what insolvency means, the types of insolvency, and how insolvency can impact your credit and your mortgage options.
More Than Rate: Pre-Payment Privileges
Learn about the different kinds of prepayment privileges and discover why prepayment privileges are more important than interest rate when it comes to lowering the cost of your mortgage.
Understanding Condo Reserve Funds
Discover what a condo reserve fund is, the signs it may be insufficient, and how to discover and avoid condos with insufficient reserve funds.
Mortgage Term: ESOP
Discover what an ESOP is and how it can support your mortgage application particularly under a Net Worth Program.
Understanding HELOCS
A Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) is not a traditional mortgage but a type of revolving credit secured against the equity in your home. Canadians are very creative in their use of HELOCs using them for everything from investing, to debt consolidation, to using...
Mortgage Term: Liquidity Ratio
Discover how the liquidity ratio is used by underwriters to measure the ability of clients to meet their short-term obligations; such as their next mortgage payment.
Understanding Amortization
Understanding Amortization: This article aims to demystify mortgage amortization, differentiate it from the mortgage term, provide insights into how amortization schedules work, and explain how various payment strategies can impact your financial obligations over the life of your mortgage.
Mortgage Term: Exempt Contribution
Learn about the implications of the exempt contribution and how it relates to registered accounts, indirectly impacting mortgages in several important ways.
Understanding Cash Back Mortgages
Cash Back Mortgages. Home buying is a naturally expensive thing to be doing. You not only have to pay for the house, but you have substantial closing costs as well. You might want to make your new house ‘home ready’ by getting a few new pieces of furniture and don’t forget new window coverings like blinds, drapes, and curtains (never cheap). Wouldn’t it be nice to get a few thousand dollars back when you fund your mortgage to cover these costs?
Mortgage Term: Zero Per Cent Loan
Discover what a zero per cent loan is, its unique characteristics, and how zero per cent loans relate to mortgages.
Critical Guide to Emergency Funds
An emergency fund is an essential financial safety net designed to cover unexpected expenses or financial disruptions without the need to incur debt. It acts as a buffer that can help you maintain your financial stability during unforeseen circumstances such as job...
Mortgage Term: Open-End Lease
Discover the key features of an open-end lease, what it means especially when purchasing a vehicle, and its relationship to mortgages.
Featured Publications
Articles
- Extended Amortizations and Hypothetical Calculations
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) - Minimum Qualifying Rate for Uninsured Mortgages
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) - Residential Mortgage Underwriting Practices and Procedures
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) - Guideline on Existing Consumer Mortgage Loans in Exceptional Circumstances Financial Consumer Agency of Canada
Book: “The Program”
- Part 1 – Building Your Down Payment
- Part 2 – Mortgage Payoff Strategies
- Part 3 – Building Wealth Through Real Estate