Buying a house for new comers to Canada

Welcome to canada, merv3160!!
Not sure if you know, but here in North America, credit history is very important to have (it is essentially a record of an individual's borrowing and payment record for loans, credit cards, mortgages, etc.). For big purchases like homes, banks and the governtment bodies (CMHC) that approve mortgages require a long credit history. If you speak to a mortgage broker, they will be able to best describe the steps you must take before thinking about getting a home, especially when you have no credit history here. (On that note, I would suggest you look into what a credit score is and how to maintain a high number - it is something that proves to be very bebeficial in the long run and opens many doors for you. Search the forums here for some good discussions on the topic.)

The more senior members o this forum will have more detailed answers for you, but I can just speak from my recent experience with an immigrant from Lebanon who , after 10 months of having immigrated here, applied for a mortgage with a bank with 15% down. The bank approved him, but the government body which gives the final stamp deemed him too risky to lend to given that he had no significant credit history. This was in Vancouver, so things in Winnipeg might be quite different where properties are quite cheap and your borrowing amount is relatively small.

Good luck with your move and housing here!

Thank you very much.

It might just help - we're just borrowing 280k and I have a car loan but only just September 2017. No delayed payments for the car, mobile phones, bills and credit cards.

merv3160 wrote: ↑ Thank you very much.

It might just help - we're just borrowing 280k and I have a car loan but only just September 2017. No delayed payments for the car, mobile phones, bills and credit cards.

Welcome to Canada.

Your first step would be to get an idea of how much you're able to afford based on your household income. If your credit history is good, your only outstanding loan is your car and assuming your household income is decent and you're full-time employed you may be eligible for a mortage through a large bank.

With only 5% downpayment you're subject to a CMHC insurance premium. You can calculate how much of the premium you're subject to here - https://www.cmhc-schl.gc.ca/en/co/buho/buho_023.cfm

You can find out your max mortgage limit from here. It's one of four of Canada's largest banks - https://www.bmo.com/main/personal/mortg ... rdability/

After that you can guage your approximate mortgage payment - https://www.bmo.com/main/personal/mortg ... s/payment/

Then I would schedule a visit with your preferred mortgage lender to get pre-approval on the home you're interested in and go from there.

I would suggest going through a mortgage broker. Also keep in mind that different brokers have different level of relationships with lenders, based on how much revenue they bring etc. So if broker A cannot get you a mortgage from Bank 1, does not mean broker B will also not be able to. That's why a good idea to talk to a couple brokers see what advice and help they can extend to you.

Interestingly , we were in a very similar situation like you. 10 months in Canada, with decent savings, and both my wife and I having decent paying permanent jobs. We managed to find an honest broker who was very upfront about what he could do, given we satisfy his parameters. We made an offer on a house after working with him, and by the time we closed, we were 12 months plus in Canada, which he wanted for us to qualify. Based on our discussions with him, we understood that these are the factors which affect eligibility:
i> Length of credit history: the more the better. But 12 months as bare minimum.
ii> Alternate credit: Like letter from landlord that you have paid rent on time. bank statements which show rent being deducted. Mobile phone, Internet, Cable and utility bills.
iii> Employment: Permanent jobs help. A letter from employer, salary slips, bank statements etc.
iv> Proof of down payment. i.e. 3 months bank statement which show you have sufficient funds to put down 6.5% minimum, i.e. 5% towards down payment and rest 1.5% for closing costs etc.

I recommend saving far more than 5% for your downpayment. I think you should have at least 10% and also some savings for all the other costs that go into a home purchase. What is the rush to buy?

merv3160 wrote: ↑ I have full time work when we arrived on March 2017. We had our limited credit cards on the same month. We have enough savings and we wish to buy a house here at Winnipeg Manitoba. Seeing as we only have been in the country for 10 months - what are the chances of our approval even if we have the 5% downpayment. Has there been any other new comers who applied for their first home mortgage, applying less than a year after arrival and approved? I tried to search here but I can't seem to find the same scenario.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

Unless you're from the USA (and have good credit there), it's 10% down for New To Canada borrowers.

You need another 5% OP and est. 1.5% foe closing costs (so 11.5% in total).

merv3160 wrote: ↑ I have full time work when we arrived on March 2017. We had our limited credit cards on the same month. We have enough savings and we wish to buy a house here at Winnipeg Manitoba. Seeing as we only have been in the country for 10 months - what are the chances of our approval even if we have the 5% downpayment. Has there been any other new comers who applied for their first home mortgage, applying less than a year after arrival and approved? I tried to search here but I can't seem to find the same scenario.

Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you for your time.

I was in your shoes 7 years ago

I landed late March and next year February bought my own house so I'd say it's definitely possible.
However be prepared banks (and insurance, in my case it was Genworth instead of CMCH) cold be picky and do not allow to stretch everything (e.g. using 5% DP they will use very conservative GDS/TDS ratios). Having 10% DP would help imo, as well as using a (good one) broker.
P.s. it's possibly depends in lender, mine REQUIRED funds for DP have to be present on account at least 3 month before closing date.

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I just want to let everyone know that ACU filed our application and CMHC has approved us. We have to show 5% downpayment and 2.5% closing costs. It took less than 2 hours for the approval too. So thank you all for your inputs. It was a happy ending after all. Thanks!

merv3160 wrote: ↑ I just want to let everyone know that ACU filed our application and CMHC has approved us. We have to show 5% downpayment and 2.5% closing costs. It took less than 2 hours for the approval too. So thank you all for your inputs. It was a happy ending after all. Thanks!

Interesting. What country are you coming from?

What rate did Assiniboine offer you?

We were given 3.19 for 5 years. We migrated from the Philippines.

merv3160 wrote: ↑ We were given 3.19 for 5 years. We migrated from the Philippines.

There's much better rates out there for insured mortgages.

My wife is Filipino and from Winnipeg. I could never figure out why so many Filipino people live there.

CdnRealEstateGuy wrote: ↑ There's much better rates out there for insured mortgages.

My wife is Filipino and from Winnipeg. I could never figure out why so many Filipino people live there.

Do the mosquitos make them feel at home?

C