It’s official that another mortgage rule change is coming. Last month we wrote about all of the changes that have occurred over the last 8 years.
Now we have received word that the biggest mortgage rule change is coming on January 1st. The government has announced that anyone with 20% down will now have to qualify for their mortgage at a rate that is 2% higher than they are actually paying. So if you are getting a rate of 3% on your mortgage we will be required to assess it as if you are paying a rate of 5%. What does this do to the numbers? Let’s say you have an income of $70,000 per year. You could currently qualify for a mortgage of $540,000 not taking into account any other property costs. Under the new proposed rules you would only qualify for a mortgage of $426,000. This is a drop of approximately $114,000 just because of the rule change and assuming nothing else changes.
This means if you are looking to purchase or refinance with 20% down or more now may be the time to consider getting your mortgage in place before your borrowing power is reduced.
We don’t have any further details as of yet in terms of when you need to have an approval in place or fund a mortgage to take advantage of the old rules but we will let you know as soon as we receive more information.
If you need any advice on your personal situation please contact our office at 604-556-3893 or email at admin@ymscanada.ca.
For more information on our mortgage products and your preferred Abbotsford Mortgage Broker please visit our website at www.ymscanada.ca.