Buying
a house, condo or rental property in Southern Ontario?
Ontario
real estate and mortgage markets are heating up.
You
will find homes for sale in Windsor-Essex, Chatham-Kent,
Sarnia-Lambton and London areas, by real estate agents
via the Multiple Listings Service (MLS listings), as
well as houses for sale by owners who have chosen to
sell their homes privately. If you are planning to buy
a house or condo in Southern Ontario, let us be your
New Home Buyers Guide.
If
you rent an apartment or house in Southern Ontario
We
may be able to help you achieve the Canadian of home
ownership. Buying a home can save you thousands of dollars
over a lifetime, compared to renting a home from someone
else. Canadians love to have a piece of land to call
their own, and have grown to expect that the home's
value will appreciate over time. Purchasing property
o buying a home is not difficult, but you will have
to commit some time (maybe a lot of time, depending
on your needs), energy, and money to the process. Plan
to spend your weekends looking at houses or condos for
a while. You will have to share your financial details
with a lender to get the loan you need. You will have
to part with some hard-earned cash. If the process seems
daunting, don't despair. We've put together the tools
to help you and in the end, you will have a home to
call your own!
All
about mortgages, Offers to Purchase, banks, appraisers
and home inspectors
Taking
your time in buying your home can save you thousands
of dollars if you zero in on only the properties for
sale that meet your specific requirements as homes you
would buy.. Also, you must come to the negotiating table
fully informed about mortgages, Offers to Purchase,
and the roles and responsibilties of the parties involved,
from the home buyer and seller to real estate agents,
mortgage brokers, banks, appraisers and home inspectors.
This site can provide some basic information and some
links to other resources that provide greater depth
on each topic to make your home buying experience a
pleasure.
How
to save money buying a home in the Southern Ontario
real estate market
Buying
the Southern Ontario home that best meets your needs
can save you thousands of dollars in unnecessary upgrades
and additions later, so as a home buyer try not to get
too emotionally involved with any particular house you
find just because it has a beautiful old fireplace or
a nice picture window. Make a list of your Absolutely
Primary Requirements (examples: three bedrooms,
two bathrooms, central air conditioning, two-car garage).
Then only look at only buying homes that meet those
requirements. You should also make a list of Desirable
But Not Essential Features, but unless a particular
home that's for sale meets your primary requirements,
don't bother even looking at it. Save your energy and
time by staying focused on buying the home that really
meets your needs.
Control
of the home buying process - Southern Ontario style
In
busy Southern Ontario, no one wants to waste time looking
at houses they know they don't want. When you take the
reins, you make the choice of what you will see and
when you'll see it. If you are working with a real estate
agent or broker, make sure you make your needs clear.
This will make the real estate agent's job much easier
and will also make your home search much shorter.
How
to buy a home in Southern Ontario at the best price
and a great mortgage rate
Ontario
law generally restricts agents from sharing commissions
with non-agents. So if you are looking at properties
being sold by the owner directly, without the assistance
of a real estate agent or broker, homes for sale owner
do not face this restriction, so you may be able to
negotiate the home seller to agree to share the saved
commission with you by reducing the price of the home
accordingly. Good negotiating skills are very important
in buying a home that is for sale by owner privately.
Free
articles on home buying and selling, choosing a real
estate agent or broker, mortgages and more
Feel
free to enjoy the many articles you'll find in our ARTICLES
section of this site. We're constantly adding to the
list and you're sure to find something of interest to
you among them.
Windsor-Ontario-Mortgage has the one of the largest
network of properties and houses for sale in Southern
Ontario, plus we have helpful articles, mortgage calculators,
acccess to the best mortgage rates and much more to
help you succeed in buying or selling a home or property.
Best of all, these services are absolutely free. Enjoy!
Understanding
the home buying process in Ontario
Whether
you are purchasing a home in London, Sarnia, Chatham,
Leamington, Tecumseh, Windsor or any other Southern
Ontario community, the first step in the process of
buying a house, condo or piece of property is to obtain
a mortgage, which has four requirements:
Enough stable income to qualify
Good credit
Enough money for closing costs and down payment
An acceptable property to buy
The
general requirements are explained in more detail below.
In Ontario, even if you don't fit the mold exactly,
there may still be ways for you to buy a home. Our guidelines
are fairly general, and there really is a loan program
for everyone.
Buying
a Southern Ontario home requires a stable income
Stable
income means that you can prove you make enough money
every year to qualify for the loan. If you are
salaried, a lender will use your gross monthly salary
to qualify you. If you are self-employed, commissioned,
using bonuses or part-time income to qualify, the lender
will average two years income to arrive at a stable
number. Alimony and child support can be to used qualify,
but you will probably have to prove that you actually
receive the money regularly, not merely that you are
entitled to it.
Lenders
use debt to income ratios to determine qualification.
Acceptable ratios change with the loan program. There
are usually two ratios used:
- The "front" ratio: the
total amount of the new principal, interest, taxes,
insurance (PITI) should not exceed 25-35% of your
gross monthly income, depending on the loan program.
If you are buying a condo, co-op, or a house that
has a homeowner's fee, you will have to add the monthly
fee to your PITI to calculate this ratio.
- The "back" ratio: the total
PITI plus all your monthly debts (including car loans,
student loans, credit cards, alimony, child support,
and other recurring monthly debts) should not exceed
33-41% of your gross monthly income, depending on
the loan program.
Making
a home purchase in Ontario requires a good credit rating
Good
credit means you have met all your financial obligations
in a responsible manner. Credit reporting agencies report
any payments you have made over 30 days late, any outstanding
balances that you owe, and any judgments, liens,
or bankruptcies that have been filed against
you. If you have a few payments that are more than 30
days late on credit cards or student loans, the lender
will require an explanation letter and will probably
make the loan anyway. However, if you have more than
a few late payments, or they were more than 30 days
late, you will have to provide specific information
about the circumstances surrounding the late payments.
Lenders
will consider an explanation for a spell of bad credit.
They want to see that the difficulties happened during
a specific timeframe, that the borrower has a reason
(divorce, loss of job, illness or other life change)
and that good credit has been re-established.
Previous
late mortgage payments and bankruptcies have specific
rules about acceptability. Thus check with a lender
who specializes in "less than perfect credit"
loans, often called B and C mortgages. For more
information on shopping for bank mortgages or through
a mortgage broker, see our mortgage
information section.
Financing
the purchase of a home in Southern Ontario
Monthly
mortgage payments on the Southern Ontario home you're
buying
The
monthly payment includes principal and interest on a
mortgage, property taxes, homeowner's insurance and
any condominium, co-op, or homeowners fees. Go to our
Mortgages to find calculators to easily figure out what
monthly payments will be at today's interest rates.
Cash
payments toward the purchase of a home or property
You
will need cash for a down payment, for closing
costs, for prepaid expenses, and for reserves.
The money has to be derived from a source acceptable
to the lender. Generally, you are not allowed to borrow
your down payment or closing costs, except when the
loan is secured.
The
Southern Ontario home you buy must be acceptable purchase
property
Lenders are looking at the property as security for
your loan. They expect you to repay the loan as agreed,
but if you default, they will foreclose on the property
and sell the house to make back their loss. For this
reason, they appraise the property to determine what
it is worth and to establish its condition. Most standard
financing requires the property to be in "average"
condition, as determined by the appraiser. That means
some deferred maintenance is acceptable, but if the
house is in poor enough condition to warrant a "below
average" rating, a special financing program would
probably be necessary. Some indications of potential
problems include holes in the floors, walls, roofs,
or ceilings, missing appliances, nonfunctioning bathrooms
and obvious safety hazards. Other types of property
that may fall outside standard guidelines are mobile
homes, vacant land, and properties with acreage.
Understanding
Your Market
Buyer's vs. Seller's Markets
Understanding whether you are buying in a buyer's or
seller's market.
A buyer's market is when there are more houses on the
market than there are buyers, houses are selling very
slowly, and sometimes the sales prices of houses are
being lowered by sellers in an attempt to sell them
more quickly.
A seller's market (also called a "hot" market)
is indicated when there aren't enough houses for sale
to meet buyer demand, houses are selling fast, and buyers
are competing for houses by offering over the asking
price (and driving the price up).
Research
Local Real Estate
Start reading the real estate section of your local
newspaper a couple of months before you buy. If you
have not been reading the real estate section, go to
the library and read the last few weeks. This will make
you more familiar with the market.
If it's a buyer's market, you can be more leisurely in
your search and negotiate price and terms. If it's a seller's
market, you should be prepared to make a quick offer,
expect to compete for the house, and probably have to
pay close to or even slightly over list price.
These are some
of the lenders that we deal with;
AGF Trust Company - Alta West Mortgage Capital Corporation
- ATB
Financial
- Apex Credit Union Ltd. (ACU)
- The Associates - B2B
Trust - Bank
of Montreal
- Bridgewater
Financial Services Ltd.
- Business
Development Bank of Canada (BDC)
- CEG
Mortgage -
CIBC Mortgages Inc. (CMI)
- Canadian Home Income Plan
- Canadian Western Bank
- Canada ICI Commercial Mortgages Inc.
- Canada
Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) - Canada
Life Mortgage Services Ltd. - Canada
Trustco Mortgage Company - Canadian
Mortgage Capital Corp. (CMCC) - CanEquity
Mortgage -
Capital
City Savings and Credit Union Limited
- Capital
Direct Lending Corp.
- Capri
Mortgage Corporation
- Citi
Financial
- Citizens Bank of Canada
- Clarica Life Insurance Company
- CONEXUS Credit Union
- Coast
Capital Savings
- Community
Trust Company Ltd.
- Co-operative
Trust Company of Canada
- Co-operators
Life Insurance Company
- Cove
Mortgage Ltd.
- Desjardins
- Desjardins
Financial Security Life Assurance Company - DUCA
Financial Services Credit Union Ltd. - Effort
Trust Company
- Empire
Life Insurance Company
- Envision
Credit Union Ltd.
- Equisure
Trust Company
- Equitable
Life Insurance Company of Canada
- Equitable
Trust Company
- First
Calgary Savings
- First
Circle Financial
- First
Marathon Mortgage Corporation
- First
National Financial Corporation
- FirstLine
Mortgages
- FirstOntario
Credit Union Limited
- Gibraltar
Mortgage -
GMAC
Commercial Mortgage
- Great-West
Life Assurance Company
- Household
Financial Corporation of Canada
- Home
Trust Company
- HSBC
Bank Canada
- ICI
Mortgages Managers Inc
- ING
Direct - Intel Financial Inc.
- IntesaBci Canada
- La Capitale Group Financier Inc.
- Laurentian Bank of Canada
- League Savings and Mortgage Company
- London
Life Insurance Company
- M.R.S.
Trust Company (MRS Trust) - MCAP
Mortgage Corporation
- Mackenzie
Financial Corporation
- Manulife
Financial
- Maple
Trust Company
- National
Bank of Canada
- Pafco
Insurance Company
- Peace
Hills Trust Company
- Peoples
Trust Company
- Prospera
Credit Union
- ResMor
Capital Corp.
- Scotiabank
- Sun Life Assurance Company of Canada
- Sun
Life Financial Trust Inc.
- Surrey
Metro Savings
- TD
Canada Trust
- Unisource Mortgage Corporation - Vancouver
City Savings Credit Union
- Xceed
Mortgage Corporation |
