Three years ago, 5% down mortgages were extremely flexible. Today they are not. Before you could refinance and pull out extra equity up to 95% loan to value. Today it’s a maximum of 80% loan to value.

The funny thing is, you are still paying the same high ratio CMHC fees as you did when you had that flexibility. The only other way to get access to extra funds is to do a “Purchase + Improvement” program. If you know you are purchasing a property that can be renovated, you might as well get the bank to finance it instead of paying with a PLC or, out of your pocket.

BUT, YOU NEED TO PLAN FOR THIS WHEN APPLYING FOR YOUR MORTGAGE, NOT AFTER. If you want to renovate your property after receiving the mortgage, the bank will not have the power to increase your mortgage amount. Reply to this newsletter and let me help you plan for those renovations.

On average, CMHC has no issues lending out an extra 10% for renovations. For a $500k purchase, that’s an extra 50k for reno’s. For the best mortgage rates , service , and knowledge about mortgage related questions call Us anytime