Qualifying For A Mortgage: Judgment Day!
The first step in your ‘House-Hunting Adventure’ is for you to be pre-qualified. This means meeting with a mortgage professional to determine how much of a mortgage you can afford based on you income, savings and debts. It's easy but very important because you'll avoid possible disappointments down the road if you fall in love with a place then discover you can't afford it. Knowing how much of a house you can afford will save you a great deal of time as you won’t waste efforts searching above your price range. But once you do find the perfect home, it will mean you can make an offer immediately knowing you can afford it.
We can arrange to have you pre-qualified for a mortgage with reputable lenders before you start shopping for a home if you wish.
In a nutshell, here's how mortgage approval works: the amount of money you qualify for PLUS the amount of cash you can put down as a down payment EQUALS the amount you can afford to spend on a home.
Most lending institutions won't allow more than about 30% of your income to support a mortgage. If you have other debts, they usually won't allow your debts and your mortgage to exceed 40% of your income.
Finalizing Your Mortgage: Taking The Big Step!
Once we’ve helped you find the ‘Home of Your Dreams’, the next step is to finalize your financing. You'll need to provide your mortgage lender with the following documentation:
- A copy of the MLS real estate listing for the property—available from us.
- A copy of the offer to purchase—available from us.
- Documents to confirm your employment, length of employment and income—available from your employer.
- Proof of down payment: i.e. the cash available to you from various sources such as your savings, RRSP’s, investments, etc. This is available from your bank or financial institution.
If you have already been pre-approved, it's simply a matter of finalizing these details with your mortgage specialist.