Canada's banking regulator has once again updated its "B20" guidelines for residential mortgage underwriting, this time to include a financial stress test for buyers who don't need CMHC-mortgage insurance. OSFI (the Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) said today that the changes will come into force the first day of January 2018 and will "reinforce a strong and prudent regulatory regime for residential mortgage underwriting in Canada."
Last month in my blog, I talked about new Canadian Government rules coming into effect and how they might impact the mortgage lending landscape. Besides explaining the new mortgagequalifying stress test, I touched on CMHC’s (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation) soon-to-be-gone role as a provider of “bulk” or “low-ratio” mortgage insurance to the mortgage lending industry, and how it provided stability and promoted competition. As of Nov 30th, 2016 CMHC officially no longer provides that and certain other services, hence many mortgage lenders who had previously relied on these categories of mortgage insurance to manage their lending operations have been forced – over the last 30 days – to dramatically scale back their offerings.
Breaking down self-employment, the aftermath of the global recession, and what it all means at the mortgage table.
Did you know that one in six (16%) of working Canadians are self-employed? If this is or will be you or someone you know, and you are thinking about buying a home, please take a moment to understands how the new self-employed income documentation rules affect mortgage qualifying.
Last Updated: May 2019
Personally, I think Canada is a great place to live with wonderful opportunities. At the same time, I can't help but worry some days about the current economic conditions in the world. Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney has been warning about the high level of consumer debt in Canada since early 2011, and in 2019 his replacement Stephen Poloz continues to sounding warnings. The Bank of Canada is not a bank, but rather in charge of overseeing Canada's financial system and health.
Currently in Canada, 1 in 5 in the work force are self-employed, a trend that is expected to continue and increase. How does this impact getting a mortgage?
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Our Richards Mortgage Group blog is a wealth of information for anyone looking to apply for a mortgage to purchase or refinance a property. Browse through the articles and find the topics that are most useful to you in your home mortgage information search. Find out if You Can Get a Mortgage here.
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