What Are My Downpayment Options? | Social FAQ

Alright here we go, lately I have been doing a lot of research online and have been left wanting on most websites FAQ pages. It seems companies are more interested in answering the questions they wished people were asking than actually answering questions people are asking.

I am determined not to be that guy and First Foundation will not be that kind of company... so, here we go, I would like to introduce you to the #OwnGrowProtect Social FAQs. You ask the question via social media, someone at First Foundation will answer with a YouTube video. We will do our very best to answer in a timely manner and if we have already answered the question before, we will direct you to that appropriate video!

So I took to twitter this afternoon and asked:

And got the following response...

So I recorded this video in response!

Downpayment Options for the First Time Homebuyer

Now I should go on to say that there is really no difference between the downpayment options available to the first time homebuyer compared to someone who has previously owned a property with exception to the Home Buyers Plan.

Strategies to Achieve a Zero-Down Payment

Although a traditional zero-down mortgage is no longer available in Canada, there are really three ways of qualifying for a mortgage without coming up with a 5% downpayment from your own resources. They are as follows:

• Gifted Downpayment - Whereby a family member gifts you the downpayment. This has to be a true gift and there can be no schedule for repayment. Proof of this comes through providing a gift letter.
• Flex Down Borrowed - An insurer program where individuals with very secure employment and impeccable credit can secure secondary financing on a downpayment for the mortgage. The debt has to be qualified in the debt service rations and there is an increase in the insurance premium.
• Home Buyers Plan - A program that allows borrowers to access up to $25000 of their own RRSPs to be used for a downpayment. The money has to be repaid in 15 years.

Downpayment Documentation

If you are looking to prove your downpayment from your own resources, typically you will have to prove that with 90 days of bank statements. The lender wants to see an accumulation of funds and will question any "large deposits" to your account. They do this to protect against money laundering.

If you have had the money saved up for a downpayment in a savings account or plan on using investments of some kind, that is no problems at all, all you will have to do is provide the 90 day history on the account. Now, if you are cashing in RRSPs or Mutual Funds or any other type of investment, you will most likely be asked to to provide proof that the investments have been transferred to your bank account and are fully accessible.

Want to know more about Downpayments >>

Social FAQ List

Here is a complete list of all the videos we have created around our #OwnGrowProtect Social FAQs