Federal Government Changes to Mortgage Lending
For the fourth time in as many years, the Federal Government has announced action to restrict mortgage credit. The new measures include:
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- The maximum amortization on a prime mortgage will be reduced from 30 to 25 years.
- Mortgage insurance will not be provided for properties valued over $1 million.
- Refinancing has been lowered from a maximum of 85% loan-to-value to a maximum of 80% loan-to-value.
- The maximum gross debt service (GDS) and total debt service (TDS) will be limited to a maximum of 39% and 44% respectively. Currently, GDS does not apply to qualified borrowers with credit scores over 680.
These measures will take effect July 9, 2012.
Here’s a key question members are already asking today:
Q. I have a written mortgage pre-approval from a lender, dated before July 9, 2012 with a 30-year amortization. Will I still be eligible for a 30-year amortization if I don’t sign an agreement of purchase and sale until July 9, 2012 or later?
A. No, a mortgage pre-approval without an agreement of purchase and sale is not sufficient to qualify for a 30-year amortization. You may have a 30-year amortization only if your agreement of purchase and sale is dated before July 9, 2012 and you have made a mortgage insurance application before July 9, 2012. You may wish to discuss with your lender to revise your mortgage pre-approval using the new parameters announced today.
For more information, here’s the government’s Q and A document: www.fin.gc.ca/n12/data/12-070_2-eng.asp