New home buyer...

[Speed_69]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Except that math is horribly wrong

@ 41,000/year, NO other debts, 5.25% interest, 5% down, $150/month in propertytaxes OR condo fees, and $100/month for heating... you can afford $140,000 @ $775/month.

This is making me sad How the hell is someone suppose to buy a making $45k/yr. Lets just say they want to buy a $400k home w/ 20% downpayment and a mortgage rate of 5.25% for an amortization period of 25yrs. The bank will only give them $150,445.75 which is $875.00/month. So they're suppose to save the rest of the $250,000+? That's just rediculous

[Nizmo_GTR]

Check out President Choice financial. I just got a really good rate with them. They beat Jencor, ATB, CIBC, BMO, and a couple of other mortgage brokers.

[Orbie]

Originally posted by Speed_69

This is making me sad How the hell is someone suppose to buy a making $45k/yr. Lets just say they want to buy a $400k home w/ 20% downpayment and a mortgage rate of 5.25% for an amortization period of 25yrs. The bank will only give them $150,445.75 which is $875.00/month. So they're suppose to save the rest of the $250,000+? That's just rediculous

You can't, you're looking at either renting or buying a small condo. Nowadays unless you're rolling it in, you can only do it if you have D.I.N.K. or you bought in before the boom and have good equity.

[88CRX]

Originally posted by Speed_69

This is making me sad How the hell is someone suppose to buy a making $45k/yr. Lets just say they want to buy a $400k home w/ 20% downpayment and a mortgage rate of 5.25% for an amortization period of 25yrs. The bank will only give them $150,445.75 which is $875.00/month. So they're suppose to save the rest of the $250,000+? That's just rediculous

Get a co-signer and then if you can't actually afford it rent a room out.

But if your a single guy (no second income from the wife/gf) then when do you need a $400k home?

[Weapon_R]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


Except that math is horribly wrong

@ 41,000/year, NO other debts, 5.25% interest, 5% down, $150/month in propertytaxes OR condo fees, and $100/month for heating... you can afford $140,000 @ $775/month.

Not even close. At around 41k and with the various options avaiable, he could see almost 200k. Those online bank calculators dont mean shit

[Maddog55]

Go see a mortgage "Broker" as opposed to a bank. A broker will go to 30 or 40 different lenders, INCLUDING, all the banks..and basically say..."my customer wants a mortgage..who wants to give him one"...and all the lenders basically "bid" on providing a mortgage. The banks will only look at the "numbers" and if A+b+c doesn't equal D they say "sorry"!
But brokers and thier lenders will bend over backwards to try to get you a mortgage...
There's lenders out there now offereing 35 year amortizations now, bringing your monthly payments down, enabling you to qualify for higher amounts too. And still covered by CMHC insurance.

Here is one that was set up and started by a guy in Calgary. He got my son and my sister both mortgages when the banks wouldnt.

www.Canequity.ca

[crazydude]

Originally posted by Speed_69

This is making me sad How the hell is someone suppose to buy a making $45k/yr. Lets just say they want to buy a $400k home w/ 20% downpayment and a mortgage rate of 5.25% for an amortization period of 25yrs. The bank will only give them $150,445.75 which is $875.00/month. So they're suppose to save the rest of the $250,000+? That's just rediculous

rent out the basement? Or do what everyone else who makes a good living does....get your ass up to fort mac . Nearly anyone can make 70-100k a year up there.

[Super_Geo]

Hey man glad to hear you're looking to buy

I just finished the last steps in buying my condo before taking posession on the 23rd. I'm super stoked, I started looking on Feb 24th and didn't think it would all fly by so quickly.

The housing market is starting to heat up again so if you're going to act do it as soon as possible. As soon as you start getting bidding wars started then the experience starts to turn sour.

Here's some things to look out for if you're getting a condo:

- Wood or concrete construction. All buildings over 4 stories have to be concrete. Cheaper buildings will be wood framed, but concrete is definately the way to go... firmer support and way better at blocking out sound.

- Post tension cables. A nuisance with concrete buldings... they have metal weight bearing cables running through them that will rust. So every few years you need a civil engineer to come in and inspect them. They don't cost a lot to repair (~$1500/cable), but some buildings can have hundreds of cables so it's a good idea to take a look at that report to see what's coming up. Cause if it breaks and needs to be replaced, you're paying for part of it!

- Condo fees are a bitch. They range in price, but near downtown $350/month seems to be the average. They'll cover water, heat, electricity for the common areas, routine maintenance, etc. They add a significant chunk to your mortgage payments so it's important not to over look it (and banks take that into account too, they won't qualify you for as much if you're getting a condo).

- Special Assessments. If there's a major repair that can't be covered by the condo fees, a special assessment is sent out and each tenant has to pay a share of the cost, usually spread out over a year or more. The condo I'm getting is getting the roof to the parking garage repaired and the exterior updated with new windows and siding.... that came to about $250,000. There's 52 units in the building so we're each paying about $5000 spread out over the next year, which will be a bitch.

- Condo document inspector. They'll take a look over all the condo docs and let you know how it stacks up against comparable properties, things to watch out for... basically find any thing that would make you want to walk away. Pretty important to to... costs around $300 depending on who you go to.

- Mortgage Broker. So clutch. I highly recommend the broker I used (Lynn). 1st phone call she told me she could probably get me around 5.24%, so I said sure see what you can get. She comes back with 5.15% and I agree so she sends the paperwork. Two days later I fax over the paperwork, she tells me she has more forms for me to sign cause she got me 5.04%, and that she'll continue shopping around for a lower rate until the paperwork is on its way to the CMHC. PM me for her contact info, she's been doing mortgages for 20+ years

- Home inspector. Will take a look and check to make sure everything's working (all the plug-ins, phone jacks, appliances, no leaks in the walls, things about to give out, etc). Really worht the money for the peace of mind. $375

- Lawyer pushes all the paper after the mortgage is approved and the contract is final. Have another $1100 handy

I think that's about it... having a helpful realtor and mortgage broker is clutch!

[403Gemini]

BUMP!

Any mortgage brokers on beyond? Shoot me a pm *clears pm box*

[prae]

HRD2PLZ referred me to two at my request.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by 403Gemini
BUMP!

Any mortgage brokers on beyond? Shoot me a pm *clears pm box*

Ditto. I'll be looking for one in a month.

[tm.88]

I sent you a PM 403Gemini regarding a Mobile Mortgage Broker our brokerage works with. If you want any info on her just shoot me a pm back.

[turbotrip]

Originally posted by Super_Geo

- Lawyer pushes all the paper after the mortgage is approved and the contract is final. Have another $1100 handy

good god, is that really how much it cost u?

[bobby_lu]

Originally posted by turbotrip


good god, is that really how much it cost u?

Yup, roughly $600 plus disbursements, registrations, transfers and tax etc. Comes in around $1k+.

[Danish]

Yup that's around what I paid.

[Masked Bandit]

Ditto on the lawyer's fees.

[blownz]

I might be the only one, but I think most people go about deciding what they can afford on a house all wrong.

Personally I would never go to the bank or whoever and ask "how much can I spend on a house". It is the same as going to a dealership and asking "how expensive of a car can I buy?" Not a smart move imo. The max number they will give you will more often than not be enough to make you house poor depending on the lifestyle you want to maintain.

I would first do a budget and decide on how much you can comfortably afford for a monthly mortgage payment after including all of your regular living expenses you have (which are often much more complicated then what the banks look at) plus all the costs of the potential new place (ie, power/water/gas/phone/cable/internet/property or condo fees, everything).

Once you have that number, put it into one of the online calculators to see what kind of $ amount it gives you. Chances are it will typically be much lower than what a bank will approve you for but you will be better off sticking to that number.

If you end up in the unfortunate situation where that number will not buy you anything in the city, then rather than going to the bank and seeing if they will approve you anyway, you need to either decide where you can reasonably lower your other monthy obligations or figure out how to make more money.

[turbotrip]

Originally posted by bobby_lu


Yup, roughly $600 plus disbursements, registrations, transfers and tax etc. Comes in around $1k+.

Originally posted by Danish
Yup that's around what I paid.

Originally posted by Masked Bandit
Ditto on the lawyer's fees.

wow, my lawyer charges less than a third of that