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Canadian Real Estate

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Sam Hanaa
  • Rental Property Investor
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Is it possible to get under 20% down payment for ...

Sam Hanaa
  • Rental Property Investor
Posted Apr 10 2019, 12:41

... non owner occupied house ?

I keep reading American investors of how they got rental investment for very little down payment , can we do that in Canada ?

I asked two banks and both said 20 percent is a must

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Antoine Martel
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Miami, FL
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Antoine Martel
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Miami, FL
Replied Apr 10 2019, 18:12

Sam.

In the states the lowest is 20% through conventional financing and Canada has the same. 

Lower than 20% is not going to be conventional.

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Sol Kassam
  • Realtor
  • Seattle & Toronto
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Sol Kassam
  • Realtor
  • Seattle & Toronto
Replied Apr 10 2019, 19:56

20% is the barrier of entry in Canada.

Rarely do I see short term scenarios where a bank will fund a project with less, and the one I have seen was a very special circumstance.

Relationships with private lenders will give you your downpayment if you find a property in your target market that justifies their investment.

The new Federal Government incentive doesn't help much but may be an option to consider.

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Luc Boiron
  • Specialist
  • Toronto, Ontario
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Luc Boiron
  • Specialist
  • Toronto, Ontario
Replied Apr 10 2019, 21:11

You can always get a 75% LTV loan from the bank and a 15% VTB from the seller, so you would only need 10% down. As Sol mentioned, private lenders can provide equity or debt for the downpayment portion. You can have private lenders fund your deal, it's rare but I've had deals where I've funded more than 100% of the purchase price from a private lender.
In terms of regular transactions though, either save up the 20% or find someone else who can bring it to the table. You always need cash, it just doesn't need to be yours.

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Derek L Mooy
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Chandler, OK
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Derek L Mooy
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Chandler, OK
Replied Apr 10 2019, 21:20

@Sam Hanaa

I’m not sure about Canadian standards but I am closing on two single family homes in the U.S. for 10% down going through a smaller local bank. Maybe the same can be done there?

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Erik Pilon
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Dubai, Dubai
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Erik Pilon
  • Rental Property Investor
  • Dubai, Dubai
Replied Apr 20 2019, 06:53

Had a call with Bank of Montreal last week.

They offer 5% down if you want.

As a non-resident it’s 20% minimum, but if you have a Canadian partner involved (could be 1% of your ‘company’, they told me they don’t ask how many shares each have), you can still get the 5% down.

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Anthony Therrien-Bernard
  • Realtor
  • Calgary, Alberta
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Anthony Therrien-Bernard
  • Realtor
  • Calgary, Alberta
Replied Apr 20 2019, 18:19

Erik is this for non owner occupied rental property? If that’s the case I would be curious to find out but it’s unlikely. Usually the 5% applies to owner occupied property as they are insured mortgages 

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Dillon Marshall
  • Contractor
  • Rhode Island
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Dillon Marshall
  • Contractor
  • Rhode Island
Replied Apr 20 2019, 18:43

I've heard of people opening a business .  Going to small local banks and getting lines of credit .  And use use that as their down payment. 

Risky but if you got enough cash flow to cover both mortgage and line of credit payments. 

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Sam Hanaa
  • Rental Property Investor
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Sam Hanaa
  • Rental Property Investor
Replied Apr 20 2019, 22:24
Originally posted by @Dillon Marshall:

I've heard of people opening a business .  Going to small local banks and getting lines of credit .  And use use that as their down payment. 

Risky but if you got enough cash flow to cover both mortgage and line of credit payments. 

 I have business line of credit , but the interest rate is too high to think in any passive (or semi passive ) investment that I can use that funds for. 

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Doug Keefe
  • Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
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Doug Keefe
  • Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island
Replied Apr 25 2019, 17:29

@Sam Hanaa if it's owner occupied and 4 units or under my understanding is that you can go down to 10% but amortization periods max out at 25 years and CMHC fees do apply.

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Guillaume D.
  • Real Estate Investor & Marketing Specialist
  • Montreal, QC
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Guillaume D.
  • Real Estate Investor & Marketing Specialist
  • Montreal, QC
Replied Apr 26 2019, 12:42

If you insure your loan through CMHC, any bank can go down to 5% cashdown, but you need to have the "intention" to occupy the property. The word "intention" is important here. This only applies to single-family houses or duplexes, and then it goes up to 10% for owner-occupy triplexes and 4-plexes. Finally, CMHM can also insure your mortgage for buildings of 5 or more units, but cash down will still be 20% on the residential side (it actually goes up to 25% in commercial). Hope this helps!

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Sam Hanaa
  • Rental Property Investor
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Sam Hanaa
  • Rental Property Investor
Replied Apr 26 2019, 19:16
Originally posted by @Guillaume D.:

If you insure your loan through CMHC, any bank can go down to 5% cashdown, but you need to have the "intention" to occupy the property. The word "intention" is important here. This only applies to single-family houses or duplexes, and then it goes up to 10% for owner-occupy triplexes and 4-plexes. Finally, CMHM can also insure your mortgage for buildings of 5 or more units, but cash down will still be 20% on the residential side (it actually goes up to 25% in commercial). Hope this helps!

 Great details , thank you 

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Hai Loc
  • Specialist
  • Toronto, Ontario
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Hai Loc
  • Specialist
  • Toronto, Ontario
Replied May 8 2019, 10:57

I just talked to one of my buddies and RBC is giving him 11% down.. Yes he is paying CMHC but RBC really liked his income ratio.. His PITI was less than 40% of his income..

I think bank history goes a long way beyond just credit score.. He is also a first time home buyer..

It may be a challenge for an investment property

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Anthony Therrien-Bernard
  • Realtor
  • Calgary, Alberta
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Anthony Therrien-Bernard
  • Realtor
  • Calgary, Alberta
Replied May 8 2019, 11:15
If it’s a property that will be occupied it’s usually not a problem to get 5%. But for an investment property it’s a different story, you can rely on CHMC and usually the minimum down is 20%, sometimes 25%

Originally posted by @Hai Loc:

I just talked to one of my buddies and RBC is giving him 11% down.. Yes he is paying CMHC but RBC really liked his income ratio.. His PITI was less than 40% of his income..

I think bank history goes a long way beyond just credit score.. He is also a first time home buyer..

It may be a challenge for an investment property