Guides
The explanations you should have been given the first time.
10 guides on how mortgages actually work in Ontario. Written by me, sourced to CMHC, OSFI, the Ministry of Finance and the FCAC, and updated when the rules change.
Buying your first place
What it costs, what you need, and what nobody explains up front.
How much down payment you actually need in Canada
The minimum is not one percentage. It is calculated in slices, and the answer on a $700,000 home is not five percent of $700,000.
Read the guide →Closing costs in Ontario: what else is due on the day
The down payment is the number everyone saves toward. Closing costs are the ones that arrive uninvited, all at once, and cannot be added to your mortgage.
Read the guide →Ontario land transfer tax, explained properly
It is charged in brackets rather than as one percentage, it is due in cash on closing, and inside Toronto you pay it twice.
Read the guide →The First Home Savings Account, explained
The FHSA is the only registered account in Canada that is deductible going in and tax-free coming out. For a first purchase it beats both the RRSP and the TFSA — but only if you open it early enough to build the room.
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Making the decision
The trade-offs that actually change what you pay.
Fixed or variable: the question nobody can answer for you
Anyone who tells you confidently which one wins is guessing about future interest rates. What can be answered is which risk you are better placed to carry.
Read the guide →The mortgage stress test, and why you're approved for less than you expected
Lenders do not qualify you at the rate you will pay. They qualify you at a higher one, and that single rule is the main reason approvals come in below what people budget for.
Read the guide →Clearing CRA tax debt with your mortgage
Tax debt behaves differently from other debt. It can become a matter of public record, it can attach to your property ahead of everyone else, and it can quietly close the door on the lenders you would otherwise qualify with.
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Renewing
Your term is ending and the letter has arrived.
How this works
What a mortgage agent does, and what it costs you.
Does shopping for a mortgage rate hurt your credit score?
The fear of damaging your score stops people comparing offers — which usually costs far more than the enquiry ever would.
Read the guide →The bank said no. What that actually means
A decline is one institution applying its own rules to your file. It is not a verdict on whether you can get a mortgage, and it is usually fixable.
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