Two ratios set how much you can borrow: what housing costs relative to income, and what all your debts add up to. With a condo, monthly fees count too. They shave off more capacity than people think.
What to collect before comparing
Bring two years of notices of assessment, recent pay stubs, an employment letter and three months of statements showing the down payment. Buying a condo? Add the declaration of co-ownership, the syndicate’s budget and the contingency fund status. An underfunded one should worry you as much as it worries the lender.
Budget and payment
What a lender approves and the payment you can live with are rarely the same number. Set the second one first. In La Prairie, taxes, insurance and heating come on top of the mortgage every month.
Offer conditions in La Prairie
Your offer in La Prairie needs enough time for the lender’s review, mortgage insurance, the appraisal and the documents that will go missing.
Property eligibility
A lender approves the property as much as the borrower. Condition, intended use and anything flagged at inspection or in the title records can stop a La Prairie file that looked fine on the numbers alone.
Funds required at closing
Beyond the down payment: notary fees, tax adjustments and transfer duty. In La Prairie, the welcome tax usually arrives months after the purchase, once the move and the furniture have already emptied the account. That’s why so many buyers forget it.
To prepare
What to gather.
Purchase budget
Verified income
Down payment
Current debts
Property conditions
Financing deadline
Frequently asked
Can the file be reviewed remotely?+
Yes. Phone, email or video call, with documents sent online. We can meet in person if you’d rather, but most files get done without anyone driving anywhere.
What down payment is needed for a first purchase?+
5% on the first $500,000, then 10% on the part above that. Under 20% down, mortgage insurance gets added to the loan. And on a condo, the condo fees count in your ratios too.
Buying, renewing, refinancing, or something a bit out of the ordinary: tell us where you’re at, even if it’s still fuzzy. Mathieu gets back to you with next steps and the documents to pull together.
