Region served
Income earned outside Canada counts with few lenders. Which ones take it for a purchase in Grand Montréal, and on what terms.
What matters is whether the income is declared and steady. A lender that asks for two years of history will turn down a file another accepts on a twelve-month average. Income that was never declared counts nowhere, whatever the amount.
Start with two years of notices of assessment, which lenders accept without a fight. Then the commission or employment statements for the same period. If income swings with the seasons, show the whole year, worst months included.
Two years of notices of assessment, recent pay stubs, an employment letter. The lender goes by what your tax records show, not by what lands in your account. Income that shows up nowhere does not count toward a purchase in Grand Montréal.
Depending on where the income comes from, the lender takes the current year, a two-year average or a simple employment confirmation. That period sets the amount, not what you are earning this month. Expect it to differ from one lender to the next in Grand Montréal.
Notices of assessment, tax returns, financial statements, pay stubs, deposit records. Get them all together before you make an offer. That is what makes a short financing condition workable, since the delay nearly always comes from a third party who has not sent their piece yet.
Income earned outside Canada and not declared here counts with almost no lender. Those that accept it want proof of the transfer and a much bigger down payment.
To prepare
Yes. It all runs by phone, email or video call, and documents go through online. We can meet in person, but most files get settled without anyone having to travel.
It gets averaged, over one or two years depending on the lender, from what is declared. A good month counts no more than a bad one, and income missing from your notices of assessment does not count at all.
Pick the situation closest to yours.
Contact
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.