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A plex in Grand Montréal: the down payment depending on whether you live there, the share of rent counted, and the building documents the lender asks for.
Rental income changes the picture, but every lender counts a different share: half added to income at one, the full amount netted against expenses at another. Same building, same leases, and the gap in borrowing capacity between two lenders can be tens of thousands of dollars.
Signed leases, the assessment roll and tax bill, the building’s actual expenses and your notices of assessment. If units are vacant or owner-occupied, say so from the start. The lender will calculate on market rent, not on the rent you’re hoping for.
What you plan to do with the property weighs more than its price. Living in it, renting it out or a bit of both changes the down payment required and which lenders will look at a Grand Montréal file.
The paperwork depends on the property: leases and the tax bill for a revenue building, the declaration of co-ownership for a condo, a location certificate every time. If there is work involved, add the quotes and proof of compliance. Ask early, it varies in Grand Montréal.
The appraiser works from recent sales, not from the asking price. Where comparables are thin (a rural sector, an unusual property), the value can land under what you agreed to pay, and you make up the gap in cash.
Municipal and school taxes vary from one municipality to the next, and they count in your ratios. The lender works from the Grand Montréal tax bill, plus heating, insurance and upkeep. Do the same math before it does.
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.
Between 50% and 100% depending on the lender, and sometimes netted against expenses instead of added to income. On the same building, that gap moves borrowing capacity by tens of thousands of dollars.
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.