Hi Karen,

I hope you are having a great day. As per our discussion, here is the big changes that are coming for the mortgage insurers (CMHC and Genworth):

1. Rental properties. First and foremost, these will now require a 20% down-payment. Also, how rental income is used for income qualification has changed. Whereas before many lenders would allow 80% of rental income to be used for income qualification, that number will drop to 50%.
2. Self-employed/stated income. For both Genworth and CMHC, there is no longer a workable stated income program. For self-employed applicants, this can drastically change how much mortgage they would qualify for.
3. Qualifying rates. As of April 17th, all clients will have to qualify at the 5 year fixed rate offered by their lender, regardless of the product they choose. So even if a client qualifies at the three year rate, they will now have to qualify at the five year rate (which is higher).

Please also note that the rates in this email will only be valid for the next day or so. TD and RBC raising their fixed rates has led most other lenders to do the same. I can still obtain 3.69% 5 year fixed rate-holds until 12 tonight. Sorry for the short notice, but it is the nature of the business. The variable offerings will remain at prime -0.5%, with the discount offered off of prime increasing as the buying season progresses.

Courtesy of:

Drew Brown
Mortgage Specialist
Trimor Group of Companies
Suite 207, 264 Midpark Way SE
Calgary, AB T2X 1J6
Office Direct: 403.802.7219
Cell: 403.710.5198
EMail: Drew@trimorfinancial.com
http://www.trimorfinancial.com