In an ideal world, you’d sell your home first, then soon after you’d buy your next home, and the closing dates line up perfectly. You’d have the money you need for a downpayment and you’d know how much you can afford. 

Of course, the timing rarely works out that smoothly. You might sell first and not find a place you want to buy for a little while, so you have to find a place to live. Or you buy first and can’t sell your existing home, and have two mortgages to cover—or you no longer qualify for your second mortgage. We can help you find a solution, no matter the circumstances. Reach out and let’s talk.

We can help you get bridge financing, which is a temporary loan to help buyers manage the sale and purchase of homes. It can enable you to use the equity in your existing home for your down payment on a new home you’d like to purchase.

If you’re selling your existing home and buying your next one, which you plan to live in, the minimum down payment is 5 percent for the first $500,000 of your purchase price, and 10 percent for any additional amount between $500,000 and $999,999. For homes that cost $1 million and up, the minimum down payment is 20 percent of the purchase price.

As an example, for a $600,000 home, the minimum down payment is:

$500,000 x 5% = $25,000

$100,000 x 10% = $10,000

For a total minimum down payment of $35,000.

You may need a larger down payment if you’re self-employed or have a weak credit history, 

If your down payment is less than 20% of the cost of your home, you will need to purchase mortgage default insurance, which is between 2.8 and 4 percent of your mortgage.

If you’re buying your next home as an investment property, the down payment requirements may be different, and depend on the type of property you’re buying. Reach out and let’s talk.

There are a few closing costs and other expenses to consider when buying a home. They can include an appraisal expense, GST (for newly built homes), legal fees, home inspection cost and property transfer tax. We’ll provide you with a summary of all the costs you might see. Keep in mind that there is no cost whatsoever to using a mortgage broker like Robinson Mortgage.

In a port and blend scenario, the lender takes your existing mortgage rate and blends it with the current rate you qualify for. The resulting blended rate is a weighted average or the old and new rates. In a port and blend, you aren’t breaking your existing mortgage, so you avoid penalties. But we’ll look at all options to see what’s the best approach for you.