Mortgage Broker in Richmond, BC

Yes, and the down payment may be smaller than you have been told. If you are a permanent resident buying a home to live in, the insured minimums are the same as for anyone else — 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% above that. It is holders of work permits and other non-permanent residents who face a higher floor, generally 10% minimum under the insurer programs. Because the two groups are often lumped together, permanent residents are frequently quoted far more cash than they actually need. Where a Canadian credit score does not yet exist, lenders will look at an international credit report, a letter of employment, proof of landing or permit, evidence of where the down payment came from, and often twelve months of rent and utility payment history as alternative credit. Requirements do vary by lender and by how long you have been here.

Sometimes, and it depends heavily on the lender. Foreign employment income, overseas business income and income supported by foreign tax filings are all treated differently — some lenders will not consider them at all, others have specific policies with documentation requirements. What matters is choosing a lender whose policy fits your situation before applying, rather than discovering the mismatch through a decline.

Yes — and in a city where so much of the housing is strata, it is worth treating the building as a second application running alongside your own. What underwriters look for is whether the corporation has money set aside and knows what it will need to spend: a reserve fund that is thin relative to the size of the complex, a depreciation report identifying work nobody has budgeted for, or minutes recording a levy that has been proposed but not yet passed. The share of the building held by investors rather than resident owners matters as well, since a heavily tenanted complex is assessed more cautiously. Any of these can stop the deal on the property rather than on you, and because lenders set their thresholds independently, a building one declines is often perfectly acceptable to another.

Not usually. Essentially all of Richmond is Fraser River floodplain sitting around a metre above sea level, protected by roughly fifty kilometres of dykes, and lenders finance property here every day. Two things are worth knowing. First, many Richmond titles carry a flood covenant registered under section 219 of the Land Title Act, setting a flood construction level — your conveyancer will see it, and it is normal rather than a red flag. Second, the fire and property insurance a lender requires as a funding condition is readily available here; what floodplain status affects is optional overland water coverage, which no lender requires but which is worth pricing for your own protection.

On an owner-occupied home, 5% of the first $500,000 and 10% of the remainder, up to a $1.5 million purchase price. Above that a mortgage cannot be insured, so 20% is the minimum. Below 20% the mortgage is insured and the premium is usually added to the balance rather than paid up front. Rental properties require 20%. Permanent residents qualify on the same minimums as everyone else; work-permit holders generally face a 10% floor. If your income is earned abroad the file is effectively uninsurable, which means 20% at minimum and often considerably more — so that is the number to plan around, not the 5% figure.

The process is explained in plain English, in writing as well as verbally, and you are welcome to bring a family member or interpreter to any conversation. Nothing is signed until you are satisfied you understand it — I would far rather spend an extra half hour explaining a penalty clause than have you discover it later.

Nothing on a standard residential mortgage; the lender that funds it pays the commission. Private or specialized lending can involve a fee, disclosed in full before any work starts.

Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster, Delta, Surrey, White Rock, North Vancouver and the rest of Metro Vancouver, plus the Fraser Valley. Licensed in British Columbia and Alberta.