Mortgage Broker in Victoria, BC

Usually, but confirm it before you firm up financing rather than after. Fairfield, James Bay, Fernwood and Rockland carry a great deal of Victorian, Edwardian and Arts and Crafts housing, and insurers commonly want evidence of updated wiring and plumbing before they will cover one, sometimes applying a higher deductible where that evidence is thin. Lenders similarly often request a more detailed appraisal on a heritage property than on a newer build. Neither of these is a barrier in practice — they are simply steps that need to happen inside your subject period rather than being assumed.

The City of Victoria's Missing Middle Housing regulations allow forms like houseplexes, corner townhouses and heritage-conserving infill on many lots that were previously restricted to a single house. It matters for financing mainly where redevelopment potential is part of the value you are paying for — an appraiser and a lender may view that lot's future differently than they would a comparable one without that potential, which can work in your favour or complicate a straightforward purchase, depending on the file.

The depreciation report and the contingency reserve fund tell you more than the building's age does. A well-managed older building with a healthy reserve and a clean special-levy history is frequently a safer purchase than a newer one running a thin reserve. I review these documents with clients as a matter of course before they commit, because a lender will ask about them too.

It can, provided the suite is legal and properly reported. An unreported or uninsured suite risks voiding coverage on the whole property in a fire or flood, which is a bigger problem than any qualifying benefit is worth. Once a suite is reported and insured correctly, lenders will generally credit a portion of the rental income toward your application — the exact treatment varies by lender, which is worth confirming before you count on a specific number.

The same way it does for any file — by phone, email and e-signature, start to finish. My offices are in Surrey and White Rock, reached from Victoria by BC Ferries between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen. Nothing about the mortgage process requires an in-person meeting, and every Victoria client I have worked with has completed their file remotely without it slowing anything down.

The standard BC tiers: five per cent of the first $500,000 and ten per cent of the balance, up to a purchase price of $1.5 million, with twenty per cent required at or above that figure, where the mortgage can no longer be insured. Victoria pricing means a good share of purchases here sit at or near that ceiling, which is worth planning around early.

Yes — Saanich has its own page for the specifics of that municipality, and I work across the wider Capital Regional District, not just the City of Victoria itself.

Nothing on a standard residential mortgage — the funding lender pays the commission. Anything outside that is disclosed in writing before work begins.