+1(514) 937-9445 or Toll-free (Canada & US) +1 (888) 947-9445

Mortgage as "Non-Resident" (one Citizen, one PR)

BackToOntario

Star Member
Aug 18, 2018
91
33
Hi everyone,
I'm hoping maybe someone has recently purchased property in Canada, specifically Ontario if that matters, who can help shed some light on this. I've been in contact with a couple different mortgage lenders on a fact finding mission. However, I'm getting different answers from different people.

I am a Canadian citizen, but a non-resident as I have been in the United States for over a decade now. My husband will be - assuming all goes well - a Permanent Resident, when we relocate to Canada sometime in the next 12 months.

One lender told me that since I'm a non-resident, I would have to put 35% down and that there really wasn't any way around it. They also weren't sure exactly what time period of physically living/working in Canada would change that status from non-resident to resident.

Another said that they were fairly certain that we should be perfectly fine with the residency requirement, but cautioned that it would ultimately be up to underwriting, and they weren't sure of any specific parameters either.

I'm a Real Estate Agent down here, so I know every situation is unique. However, I would think there would be some standard policy in place regarding "what is a resident?" when determining the required down payment amount.

Has anyone in a similar situation purchased & financed a property purchase immediately after moving to Canada? What issues did you run into? Did you have to put a minimum of 35% down, or were they flexible on that?

Thanks a bunch!
 

CaniVisa

Newbie
May 18, 2016
9
2
One Question
1. you filed taxes in Canada or not (for 2016-2017) ?

if yes, Then you can buy home in Canada with 20% Down.
If no, You need 35% Down for Mortgage from Banks or 25% for Mortgage from Private lender

If you have any more question. Just PM me. I will provide you my Cell number.

Thank you,
Mortgage Underwriter.
 

BackToOntario

Star Member
Aug 18, 2018
91
33
One Question
1. you filed taxes in Canada or not (for 2016-2017) ?

if yes, Then you can buy home in Canada with 20% Down.
If no, You need 35% Down for Mortgagea from Banks or 25% for Mortgage from Private lender

If you have any more question. Just PM me. I will provide you my Cell number.

Thank you,
Mortgage Underwriter.
Thanks - No, have not filed Canadian taxes in over a decade, since I have been living exclusively in the US (other than visiting family in Canada 2-3x/yr).
Do you happen to know what the exact "waiting period" is to be considered a resident for mortgage purposes?
While we don't *love* the idea of renting something up there for a year, and then moving again once we buy, if that's what needs to happen that's what we will do. I'm just trying to put together a game plan, even though we aren't going to move until after our daughter finishes this school year May 2019.
 

BackToOntario

Star Member
Aug 18, 2018
91
33
Thank you! I think the 3 months employment is where the 3 months came from when I first spoke with someone. Another said 12 months. Someone else just said she flat out didn't know.
Ideally we will both have jobs lined up when we move, but the contingency plan is for one of us to have one secured and the other can find one later.

If it comes down to 3 months employment being the deciding factor, I would almost rather put our stuff in storage and live in my mother's basement for those 3 months, rather than going through the hassle of a short-term rental situation, especially given that we have 2 dogs and 2 cats.

I'm not sure about landlords in Ontario, but down here in Louisiana most aren't overly pet-friendly for more than one small pet.

Shockingly I still have a Canadian credit score, although they can apparently also run American credit bureaus through Equifax, which will help... My Canadian report shows one credit card that I had when I was in university, my US report shows 2 mortgages and a variety of vehicle loans/leases payment history. We should be perfectly fine for qualifying in all other aspects, it's just the residency status that seems to be the killer.

While we could put 35% down, depending on what our house down here ends up selling for, I would rather have that cushion for things that come up after purchasing. Upgrades, repairs, etc. Plus, with mortgage rates being as low as they are - and hopefully still will be next year - it almost makes more sense to use someone else's money beyond the usual 20% down.
 

Hastykiamehr

Newbie
Sep 14, 2019
1
0
One Question
1. you filed taxes in Canada or not (for 2016-2017) ?

if yes, Then you can buy home in Canada with 20% Down.
If no, You need 35% Down for Mortgage from Banks or 25% for Mortgage from Private lender

If you have any more question. Just PM me. I will provide you my Cell number.

Thank you,
Mortgage Underwriter.
Hi,
I'm a mortgage agent, I have a client who's been looking to buy a house in Canada, so he wants me to get him a pre-approval, he applied for PR and he's waiting for it to come, but he said he has prove that he's in process of getting it and Canadian immigration told him that he can use the paper he has to get mortgage (I haven't seen his paperwork yet, I'm meeting with him tomorrow.), he's also been working in Canada for the past month I was wondering if you know if someone is in process of getting there PR can get pre-approve for a mortgage, if yes do you know any lenders that accept someone like him?

Thank you
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
Hi,
I'm a mortgage agent, I have a client who's been looking to buy a house in Canada, so he wants me to get him a pre-approval, he applied for PR and he's waiting for it to come, but he said he has prove that he's in process of getting it and Canadian immigration told him that he can use the paper he has to get mortgage (I haven't seen his paperwork yet, I'm meeting with him tomorrow.), he's also been working in Canada for the past month I was wondering if you know if someone is in process of getting there PR can get pre-approve for a mortgage, if yes do you know any lenders that accept someone like him?

Thank you
Why isn’t he working with a Canadian mortgage broker or bank? Would make much more sense for him to deal with them directly.