The Province - Oct 7, 2012
“Pauline Kendall owns three houses and a condominium but she couldn’t get financing this summer when she tried to add to her real estate holdings..”
CMHC looks closely at income verification in order to approve the mortgage loans. Income from rent or when someone is new to the country and doesn’t have income tax returns complicate the approval process.
And although Kendall wasn’t applying for a CMHC-backed loan the rule changes have had a “trickle-down” effect to other major lenders, who are tightening their requirements for mortgages – which was the roadblock she faced.
Rental income of $1,000 per month can pay for a mortgage worth around $200,000, according to Ellis. But to the CMHC, the value of that rent is only enough to qualify for a mortgage of about $34,000.
“Rental income has been basically rendered useless,” said Ellis.
Prior to the changes in July, lenders were likely to look more favourably on rental income as a criteria for a loan. Now many of them are using the CMHC criteria.
…Other reasons for the slowdown, said Klein, are net immigration being slightly down and “consumer confidence.”
What Klein hears from Vancouver area realtors is that a lot of buyers are not making a decision in anticipation they might get a better deal tomorrow.
