You know it’s true, you’re just wasting your money renting. You want to buy! But, how do you buy when you don’t have money for a down-payment. You only need 5 per cent of the purchase price to buy your primary residence, but even this can be obtained by many creative methods.
Give these a try:
- Save the money
This is a the traditional way of getting money for a down payment. Put your money into a tax-free investment account or use RRSPs to allow your money to grow faster through interest. - Gift from a family member
Hey, you never know unless you ask! Many parents or grandparents would relish the opportunity to give their kids money to invest into their first home. - Loans from a family member
With low interest rates causing the average mutual fund or saving account to gain less than usual, it is a very viable investment for someone to lend money at a higher interest in order to enable a family member to buy a home. - Credit Cards and Credit Lines
No, your not reading this wrong! Many lenders accept money from borrowed resources as an acceptable way of paying for your down payment. This is an easy and inexpensive way to be a home, as many credit lines can provide the down payment for a very small monthly fee. - Cash back Loans
Some lenders offer cash back loans. This means that they will charge you a higher interest rate, in exchange for providing the cash for a down payment at closing in addition to the regular loan amount. Even though, you will be paying a higher interest rate a cash back loan is set up in such a way that at the completion of your five year term you will have reduced the principal exactly as much as if you obtained a normal loan. In addition to this, you will have paid off the entire five percent that the lender provided in addition to your loan.
Not every lender provides all these options. In fact, many major banks and credit unions only prefer the conservative options available for a down payment, so it’s best to approach a mortgage broker who can provide a great rate matched with a creative way to come up with your down-payment.
Joel Olson is a Revelstoke-based mortgage broker. You can contact him directly at joel@c3revelstoke.ca.
His website is at www.joelolson.ca and his telephone number is 250-814-1627.
