CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGE FINANCING NOW AVAILABLE TO 80% LOAN-TO-VALUE (LTV)

As a result of the recent Federal legislation changes, effective immediately, mortgage insurance is only required on loans with greater than 80.0% LTV. What this essentially means is that you no longer have to put down 25% on a property to avoid paying an insurance premium as the new cut-off is a downpayment of 20%. This is great news as it seems that the Big Boys (aka. government) has finally realized that home prices have increased dramatically over the last decade and a lot of people are subsequently buying with less than 25% down.

Who is eligible?

• This change only applies to new mortgage applications with a closing date on or after April 23, 2007. 
• All mortgage applications in process with an LTV of 75.01%-80.0% will no longer require CMHC, Genworth or AIG mortgage insurance. However, an appraisal will be required.

It's important that our mortgage financing of homes reflect the reality of the market conditions and this is defiintely one positive step forward.