wardenp

Hi everyone
I will be relocating Feb 11th and starting work March 2nd.
I have been in touch with a mortgage consultant for a while, who has had copies of all documentation including my employment offer.
My post is a permanent one, but as for most Canadian jobs, there will be a period of probation.
I have a very healthy deposit for a house and have been reassured that I would find no problem in getting a mortgage, so, armed with that confidence, we have made an offer on a house that we have visited and love, which has been accepted. The deposit I have is just shy of 50%.
My consultant is now speaking in terms of if and not when a mortgage offer is made and I am now extremely worried.
Any advice/ experience/ wise words?............:

Aviator

Do not wish to add to your concerns, you made an offer and had it accepted without finance in place? An offer to purchase in Canada is a binding contract as soon as it is accepted. I hope you were advised to make the offer subject to financing. If not and you cannot complete, you may well find yourself on the hook. Speak to your Realtor and find out the position you are in, you may also want to (need) to speak to a lawyer.

wardenp

Thanks for that
Yes the offer is subject to getting finance. The agreement states that we have 8 banking days, If we are unsuccessful, the agreement is terminated and the small deposit we made to secure the offer is returned.
I am just a little miffed that we were told "no problem" and now here we are with a question mark and it feels very uncomfortable.
My employers are going to write a confirmation of employment, however the dreaded "probation" word will have be included.
I feel that since the deposit is quite large, if (God forbid) employment was terminated, the mortgage company will get all their money back if the house had to be sold.
I thought the sleepless nights would get better once the visas arrived - no such luck eh!

Aviator

You might want to consider renting for 6 months, give you time to see how the job goes, areas and property types you like. If the job does not work out you have more flexibility.

We were very glad we did this. When I first arrived I ended up changing jobs 3 times in 12 months, all in different centres (two employers), with large distances in between. The first few months were OK as I spent as much time in the UK as in Canada, so the family stayed there. When I moved to Vancouver they came over and we rented for a while before settling on an area.

The anxieties don't dissipate when you arrive either. You have to begin learning how things are done all over again.

wardenp

Yes you are probably right.

We did go to view this house last year and have talked of nothing since. It ticked all the "forever house" boxes.
We love the area and schools, but I suppose that even the best of research doesnt give you the experience of living there!

I am committed to the job, but as you say, renting may be the way for a while.

Oh well, 8 days to decide............

Thanks

Aviator

Better to miss the ideal house than buy a wrong one and be stuck with it. Also, who knows where property prices and the FX is going in the next few months.
Good luck

Silverdragon102

We did everything from the UK and signed for the house the day after we landed. Our broker was great but so was the realtor. No problems at all

shelley748

to put your mind at rest- each application these days is looked at on a case by case basis, the fact that you have a good downpayment, job offer (same like of work right?), its true that probation is not a word that we like to see and if you have excellent credit and all else fits into the guidelines, it may not be a big issue. It really depends on the lender. I will keep my fingers crossed for you...

danfolkestone

Our position wasn't exactly the same as yours - we had a much smaller deposit, and we had been in Canada for a few weeks by the time we were looking to buy. My wife was on a temporary contract and I had just started work, but had no probationary period.

It wasn't easy, but we did it (in November 2008). We found that HSBC were the only bank that would even look at us, because the others all required at least 3 months' consecutive employment. Our broker had previously given up, telling us that we simply couldn't get a mortgage! We had been and spoken to the bank prior early, so we already had credit approval (based on UK credit history) before we made the offer. It only took them about 3 days between us making the offer and them coming up with the final approval.

We banked with HSBC in England and opened an account with them in Canada before immigrating, then added credit cards when we got here, so I don't know if things are as straight forward for everyone.

wardenp

Thanks for all the comments- much appreciated

Silverdragon102

Guess everyone is different we was with HSBC but the deposit they wanted was a lot more than we had even though we had a good deposit. We got a mortgage sorted with TD bank and hadn't even arrived in Canada with no problems at all, we just had to prove that we had the job and the funds

Auld Yin

As a former banker who has processed/approved countless mortgages I can assure you that with a 50% down payment, a job, even with probation, you'd be walking out of my office with an approval in your hand. Banks love secured loans and that would be a well secured loans. You have a job so repayment is established. The probation is not a problem. Even someone not on probation can lose a job.

shelley748

Any updates for us on how things turned out?

wardenp

Hi!
We have been accepted - am just filling in the forms now! How spooky!
Thanks for asking!

shelley748

Thats great!!! At last something going good!! Enjoy your new home!!