Hi,
Myself and my partner have been living in Toronto for 2 years. We have a temporary work permit, and are presently applying for Permanent Residency.
We want to buy a condo, however are unsure of whether our TWP status will cause problems. We have heard that we might require a large down payment (apparently up to 35%!!)
Can anyone shed some light on this?
Thanks guys

Find a good mortgage broker. I've been in Canada since 2001 (on TWP's for the whole time) and am now on my third mortgage (i have finally put the PR papers in).

A broker got me my first mortgage with a 10% deposit, luckily I made enough after the sale to put down >20% on the others.

What's the rush?
If you lose your job, you're pretty much f***ed.
Wait until you get PR, then buy it. At least then you've got some security.

Thank you very much for the great reply. Good to hear from someone that has been in the same situation. This has really brightened my day !

If only all the forum users were as helpful as you

The thing is, Jericho is right. What's the rush?

Well firstly it’s a personal choice based on finances and our current situation. Secondly it’s a buyer’s market in downtown Toronto right now and we want to take advantage of that.

JGK stayed on topic and gave very pertinent advice and hence I was thankful for his help.

Jeez....
You asked if buying a condo on a TWP could cause problems- I answered you. Yes it can- if you lose your job, how are you going to pay your mortgage? You'll need a new LMO and new TWP so unless you have significant savings, you're screwed.

I dont know when JGK got his/her first mortgage but presumably it was before 2008. Sorry, but the credit market is COMPLETELY different now....

First one was in 2002, but I also lost my Job in 2008 when my employer closed the canadian site and was out of work for 11 months before getting new employment. i budgeted, stuck to it, and survived on EI without defaulting on payments.

Buyers market or not, you're still buying at close to the top. Into falling prices as well. With transaction costs up to 10% and a high loan to value you'll probably have to wait quite a few years to not be in negative equity. You want to live in a condo for 5 years?, 10 years? That's a risk you'll be taking to. You may have done OK with property over the last 10 years or so - but the there is likely to be little growth in real estate in Canada.

I understand the housing market across the board is slow at the moment however the downtown market in TO has rules of its own. I know many people who have bought and sold property in the last 12 months and made substantial gains (one friend has made 30k in 10 months). Luckily my partenr and i have stable jobs so our financial situation is very solid.

The question I was wondering, which has only been answered as of yet by JGK (thanks again), is whether we'd need to pay a higher down payment on a mortgage - seeing as we were not permanant residents yet.

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It's not different. Everything has changed in the last 3 months.

Well unfortunately the credit markets are a whole different now to what they were in 2002. JGK's experiences are therefore irrelevant.
However, it sounds like what you want to hear is that you'll have no trouble getting a mortgage and you wont need to put down much of a deposit.
The truth is, like it or not, is that you'll need a sizeable deposit.


You're welcome....

All we have simply asked, is whether we would need a higher down payment, if we were not permanent residents.
We are not, however, waiting for a 'perfect' answer. Do you need to pay a higher down payment? Yes, or no? That was all we were looking for.
Thank you so much.

you lot are so touchy...(runs and hides as heavy things are thrown!)

Yes, ask the lender, not a public message board