Hi all,

Can anyone tell me please if it is ok to buy a house in Canada while working under a temporary work permit?

We have applied for a PR visa (9 months ago - still heard nothing!) and would like to start making a life for ourselves here. It's difficult to do this in a rented place, so we're looking to buy. But will that cause any problems (apart from if the PR visa is rejected of course!).

Many thanks,
Ed.

Hi

We have temporary visas and have just bought a house no problem! You may have to shop around for the mortgage(if you need one) as we found lenders (those with the lowest rates of course!) usually want you to have been here for 3 years or more.

Good luck!

Hi

I have just met 2 Brits who don't have any visas or PR and they have just bought properties here plus they got mortgages. One was in the process of filling in the forms and the other had only just sent theirs off.

Also have 2 Brits in our neighbourhood that have bought homes for holiday purposes only.

JJ

I purchased a house when i was here on a regular 6 month visitor visa. There were no problems with this.

Good Luck Int

Don't buy a MATIMAY house! Dozens and dozens of neighbours in the Matimay sub-division I am a part of all got big signs saying "another unsatisfied Matimay Homeowner" and protested! Now when Canadians get that mad you know something is really up!

Three years on and we are still waiting for our end of year list of outstanding work to be done!

The doc

We do not have PR (in process from June 2003) or work permits. We bought a house at the beginning of 2004 and everything went smoothly. We go out there every 6 weeks and just love it. We didn't need a mortgage so no idea about that aspect but insurance was not quite as speedy to organise as here in the UK.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do. We took the leap but if we are unsuccessful with our PR we will keep the house and use it as a vacation home. So pleased we bought it though.

OK, while my wife is not ready to move out to Canada just yet, we are seriously considering buying a house for holiday home / possible permanent home if we ever make the move.

Is it hard to get a mortgage for a Canadian property while in the UK? I am assuming if I go to somewhere like HSBC they can sort it for me.

Anyone done this? What are the gotchas etc?

Thanks in advance....

You'd probably need a bit of a downpayment (say 35% ) and mortgage rate might be a wee bit higher but there shouldn't be a problem from a Canadian bank. If you are buying in Ontario I can put you in touch with a mortgage broker I use and he should be able to help.

Sure, PM me. It will be interesting to see whats on offer.

Thanks

Hi Ray

Just jumping into this conversation - when you say UK residents could get a mortgage in Canada even if they do not have PR or permits etc how easy is it really? Can it be guarenteed? We could put min 35% down.

What would the mortgage be in this instance? What would it have been normally?

This could be a very good possibility for us as we will be selling up in the UK soon before the house prices plumit and will rent over here until we get our PR (fingers crossed). I would rather put our money into a house in Canada than leave it in the bank over here doing nothing.

cheers
Jane

I am trying to get in touch with a mortgage broker on ths issue - once i have an answer I will post here

Check it out on the web.

www.mls.ca

is a good source.

Just spoke with the mortgage broker I use.

Typically he said you'd need 35% down, a credit report from the UK and evidence you have applied for PR status, he should be able to arrange a mortgage on that basis thru a regular CDN bank probably at rates slightly (very) higher then posted.


If you need further help please email me [email protected] and I will fwd your message directly to Rob (my mortgage broker)


Ray

I'm just trying to find a property in Ottawa - 12 months into my 3 year work permit with a PR application in progress.

I spoke to RBC, they said they have a scheme for new residents (which would include applicants with PR applications in progress). I don't know what the rate is, but I'm guessing you would pay extra for this.

I rang ING Direct www.ingdirect.ca - they have a 5 year term variable rate mortgage (3.15% currently I think). They normally require 2 years of Canadian credit history, but said they would probably be able to make an exception given my situation and a reasonable downpayment (30% ish).

Peter

We have seen the phrase "rent to buy" on several properties. Can anyone explain what this means in laymans terms?

Thanks
Jane