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Optimism For Future First Time Homebuyers

General Beata Gratton 21 Feb

Optimism For Future First Time Homebuyers

BC HOMEDecember 15th, the B.C. Provincial Government shared that it will begin offering financial assistance to B.C. first-time home buyers in regards to their down payment. They estimate that 42,000 new first-time home buyers will take advantage of this program over the next three years.

What the B.C. Government Will Provide: 

– A matched loan only to be used as funds for making a down payment on an eligible home

– Maximum available funds will be $37,500 or 5% of a home’s purchase price

-Maximum 25 years to repay

– 5 years of no required payments (includes no principal payments and no interest payments)

– This loan will be registered as a second mortgage on the newly purchased home

When This Program Begins:

– January 16th, 2017 applications will be accepted and this program expires March 31, 2020

To Qualify for This Program:

– Must reside in the home – Must be a First-Time Home Buyer (click here to see those qualifications)

– Property must remain principal residence for 5 years

– Property must cost less than $750,000 and not be used as a recreational or rental property

– Have resided in BC for at least 1 year

– Have a combined gross income of less than $150,000

– Have saved half the minimum down payment (2.5% of property’s purchase price)

– Have been pre-approved for a 1st mortgage before applying

Privileges of This Program:

– No prepayment fees (make lump sum payments or pay entire debt early at any time)

– No interest will begin accumulating until after the first 5 years have expired

Example:

Without this program, if you wanted to buy a $500,000 home for example, you would need a minimum down payment of $25,000 (5%) plus 1.5% for closing costs. With this program, the government will match a first-time home buyer’s down payment, up to 5% of the property’s value. So your $25,000 down payment can now be $12,500 because the government will lend you the remaining $12,500 (you still need 1.5% for closing costs).

If you originally wanted to make a 20% down payment and avoid insurance premiums, you can now do this with 15% of your own money down as the government will lend you the remaining 5%.

It is unclear the significance this program will have on housing prices and how it will affect demand here in BC- only time will tell us that. For right now though, future first-time home buyers can begin to feel very optimistic as the BC government has opened a door of opportunities for them, 3 months after CMHC’s news from October 2016 where they announced changes to qualifying requirements- affecting the majority of future first-time home buyers.

Below is a chart showing the steps a first-time home buyer must complete in order to successfully use this program in their future purchase. In order to become pre-approved with a lender, please contact your Dominion Lending Centres mortgage professional so we can begin that process (which is free).

BC HOME

By: Ryan Oake