If you’ve been thinking about purchasing your first home, but haven’t yet made up your mind, now is an ideal time to think about taking the plunge into homeownership. Since Canada’s currently in a buyers’ real estate market and interest rates have been dropping to historic lows as of late, now is the perfect time to consider your mortgage options.
Your first step in the home-buying process should be to talk to a licensed mortgage professional. These experts have access to a vast array of lenders – up to 90+ institutions, including big banks, credit unions and trust companies – which enables these professionals to negotiate the best possible mortgage products and rates on your behalf. In comparison, if you approach your bank with a mortgage request, they can only offer you a narrow choice – namely, their own products.
Mortgage professionals can get you pre-approved for a mortgage so that you know how much you can afford to spend on a home before you start shopping.
And thanks to the latest federal budget, there are a couple more reasons why now is the optimal time to purchase your first home.
First, the budget proposes a $5,000 increase to the RRSP Home Buyers’ Plan, meaning first-time homebuyers can now withdraw up to $25,000 from their RRSPs for a down payment – tax- and interest-free.
The budget also proposes a $750 tax credit for first-time homebuyers to help with closing costs, such as legal fees, disbursements and land transfer taxes.
The tax credit is based on an amount of $5,000 for first-time homebuyers who acquire a qualifying home after January 27, 2009 (ie, the closing is after that date).
An individual will be considered a first-time homebuyer if neither the individual nor the individual’s spouse or common-law partner owned and lived in another home in the calendar year of the home purchase or in any of the four preceding calendar years.
[Source - Dominion Lending Centres]
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