Mortgage Blog

Buying Your First Home?

January 30, 2018 | Posted by: Brandi Pierik and Matthew Pierik - Red Deer and Calgary Mortgage Brokers

What You Need to Know to get Pre-Qualified for a Red Deer Mortgage!

Get Preapproved Before Home Shopping
A preapproval will help you understand your homebuying budget before looking at real estate in Red Deer.

Steps to follow:
- Contact your Red Deer mortgage broker – Your mortgage broker will walk you through the mortgage process
- Gather your documents – Lenders will want to see personal financial information, including your: income; debt; and assets
- Secure a rate hold for up to 90 days – If rates rise during this time, you’re protected
- View properties – Your Realtor will feel confident showing you properties within your means

Lenders are looking for four basic criteria:
1. Credit History – How well have you been using credit and paying it off?
2. Income – How much do you make, including salary, bonus, commission, etc?
3. Down Payment – How will you be paying your minimum 5% down payment?
4. Property – You won’t be fully qualified for a mortgage until you have a property in mind you can share with your broker

First-Time Homebuyer Programs
There are a number of programs available to help Red Deer first-time homebuyers come up with a down payment and receive some added cash upon filing their taxes, including:
- Homebuyers’ Plan – First-time homebuyers’ program allows you to withdraw RRSP funds to use as a down payment when buying or building a home. You can withdraw up to $25,000 tax-free, or $50,000 as a couple
- Homebuyers’ Amount – Can be claimed on your taxes and earn you up to a $750 tax credit if you purchased a home for the first time during the previous tax year

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