Start with a pre-approval
A pre-approval does two things: it tells you the mortgage amount a lender is prepared to consider based on your income, debts and credit, and it holds a rate for a set period - commonly up to 120 days, depending on the lender.
It is not a guarantee of financing. The final approval still depends on the property, the appraisal, and your situation being unchanged at closing. But a real pre-approval, based on reviewed documents rather than a website estimate, keeps you from writing an offer you cannot fund.
Down payment
In Canada the minimum down payment is tiered: 5% on the first $500,000 of the purchase price, 10% on the portion between $500,000 and $1,500,000, and 20% on homes priced above that threshold. Anything under 20% down requires default (mortgage) insurance, and that premium is normally added to the mortgage amount.
Lenders also verify where the money came from. Expect to show 90 days of history for savings, and documentation for a gift, an RRSP Home Buyers' Plan withdrawal or an FHSA withdrawal.
How lenders decide what you qualify for
Income
Salary, hourly, bonus, commission and self-employed income are each documented and weighted differently.
Debt-service ratios
Housing costs and total debt payments are measured against gross income using GDS and TDS limits.
The stress test
You are qualified at the greater of your contract rate plus 2% or the 5.25% benchmark, not at your actual rate.
Credit
Score and payment history affect both approval and which lenders will look at the file.
The property
Type, condition, condo status certificate and appraised value all matter to the lender.
Fixed or variable
A fixed rate locks your rate and payment for the term - predictable, and usually the right call if a payment increase would genuinely hurt. A variable rate moves with the lender's prime rate; it can cost less over a term, and the penalty to break it early is typically much smaller (often three months' interest rather than an interest rate differential).
Neither is universally better. The right answer depends on your cash-flow cushion and how likely you are to sell, refinance or move before the term ends.
Budget for closing costs
Closing costs sit on top of your down payment. In Ontario that usually means land transfer tax (plus a municipal land transfer tax inside the City of Toronto), legal fees and disbursements, title insurance, a possible appraisal, and adjustments for prepaid property taxes or utilities. First-time buyers may qualify for a provincial land transfer tax refund; your lawyer confirms eligibility and the amount.
A common planning rule is to set aside roughly 1.5% to 4% of the purchase price for closing costs, then confirm the real figure with your lawyer's statement.
Next step
The online application takes about five minutes. Once it is in, we book a short call to go over your goals, your timeline and the options that actually fit.