Immigrating to Nova Scotia - Welcome to Canada


Qualified homebuyers who have immigrated or relocated to Canada within the last 5 years are eligible under Genworth's New to Canada program to purchase a property with as little as a 5% downpayment. CMHC also offers a similar program. For more on their program CLICK HERE.

Relocating to Halifax and Immigrating to Canada

Acceptable Loan Purpose & Applicable Loan-To-Value Limits:

  • Purchase transactions: 95% LTV

    Note: All mortgage insurance applications received between December 11, 2015 and February 14, 2016 where the closing date is after July 1, 2016; or received on or after February 15, 2016, the above minimum down payment guidelines will apply.

    • Property value ≤ $500,000 - 5% down payment required

Property value > $500,000 and < $1,000,000 - 5% down payment required up

Maximum Property Value:

  • Property value must be less than $1,000,000. Exceptions may be considered for LTV ≤ 80%.

For Qualifying Terms And Interest Rates & More on The New To Canada Program CLICK HERE

 

Eligible Properties:

  • Maximum 2 units where 1 unit must be owner occupied
  • New construction covered by a lender approved New Home Warranty Program
  • Existing resale properties
  • Readily marketable residential dwellings, located in markets with demonstrated ongoing re-sale demand
  • Estimated remaining economic life of the property should be a minimum of 25 years

Maximum Property Value:

  • Property value must be less than $1,000,000. Exceptions may be considered for LTV ≤ 80%.

Borrower Qualification:

Income & Employment

  • Standard income and employment verification requirements apply
  • 3 months minimum full time employment in Canada (borrowers being transferred under a corporate relocation program are exempt)

Credit

  • 90.01-95%:  International credit report (Equifax or Transunion) demonstrating a strong credit profile OR two (2) alternative sources of credit demonstrating timely payments (no arrears) for the past 12 months. The two alternative sources required are:
    • Rental payment history
    • One other alternative source (hydro/utilities, telephone, cable, cell phone and auto insurance)
  • Up to 90%: Letter of reference from a recognized financial institution OR six (6) months of bank statements from primary account

Down Payment

  • Qualified home buyers may use traditional down payment sources including personal savings, non-repayable gift from immediate family member(s), proceeds from sale of property.
  • 95% LTV, 5% of the down payment must be from own resources
  • < 95% LTV, the remainder may be gifted from an immediate family member or from a corporate subsidy

Additional Criteria

  • Must have immigrated or relocated to Canada within the last 60 months
  • Must have a valid work permit or obtained landed immigrant status
  • All debts held outside of the country must be included in the total debt servicing ratio(Rental income earned outside of Canada is to be excluded from the GDS/TDS calculation)
  • Guarantors are not permitted
  • Foreign Diplomats who do not pay tax in Canada are ineligible for this program