How to Get a Down Payment For a Home in Canada
October 31, 2019
You’d like to become a homeowner one day soon, but similar to a lot of Canadians the only thing stopping you is the down payment. When taking out a mortgage, the lender will require that you make a down payment of at least five percent. This provides the lender with some reassurance that you have some skin in the game.
Coming up with the down payment is perhaps the most challenging part of homeownership. Saving a down payment can be especially challenging if your cost of living is already high. The good news is that there are various ways you can come up with your down payment. Let’s take a look at the most common ways right now.
Personal Savings
Personal savings is probably the first way that comes to mind for getting a down payment. Personal savings isn’t just your savings account. It also covers investment accounts, mutual funds, GICs and Tax-Free Savings Accounts (TFSAs). Just make sure your money is available on closing and easily accessible. Your real estate lawyer will ask for the balance of the down payment funds a day or two before closing.
Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs)
Your Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) isn’t just to fund your retirement. It can also be used towards the down payment on a home. In order to do that you need to be a first-time homebuyer. Under the Home Buyers’ Plan (HBP), you can withdraw up to $35,000 from your RRSP towards your first home (up to $70,000 if you’re a couple buying together). The best part is that you won’t pay any taxes on the withdrawals (provided the funds are in your RRSP account for at least 90 days). You’ll have to pay back the funds eventually, although you have up to 15 years to do so.
In case you’re wondering, you can’t withdraw from your Saskatchewan Pension Plan (SPP) account for the HBP. However, contributions to the SPP can be considered as repayments to the HBP.
Gifts
It’s becoming a lot more common for first-time homebuyers to receive a part of their down payment as a gift from family. If you’re fresh out of college or university and you have a sizable student loan, it can take you years to repay it. In fact, student loans are one of the biggest barriers to entry for homeownership among younger folks. That’s where “the bank of mom and dad” can step in.
Many parents may be willing to lend their adult children a helping hand in the form of a gift. Gifting your adult child part or all of their down payment is pretty straightforward. All you’ll need to do is sign a gift letter stating that you’re gifting them the funds rather than it being a loan.
Another way parents can help you out is by gifting their children home equity. If you’re selling the family home to your adult child, you can gift your child home equity. For example, if the home is worth $600,000 and your child has saved up $80,000, you may be willing to gift your child $40,000 in equity, so that they’ll have a 20 percent down payment and can avoid paying mortgage default insurance.
The Bottom Line
These are just a few ideas for ways to come up with your down payment. You can use one of them or all of them. It’s all about figuring out which options makes the most sense for you and putting it into action.
| About the Author | |
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Sean Cooper is the bestselling author of the book, Burn Your Mortgage: The Simple, Powerful Path to Financial Freedom for Canadians. He bought his first house when he was only 27 in Toronto and paid off his mortgage in just 3 years by age 30. An in-demand Personal Finance Journalist, Money Coach and Speaker, his articles and blogs have been featured in publications such as the Toronto Star, Globe and Mail, Financial Post and MoneySense. Connect with Sean on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. |
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