CMHC Offers Another Downpayment Option: Flex Down
The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corportation, or CMHC, is now offering another down payment option to Canadian home buyers. This product, called Flex Down, offers buyers a "wider range of sources for their down payment such as borrowed funds and lender cash-back incentives."
They advertise this product as having the following features (these are quoted from CMHC):
- Available for Purchase Transactions
- Loan-to-Value ratios of 90.01% to 95%
- 1 – 2 unit residential properties
- Wider range of sources of down payment permitted
- Flexible financing options – single advance, progress advance and extended amortization periods are available
- Flexibilities available for the purchase of energy-efficient homes
and benefits (so are these):
- Helps Provide Earlier Access to Homeownership – with as little as 5% down using flexible sources of down payment.
- Flexible Down Payments – Wider range of sources of down payment permitted.
- Competitive Interest Rates – Access to CMHC insured financing, and as a result, competitive interest rates.
- Availability – Available coast-to-coast-to-coast with no set maximum loan amount.
This all sounds good but I at least with the cash back mortgages buyers to need to be careful about the rate as it can be significantly higher than it would with other mortgage products.
I think what I will do here it email a few of my mortgage contacts and try to get their insight here in the comments. Let's see who bites.
Matthew Collinge: Vancouver REALTOR®
