Mortgage Broker in Mississauga

One land transfer tax, not two

Toronto is the only municipality in Ontario permitted to charge its own land transfer tax. Every other city in the province, Mississauga included, attracts the provincial tax alone.

That difference is worth knowing precisely because land transfer tax is paid in cash at closing and cannot be rolled into the mortgage. Two buyers with the same approval and the same purchase price need different amounts in the bank depending on which side of the boundary the house sits on.

First-time buyers can claim up to $4,000 of the provincial tax back, applied by your lawyer at closing. There is no second rebate here for the simple reason that there is no second tax.

Peel also charges development charges on new construction, but those are the builder's obligation and normally sit inside the purchase price rather than appearing as a separate line at closing. If you are buying a new build, read the adjustments clause in your agreement carefully, because that is where costs get passed along.

The City Centre condo corridor

The towers around Square One and along Hurontario have made Mississauga a genuine condo market rather than a suburb with a few buildings, and condo applications work differently.

The lender assesses the corporation as well as the borrower. The status certificate tells them about the reserve fund, the current budget, any special assessment and any litigation. A corporation in poor financial shape can turn a lender off a unit regardless of how strong your application is, so build review time into your conditional period.

Maintenance fees also reduce your borrowing power, because lenders count a portion of them in your debt service ratios. Two units at the same price with very different fees will not support the same mortgage. When people are surprised by a lower approval than they expected on a condo, the fee is usually why.

Newer buildings near a transit line tend to be straightforward. Older stock with a reserve fund that has not kept pace deserves a closer look before you commit.

Established neighbourhoods and what they are worth to you

Lorne Park, Mineola, Streetsville, Erin Mills and the older parts of Clarkson hold owners who have been in place a long time and have considerable equity sitting in the house.

That equity is usable. A refinance or a home equity line of credit can fund a renovation, a down payment on a second property for a family member, or the clearing of debt that is costing far more than a mortgage does. Where several balances have built up across cards and loans, a consolidation frequently frees more monthly cash flow than people expect.

Secondary suites are the other lever. Mississauga permits second units subject to the city's requirements, and a legal registered unit does two things at once: it produces rent, and lenders will generally count some of that rent when you qualify. How much they count varies enormously between lenders, which is exactly the kind of difference a brokerage is useful for.

Income that is not a simple salary

Peel is built around Pearson, the logistics corridor and a large manufacturing base, which means a lot of local income is shift based, overtime heavy, commission driven or self-employed. Lenders can work with all of it. They just need it documented properly.

• Overtime and shift premiums. Usable with a two year history, normally averaged rather than taken at the peak.
• Commission and bonus. Same principle. A strong recent year on its own rarely carries an application.
• Self-employed and incorporated. Lenders look past the net figure on a tax return. Our self-employed page sets out what to send.
• Newcomer income. A short Canadian credit history is not a barrier by itself. See new to Canada.

The practical point is that lenders differ considerably in how generously they treat each of these. Declined at your own bank is not the same as declined by the market.

If your term is ending

The renewal letter your lender sends is an offer, not a verdict, and it is rarely their best. Signing it is the easiest thing to do and frequently the most expensive.

Start around four months out. That is enough time to compare what else is available, and to move the mortgage if moving it is worth doing. Our renewals page explains the process and what a switch actually involves.

How we work

Everything happens online. You apply, upload documents through a secure portal, sign electronically and speak to us whenever suits, by phone or video. No drive and no taking an afternoon off.

One application reaches the entire lender market rather than one institution: banks, credit unions, monoline lenders, alternative lenders and private funds. On a clean salaried file that means a sharper result. On a complicated one it is often the difference between an approval and a no.