Purchase Plus Improvement Mortgage

An earnest deposit is a sum of money given to bind the sale of real estate, or a sum of money given to ensure payment or an advance of funds in the processing of a loan.

Regardless of mortgage rates, if a down payment is less than 20% of the home or property value, mortgage insurance is mandatory in Kelowna (and across Canada). Mortgages have built-in insurance premiums, so, therefore, the clients do not pay “out of pocket” for this expense. For mortgage lenders, a down payment of this size is more of a risk, so the mortgage insurance premium acts like a guarantee in the event of a default on the loan.

In a Fixed Rate Mortgage, the interest rate is fixed for a specific amount of time. This period of time (the mortgage term) can range anywhere from 6 months to 10 years. Over the course of the mortgage, less of the payment counts toward interest and more toward the principal.

A Variable Rate Mortgage is one in which your interest rate will fluctuate with the Bank of Canada’s prime lending rate. When rates go up, a larger portion of the payment goes toward interest. When rates go down, more of the payment goes toward the principal.