As a first time homebuyer, you may have heard that you may have to pay a mortgage insurance premium.
This mortgage insurance will be required if your down payment is LESS than 20%. Remember that lenders do reserve the right to insure your mortgage even if your down payment is greater than 20% and this decision is often based on the risk associated with the financing. The key players that provide mortgage insurance in Canada today are CMHC, Genworth Financial Canada and Canada Guaranty. The newest insurer to join the industry is Canada Guaranty.
As new mortgage insurers join the industry, they are required to apply to OFSI (Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions) to become “mortgage insurers” in Canada. Canadians would certainly welcome more competition and choice, as it would help lower insurance premium costs for Canadians who want to purchase a home and who need mortgage insurance.
Here is a sample breakdown to help you understand how a mortgage insurance premium is calculated for a homebuyer who wants to purchase a home with a 5% down payment using premiums published by CMHC:
Price of home being purchased (A) $242,000.00
5% down payment (B) $12,100.00
Financing required (C) $229,900.00
Mortgage Insurance premium (2.75% of C) (D) $6,322.25
Amount advanced by lender (E) $236,222.25
The lender who is reviewing your mortgage application (once approved) will include the mortgage insurance premium on your mortgage commitment as part of your total mortgage loan and this is total amount is repaid over the term of the mortgage loan.
Here below is a table that gives an idea on what the mortgage loan insurance premium charges are based on various down payments levels:
Financing Required / Insurance Premium
Up to and including 65% / 0.50%
Up to and including 75% / 0.65%
Up to and including 80% / 1.00%
Up to and including 85% / 1.75%
Up to and including 90% / 2.00%
Up to and including 95% / 2.75%
Here are some questions I often receive:
Why do I need mortgage loan insurance? It is the lender who requires the mortgage loan to be insured. The mortgage lender passes along the cost of insuring the mortgage to the consumer.
Is mortgage loan insurance mandatory? No. There are a few mortgage lenders, on the market, who may provide you with mortgage financing without mortgage loan insurance but there will most certainly be a much higher interest rate offered as well as other administrative fees added to the mortgage loan amount. These other mortgage lenders can be accessed through the mortgage broker community.
Who does mortgage loan insurance protect? The mortgage lender requires mortgage loan insurance because it protects the lender in the event that the borrower, for some reason, cannot pay their mortgage.
Are mortgage loan insurance premiums taxed? Yes. Even though the HST (Harmonized Sales Tax) was introduced on July 1, 2010, this new tax structure has not changed taxation on the mortgage insurance premiums. The tax paid on the insurance premium amount is still 8%. Since the 8% tax amount is NOT included in the total loan amount, by the lender, a home buyer would have to pay this sales tax on their closing date. This amount would be collected from the home buyer, by the lawyer, and would be remitted directly to the government.
This blog post was written by Elizabeth Blair on June 28, 2011.
Elizabeth Blair is a Licensed Mortgage Agent with Mortgage Edge in Richmond Hill, Ontario. Elizabeth services mortgage clients in Mississauga and all over the Greater Toronto area.
You can contact Elizabeth directly by phone at (905) 510-5785
by email at eblair@mortgageedge.ca
or you visit her website at: www.missmortgage.ca
Elizabeth is licensed with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario and is also a Member of IMBA (the Independent Mortgage Brokers Association of Ontario) www.imba.ca
Agent Lic # M08005880
Brokerage Lic # 10680
Head office is located at: 15 Wertheim Court, Suite 210, Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada.