Plan for the future with a Perch Home Buying Plan

In our Guide to Buying a Home, we cover the overall process of buying a home and the factors that are considered when you get pre-approved for a mortgage. The Perch Home Buying Plan was created when we realized Canadians wanted a more streamlined solution to run scenarios and help them choose the right options based on their personal situation. We want to empower you to plan for your purchase with the right mix of professionals and do-it-yourself tools.

The Perch Home Buying Plan simplifies the planning process for borrowers by taking into account all relevant components to show personalized insights. When you input your target property price range, we will calculate when you will qualify for that property and what currently is blocking you from being able to buy sooner. To help you reach your goal of homeownership faster, we analyze your situation and offer personalized solutions.

We’ll use Casey & Hannah as an example first-time home buying couple to illustrate the power of a Perch Home Buying Plan.

Meet Hannah & Casey

  • Their gross household income is $130,000
  • They have $80,000 in savings
  • They want to buy a $700,000 property in Surrey, British Columbia as their primary residence
  • They are currently paying $2,500 per month in rent and saving $2,000 per month towards their downpayment
  • They are saving towards a 20% down payment to avoid paying mortgage insurance which would be around $19,220.

Hannah & Casey’s Perch Home Buying Plan Results


What does this mean?

  • Hannah & Casey’s Perch Home Buying Plan shows that they have enough qualifying income to buy this property as of today
  • To hit their 20% down payment target and cover expected closing costs, they need to save an additional $68,814
  • Perch predicts that they will reach this goal in July 2023 (31 months from now) and can buy their property at that time

Casey & Hannah had already estimated that it would take them that long to save 20%, so they weren’t surprised to see that result. However, when they click “How can I buy sooner?” they discovered recommendations they hadn’t thought of.

What it means for Hannah & Casey

  • Adding a co-applicant with enough savings could enable them to buy sooner. But in their case, they’re already buying together and don’t want to add another person to their purchase
  • If they take advantage of lender cashback offers up to $18,600, they could get to their required savings goal 6 months sooner
  • If they ignore their 20% minimum down payment restraint, they could qualify next month. In Hannah & Casey’s case, they want to avoid paying mortgage insurance at all costs so it isn’t an option for them
  • With unused debt capacity, they could borrow money to fund part of their down payment. Perch assumes they can borrow up to $52,000 without it affecting their qualifying ratios.

How we helped Hannah & Casey hack the housing market

After exploring different scenarios and recommendations, Hannah & Casey were able to buy their dream home sooner. Through cashback and borrowed funds, they could fund their purchase in the near future and avoid paying mortgage insurance to get to their down payment goal of 20%. For this particular scenario, if you’re wondering why it would make sense to go through this hassle to avoid paying mortgage insurance, we wrote this article that outlines situations where mortgage insurance can end up being an extremely expensive decision that could have been avoided.

Getting A Home Buying Plan Made For You

We realize that every Canadian’s situation is different and the Perch Home Buying Plan is built to be personalized. Each Perch user gets customized recommendations that address their specific shortfalls.

When you start your Perch Home Buying Plan, we’ll connect you to a mortgage broker to go over your results with you once you’re ready. Your mortgage advisor and the Perch platform will help you work towards buying a home sooner than you thought was possible.