Buying, made easy

When you sign up for a Perch account, we ask for your email address, which is used to validate your account. You do not need to provide any contact information to use our tools and calculators or to view our mortgage rates. We only ask for the information needed to submit a mortgage application, which may include documents such as bank statements, pay stubs, tax forms and your credit report. We’ll also ask for a copy of your government-issued photo ID. Without providing this information, we can’t proceed with a pre-approval or submit your mortgage application to the lender.

Here are the steps to getting a mortgage in Canada:

1. Get a mortgage pre-approval
2. Get an accepted offer on a property
3. Submit your mortgage application
4. The lender will review and send a commitment letter for you to sign
5. Work with your mortgage advisor to satisfy any mortgage conditions at least 10 days prior to your closing date
6. The lender will submit mortgage instructions to your lawyer
7. You sign everything with the lawyer, the mortgage charge is registered and the deal is closed. Congrats! You made it through.

When you sign up with Perch, you’ll be assigned a dedicated mortgage advisor to help you strategize how to pick the right mortgage and submit your mortgage application to the lender. We even have a network of realtors and lawyers you can leverage if you’re just getting started. If you’re still in the home buying process, check out our Guide to Buying a Home.

Getting a mortgage will mean borrowing a significant amount of money and paying it back over a long period of time (which is also known as the amortization). Over that period, you’ll be paying a lot of interest on that loan. Even the difference of a small fraction of a percentage point, also referred to as a basis point, can have a big impact on the amount of money you’ll pay over the lifetime of your mortgage.

Here are some factors that will personally affect the mortgage rates you’ll be offered compared to someone else:

• Your credit score, which provides insight into the likelihood of you paying the mortgage loan
• Whether you choose a fixed or variable rate
• The length of your mortgage term
• The amount of equity (or down payment on a purchase) you have in your home
• If the property is a rental or not
• The lenders you work with. Typically, big banks charge more than other lenders

There are many other factors, which your mortgage advisor can go over in more detail with you.

Paying a higher down payment doesn’t necessarily mean that you get a lower mortgage rate. If your down payment is less than 20%, it is mandatory for you to get mortgage default insurance, also known as CMHC insurance. Since you paid for your own insurance premium with a down payment, the lender doesn’t need to buy it on your behalf.

You do not need to get mortgage default insurance if your down payment is 20% or more. However, this means the lender then has to pay for your mortgage default insurance premium on their end and they charge for it through a higher rate to offset it.

The higher your down payment, the lower the default insurance premium and typically by the time you have 35% down payment or more, your rate would be essentially the same as if you had less than 20% down.

Whether you have 5% down or 20% down, there is minimal risk to the lender since these loans have mortgage default insurance. The only difference is who is responsible for paying for that premium, which is why rates fluctuate as a result.

Lender offers can change as often as each day and the value of each option can differ, so the best option for you will be a mixture of personal preference and the state of the current economic environment. When you open an account with Perch, you’ll have access to free tools to help break down the economic value of either option. You’ll have a dedicated mortgage advisor that you can consult and will help you come up with a strategy that’s right for you.