Mortgage lending is broken up into 2 distinct categories, conventional & high ratio.

Conventional mortgage financing is when a property is purchased with 25% or more down payment. This term is also used when a property is refinanced for 75% or less of it’s value, effectively leaving 25% of the cash equity in the property.

A high ratio mortgage is when a property is purchased with less than 25% down payment, even as little as 0% down payment, otherwise known as a zero down or a free down mortgage.

Under a high ratio mortgage, you will be required to purchase default insurance. This insurance protects the banks & lenders in the event of a default or non-payment of the mortgage.

The insurance premium is a percentage of the mortgage amount that is based upon your down payment and your mortgage terms, it can be as little as 1% and as much as 2.95%. The insurance premium is usually financed into the mortgage so that you are not required to pay those costs up front.

The 2 default mortgage insurers in Canada are CMHC (Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation) and Genworth Financial (Subsidiary of General Electric). Each insurer has specific programs that can fit with a particular clients needs. QRM mortgage specialists have a vast knowledge of each of these companies programs in order to determine which insurer to use.

The above information is based upon how traditional chartered banks lend money for mortgages, otherwise known as “conforming” type lending. The banks & mortgage insurers have rules & guidelines that the mortgage client must fit. Most of these are to do with good credit history & stable long term employment.

If a client does not fit with “conforming” type lending guidelines for one reason or another, QRM has sourced & established relationships with several “non-conforming” type lenders. These lenders realize that there are many different types of mortgage clients, and not all those fit the “conforming” mold.

Non-Conforming lenders have a tremendous power in today’s marketplace. Some of those lenders have focused on clients with less than spotless credit & even previous bankruptcy, others have specialized in helping those who are self-employed or have fluctuating incomes.

Together with both of these types of lenders, QRM has been able to say APPROVED to over 93% of all clients who apply. If we are not able to approve a client immediately; we will guide them & help put mechanisms in place to ensure that we can say approved in the near future.