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Newcomer PR mortgage questions

Rach WLT

Star Member
Jul 13, 2021
72
10
Singapore
Category........
FSW
NOC Code......
1111
App. Filed.......
01-07-2022
I was told that it has to be a fortune 500 company for the foreign employment. Otherwise, to be eligible, there has to be a canadian employment of minimum 3 months and a minimum 6 month tenure in Canada.
 

iSaidGoodDay

VIP Member
Feb 3, 2023
4,475
2,385
Kaneda
I was told that it has to be a fortune 500 company for the foreign employment. Otherwise, to be eligible, there has to be a canadian employment of minimum 3 months and a minimum 6 month tenure in Canada.
fwiw, I'm working with a considerably large Canadian company from more than a year and they looked at my source of income + my permanent job offer.
 

Rach WLT

Star Member
Jul 13, 2021
72
10
Singapore
Category........
FSW
NOC Code......
1111
App. Filed.......
01-07-2022
fwiw, I'm working with a considerably large Canadian company from more than a year and they looked at my source of income + my permanent job offer.
That would work in your favour in terms of getting a mortgage with no issue.
 

krishislegend

Star Member
Jun 28, 2021
175
60
My realtor is a common friend. However, there are realtors who work with new immigrants and you can reach them through their websites.

For looking at houses, some websites that I use:
1. realtor.ca - finding listings
2. Zolo - finding listings
3. HouseSigma - looking at listing price vs how much a house was actually sold for

There are a few more websites, but I use those mainly.

Now about looking at the house itself, I'd advise spending a lot more time on the type of house you want:
1. Detached, semi-detached, etc.
2. The type of build the house has: bunglow, multi-level, etc.
3. Features of the house itself: size of backyard, attached/detached/parking pad, etc.
4. Age of the house, are they using old windows that aren't good for insulation, roof or interior reno last done, etc.
5. Neighbourhood: quiet vs busy, proximity to work/lake/running trails/..., general safety, etc
6. Lifestyle choices: if you are moving to non-GVA/GTA areas, e.g. would you want Uber eats (or something else) to deliver food at your place? what about gyms, cultural activities, etc?
7. Access to schools, daycare, etc.
8. Condo/strata vs freehold - I've pets, so I'm going with freehold properties. See what works for you here.
9. I'm also using public transit and things like Walmart as a proxy of where not to buy a home. Public transportation brings in problems of their own.
10. You can also look into stuff like past soil pollution, stinky lakes, etc.
That's a damn good checklist!! I have landed in canada 6 months ago, thought of buying but still not sure, work in IT and very well could fund 50% of the funds but prices in GTA are nearly unaffordable and i don't want to spend nearly all of my savings into the house and still remain in debt. So i have to make decision of moving to Calgary (where there are decent IT jobs) where detached houses are in 600k+ range which is affordable for me. But i am still unsure and its a tough decision tbh!! Have you made any progress ? did you finalize your home ?
 

iSaidGoodDay

VIP Member
Feb 3, 2023
4,475
2,385
Kaneda
That's a damn good checklist!! I have landed in canada 6 months ago, thought of buying but still not sure, work in IT and very well could fund 50% of the funds but prices in GTA are nearly unaffordable and i don't want to spend nearly all of my savings into the house and still remain in debt. So i have to make decision of moving to Calgary (where there are decent IT jobs) where detached houses are in 600k+ range which is affordable for me. But i am still unsure and its a tough decision tbh!! Have you made any progress ? did you finalize your home ?
I'm going to put an offer in Sept-Oct. Had to deal with an emergency at home that kept me from doing it.

Moving to Calgary is definitely not as simple as it looks. I've been remote most of my working life and have a network that supports me being remote indefinitely. I'm not relying on Calgary's job market for now and my employer is in BC. I also started a few companies that seem to be doing well enough, so Calgary at the moment will allow me to focus on scaling these companies while keeping cost of living low(relatively). Also, being a dual income family with in-demand jobs also helps making this decision.

Calgary's job market is a bit tough from what I saw others say. You might want to validate your field, interview with a company and then see if you'd like to move.
 

krishislegend

Star Member
Jun 28, 2021
175
60
I'm going to put an offer in Sept-Oct. Had to deal with an emergency at home that kept me from doing it.

Moving to Calgary is definitely not as simple as it looks. I've been remote most of my working life and have a network that supports me being remote indefinitely. I'm not relying on Calgary's job market for now and my employer is in BC. I also started a few companies that seem to be doing well enough, so Calgary at the moment will allow me to focus on scaling these companies while keeping cost of living low(relatively). Also, being a dual income family with in-demand jobs also helps making this decision.

Calgary's job market is a bit tough from what I saw others say. You might want to validate your field, interview with a company and then see if you'd like to move.
Yes, its absolutely difficult decision, one which i am not sure tbh, I have 2 kids and they have just relocated from India and I don't want them to go through the entire relocation process immediately, so i will probably sit on this for a year and if something nice comes up, will decide. My friend who lives in Calgary is a realtor and already asked me to look at couple of areas (like North west and South West Calgary) and he himself acknowledges the real estate bubble is the biggest one he has ever seen, but still he doesn't think its gonna come down, like for instance he said about a home, he wanted to check but within 5 hours of listing offers were already given and one guy put 100k more than the market to buy that's pretty insane tbh!!
 

iSaidGoodDay

VIP Member
Feb 3, 2023
4,475
2,385
Kaneda
Yes, its absolutely difficult decision, one which i am not sure tbh, I have 2 kids and they have just relocated from India and I don't want them to go through the entire relocation process immediately, so i will probably sit on this for a year and if something nice comes up, will decide. My friend who lives in Calgary is a realtor and already asked me to look at couple of areas (like North west and South West Calgary) and he himself acknowledges the real estate bubble is the biggest one he has ever seen, but still he doesn't think its gonna come down, like for instance he said about a home, he wanted to check but within 5 hours of listing offers were already given and one guy put 100k more than the market to buy that's pretty insane tbh!!
NW and SW are good areas. You should sign up for Zolo and then see this page for actual sales data in Calgary: https://zolo.ca/calgary-real-estate/sold/page-1

Houses are selling fast, but 1-3 out of 100 are going $100k above asking in the $500k-700k range. There are people who for some reason overbid way too much (free market economics!) for sure. Realistically, you can expect to bid over $25-50k depending upon the band+location of the house. See this one for example, sitting out there for no reason from months: https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/25561582/412-scenic-view-bay-nw-calgary-scenic-acres

The houses in the $700k+ range don't usually go way above asking. I'm seeing people negotiating downwards when bidding in the range of $850k+. The real competition is in the $450-650k range. However, we should expect a cooling off in bidding now as season wears down(unless the trend of people bidding from BC and ON overrides this seasonality).
 
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krishislegend

Star Member
Jun 28, 2021
175
60
NW and SW are good areas. You should sign up for Zolo and then see this page for actual sales data in Calgary: https://zolo.ca/calgary-real-estate/sold/page-1

Houses are selling fast, but 1-3 out of 100 are going $100k above asking in the $500k-700k range. There are people who for some reason overbid way too much (free market economics!) for sure. Realistically, you can expect to bid over $25-50k depending upon the band+location of the house. See this one for example, sitting out there for no reason from months: https://www.realtor.ca/real-estate/25561582/412-scenic-view-bay-nw-calgary-scenic-acres

The houses in the $700k+ range don't usually go way above asking. I'm seeing people negotiating downwards when bidding in the range of $850k+. The real competition is in the $450-650k range. However, we should expect a cooling off in bidding now as season wears down(unless the trend of people bidding from BC and ON overrides this seasonality).
Thank you and i hope there would be a cooling off, but i am not seeing any signs of it. Will keep you posted how my search turns out! Have a great weekend!!
 
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YVR123

VIP Member
Jul 27, 2017
7,414
2,886
My to-do list for 2023 in Canada:
1. Run 40kms Calgary loop.
2. Calgary to Caresland - 2 day early winter Canoe trip.
3. Calgary to Edmonton and Back - ~600 kms cycling trip.

40kms Calgary loop - [Bike Path at 32nd & 36th Ave - South on Bike Path to Zoo - Westbound on Bike Trail along Bow River - Along Bike Path in Bowness - Up 52nd Street Bike Path Climb - Northbound on Bike Path through Dalhousie - Up Edgemont to Nose Hill Park - Through Nose Hill Park - Southwest on 14th St]
totally side tracked. the 40 km Calgary loop sounds interesting. I want to try that when I visit Calgary.
 
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Rach WLT

Star Member
Jul 13, 2021
72
10
Singapore
Category........
FSW
NOC Code......
1111
App. Filed.......
01-07-2022
Update: Landed earlier this month and was able to do everything(buy a home) as planned and as I stated in this thread.
I was able to buy also. I don’t even have to have a job(but I do have) as long as you can pay 35% down payment, bank would give the mortgage.
 
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krishislegend

Star Member
Jun 28, 2021
175
60
Update: Landed earlier this month and was able to do everything(buy a home) as planned and as I stated in this thread.
Congrats. Personally still havent made the decision to switch from Ontario to alberta. Sort of hoping Ontario real estate crashes more (there are signs it is weak) and would be able to afford a home here. But one can only dream. Anyways, even if it doesnt fall, i would end up in Calgary. So patiently waiting and watching.
 

iSaidGoodDay

VIP Member
Feb 3, 2023
4,475
2,385
Kaneda
Congrats. Personally still havent made the decision to switch from Ontario to alberta. Sort of hoping Ontario real estate crashes more (there are signs it is weak) and would be able to afford a home here. But one can only dream. Anyways, even if it doesnt fall, i would end up in Calgary. So patiently waiting and watching.
Tbh, Calgary's market is acting super weird. With the zoning relaxation in place, investors with millions in cash are out here trying to find properties they can flip. We were really hoping for it to be a lot more calmer (and it was little calm a month or two ago), but at this point everything became unpredictable. Inventory is a bit low right now with it being a bit competitive. I ended up bidding $40k less than listed and still won though. Not sure what your experience really was @Rach WLT ?
 

krishislegend

Star Member
Jun 28, 2021
175
60
Tbh, Calgary's market is acting super weird. With the zoning relaxation in place, investors with millions in cash are out here trying to find properties they can flip. We were really hoping for it to be a lot more calmer (and it was little calm a month or two ago), but at this point everything became unpredictable. Inventory is a bit low right now with it being a bit competitive. I ended up bidding $40k less than listed and still won though. Not sure what your experience really was @Rach WLT ?
Calgary is the only anomaly from what i am seeing in the entire Canadian real estate. i live in GTA and the prices here have come down for sure. High interest rates isnt helping too.