Knowledge centre
A federal insured-refinancing framework may allow an eligible homeowner to finance construction of legal secondary suites, potentially up to 90% of the improved property value and up to a 30-year amortization.
No. OSFI does not impose one universal borrower-qualification formula requiring every lender to use exactly 50% of rent. Federally regulated lenders must underwrite rental income prudently, but their policies and calculations can differ.
No. The OSFI loan-to-income measure is a lender-level portfolio limit on the share of new uninsured mortgages above 4.5 times income—not a universal borrower-level approval ceiling.
For uninsured mortgages at federally regulated lenders, the prescribed qualifying rate remains the greater of the contract rate plus 2% or 5.25%, subject to the straight-switch renewal exception.
A qualifying-rate exemption may apply to a true uninsured straight switch at renewal, but it is not a promise that every lender must accept the mortgage without reviewing the file.
Contact the lawyer, Realtor and Rajiv immediately. Identify whether the delay is administrative, documentary, lender-related or a genuine financing failure before discussing an extension, bridge arrangement or emergency lender.
The lawyer needs the purchase documents, lender instructions, identification, insurance evidence and cleared client funds in time to complete the legal closing. Mortgage approval alone does not deliver the keys.
Plan for the lender to lend against the lower acceptable value, not automatically the purchase price. Before making the offer firm, understand the cash shortfall, reconsideration evidence, lender alternatives and the legal deadline.
Avoid unnecessary job changes, new credit, financed purchases, missed payments and unexplained money movements between approval and closing. If a change is unavoidable, tell Rajiv before acting so the effect can be tested.
No mortgage is guaranteed merely because the file is described as complete. “Lender-complete” should mean the stated lender conditions have been satisfied, but funding can still depend on no material changes, lawyer instructions, insurance, property matters and final lender controls.