What is a high ratio or insured British Columbia mortgage?
A Whenever you need a BC mortgage loan that is 76% or greater of the current market appraised value of your home it is considered a high ratio or insured BC mortgage. If you are a first time home buyer then you can borrow up to 95% value and only need to come up with a 5 percent minimum down payment. The Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) insures the BC mortgage lender in case you default on your loan. You must pay for this insurance premium which is usually tacked on top of your loan. If the BC mortgage lender feels that you are still a risk for default even though you have paid more than 25% down the lender can insist that you insure the mortgage anyway. However, in this situation a British Columbia mortgage broker would probably shop this mortgage to a BC lender that didn’t insist on insuring. The fees for CMHC can be as high as 2.5% of the British Columbia mortgage principal but is often not noticed by a borrower because of being added to your mortgage principal. Rates
