Qualified homebuyers who have immigrated or relocated to Canada within the last 5 years are eligible under Genworth’s New to Canada program to purchase a property with as little as a 5% downpayment.
Acceptable Loan Purpose & Applicable Loan-to-Value Limits:
- Purchase transactions: 95% LTV
Loan Security:
- First mortgages
Eligible Properties:
- Maximum 2 units where 1 unit must be owner occupied
- New construction covered by a lender approved New Home Warranty Program
- Existing resale properties
- Readily marketable residential dwellings, located in markets with demonstrated ongoing re-sale demand
- Estimated remaining economic life of the property should be a minimum of 25 years
Maximum Property Value:
- Property value must be less than $1,000,000. Exceptions may be considered for LTV ≤ 80%.
Qualifying Terms and Interest Rates:
- Fixed, standard variable, capped variable and adjustable rate mortgages are permitted
- Maximum interest rate term of 25 years
- LTV >80%
- For mortgages with fixed rate terms greater than or equal to 5 years, the contract rate is used.
- For mortgages with fixed rate terms less than 5 years and all variable rates regardless of term, the qualifying interest rate is the greater of the contract rate or 5-year benchmark rate.
- LTV ≤ 80%
- For mortgages with fixed rate terms greater than or equal to 3 years, the contract rate is used.
- For mortgages with fixed rate terms less than 3 years and all variable rates regardless of term, the qualifying interest rate is the greater of the contract rate or 3-year posted rate.
Amortization Options:
- LTV > 80%: Up to 25 years
- LTV ≤ 80%: Up to 40 years
Premium Rate:
The premium payable will be the premium as a % of the total loan amount based on the rates below:
| LTV Ratio | Premium Rate |
| Up to 65% | 0.60% |
| 65.01% – 75% | 0.75% |
| 75.01% – 80% | 1.25% |
| 80.01% – 85% | 1.80% |
| 85.01% – 90% | 2.40% |
| 90.01% – 95% | 3.60% |
LTV ≤ 80% – A .25% premium surcharge will be applied for every 5 years of amortization beyond the traditional 25-year mortgage amortization period
Note: The insurance premium is non-refundable, paid at the time of closing and may be added onto the mortgage
Borrower Qualification:
Income & Employment
- Standard income and employment verification requirements apply
- 3 months minimum full time employment in Canada (borrowers being transferred under a corporate relocation program are exempt)
Credit
- 90.01-95%: International credit report (Equifax or Transunion) demonstrating a strong credit profile OR two (2) alternative sources of credit demonstrating timely payments (no arrears) for the past 12 months. The two alternative sources required are:
- Rental payment history
- One other alternative source (hydro/utilities, telephone, cable, cell phone and auto insurance)
- Up to 90%: Letter of reference from a recognized financial institution OR six (6) months of bank statements from primary account
Down Payment
- Qualified home buyers may use traditional down payment sources including personal savings, non-repayable gift from immediate family member(s), proceeds from sale of property.
- 95% LTV, 5% of the down payment must be from own resources
- < 95% LTV, the remainder may be gifted from an immediate family member or from a corporate subsidy
Additional Criteria
- Must have immigrated or relocated to Canada within the last 60 months
- Must have a valid work permit or obtained landed immigrant status
- All debts held outside of the country must be included in the total debt servicing ratio(Rental income earned outside of Canada is to be excluded from the GDS/TDS calculation)
- Guarantors are not permitted
- Foreign Diplomats who do not pay tax in Canada are ineligible for this program
GDS/TDS Guidelines:
| Credit Score | GDS* | TDS* |
| <680 | 35% | 42% |
| 680+ | 39% | 44% |
*Exceptions may be considered for LTV ≤ 80%
Documentation / Information Requirements*:
| LTV | Documentation Requirements |
| All LTV’s |
|
| Up to 90% |
OR
|
| 90.01 – 95% |
OR
NOTE: Alternative sources of credit must be obtained from a Canadian source |
* Genworth Canada will no longer require the lender to submit the documentation upfront on every file, but may request that the lender provide a copy on a case-by-case basis
** Letter from landlord must indicate the following: name of tenant, monthly rent, length of tenancy, payment history. Bank statements must support the amount of rent and timeliness of payments outlined in the letter
Portability:
- Our mortgage default insurance is portable, so home buyers can take advantage of a lender’s portability plan. For further details, refer to Portability Feature Product Overview.
Assumptions / Assignments:
- Mortgage is assumable subject to meeting lender guidelines
Eligible Products:
- Homebuyer 95 Program
- Progress Advance Program
- Purchase Plus Improvements Program
* For specific underwriting guidelines related to the above eligible products, please refer to the applicable product overview
Ineligible Products:
- Business For Self (Alt-A) Program
- Borrowed Down Payment Program
- Cash-Out Refinance Program
- Family Plan Program
- Vacation/Secondary Homes Program
- Investment Property Program
Source: http://www.genworth.ca/en/products/new-to-canada-program.aspx# Dec. 16, 2015
