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This is the first post in a series of videos with tips for First Time Home Buyers in Vancouver’s property market.

So you’re thinking of taking the plunge and buying your first home in beautiful Vancouver!

How much can I spend? Get Pre-Approved!

If you have several hundred thousand dollars in your bank account, great!

If not, you should speak to your bank or a mortgage broker to find out how large of a mortgage you can get. The bank or broker will give you a mortgage pre-approval which is a rough estimation of what you can borrow. This mortgage pre-approval is based on the information you provide the bank or mortgage broker. Remember, the more accurate and detailed the information you provide, the more accurate the pre-approval amount!

Here’s a list of mortgage brokers who can help you with a mortgage pre-approval:

Chad Watts 7787736631 cwatts@mortgagegrp.com

Rino Revel 604) 816-1976 rinorev@telus.net

Karli Shih karlishih@gmail.com 604-992-9891

Jessi Johnson (604) 716-6474 jessi@jessijohnson.com

Want to learn more about mortgages and real estate financing? Check out the videos on Vancouver Real Estate and Mortgages!

Now that you know what you can spend, its time to figure what that money can buy. Be sure to Check out Episode 2 of the Vancouver First Time Home Buyers Guide – Where to Buy!

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me at any time!

Mortgage Pre-Approvals are NOT Guarantees of a Mortgage!

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Chad Watts of The Mortgage Group about mortgage pre-approvals. He brought up a very important point for Buyers, particularly First Time Home Buyers. And that is a mortgage pre-approval is NOT a guarantee that you will get a mortgage at the amount the Lender originally mentions or get a mortgage at all.

What is a Mortage Pre-Approval?

This is a preliminary estimation by a Lender of how much the Lender will loan you based on very basic information. This number is subject to change based on what property you get an accepted offer on and the details of your financial situation.

Why Your Mortgage Pre-Approval may not match the Mortgage You Get!

A mortgage pre-approval is a basic guideline of generally how much a Lender thinks they can give loan the Buyer. Once the Buyer finds their dream home and have an accepted offer subject to financing on the property they need to forward the offer onto the Lender. The Lender then begins to go over all the details of the property and the Buyers financial situation with a fine tooth comb. This is often where the disparities between the Mortgage Pre-Approval and the actual mortgage pop up.

Too Much Debt, Inaccurate Financial Information, Unpaid Taxes,  and Leaky Condos

There are certain buildings that Lenders will not lend money on for various reasons (Its a leaky condo, its not worth what the accepted offer says its worth, there are issues with title). Sometimes the information the Buyer originally provided the Lender is not accurate or out of date (Buyer is behind on their taxes, or doesn’t have as much money as they thought, or may have too much debt). Both of these variables can result in the Buyer either not getting a mortgage at all or not getting as large a mortgage as they had anticipated.

The CHMC has a cool tool that you can use to test your financial situation to see if you are ready for home ownership that you might find useful.

Totally off topic – Check out the Tightrope Walker in the background of the video!

I REALLY APPRECIATE COMMENTS AND I’D LOVE TO HEAR YOUR THOUGHTS!