Dear BM:
If you are interested in purchasing income producing properties within a corporation you have a couple of options to consider;
If the properties are 4 units or less you may have the option of purchasing them as “residential properties” and you would apply jointly for the mortgage by qualifying personally under the current mortgage rules for this type of property and lenders will factor in your income, credit history and cash flow from the property. Some lenders will allow you to hold these properties within a corporation. At some point however you may wish to use the strength of the income from the corporation and fund new property purchases with a commercial mortgage. The advantage to funding personally are the lower down payment and better rates.
If the properties are 5 units or greater you are generally looking at a commercial mortgage with you acting as the guarantor. In this case you will not be qualifying personally. The cash flow and quality of the property become the key considerations for the lender as does your industry experience and net worth. Unless the property is exceptional in terms of the size and quality of deal, you can expect to pay a higher rate. As the down payment requirements are typically higher you may need to take advantage of vendor take back (VTB) financing options.
Investors are typically brought in to provide the down payment or to assist in qualifying for a mortgage. They may or may not become part of the formal mortgage application. You will need to be very clear on what the role of the investor is to play and what their return will be. There are really no rules in this area so you can negotiate an arrangement that is fair to all parties.
Happy to answer any additional questions or clarify as required.

Dear Cathy:
We would be happy to review your thoughts on how we could best contributre to the issue.

Dear Carrie:
Yes we will look at qualifying clients under a rent to own program. It works best where the clients have a down payment but not the current credit score to qualify for traditional lender financing. The clients would need to have the ability to repair their credit so that they can be positioned to purchase the home they want at some point in the future. Homes that can be purchased below market value are also attractive.

Dear Neale:
Your credit score would prohibit your ability to qualify for a “cash back” mortgage to 100%. You also have the issue of how you plan on paying for the renovations. My advice is to find a “mortgage partner” for the project. Use their credit strength and down payment money to qualify for a mortgage and then split the profits from the sale of the home.

We encourage clients to obtain three active credit lines such as credit cards, lines of credit, car loans etc, post bankruptcy as the quickest way to re-establish credit. It may take up to two years to repair. Alternatively a big down payment makes up for credit issues. If you had 20% down you should have no problem obtaining private financing. Rent to own solutions are an immediate option if you have good employment and a reasonable down payment.

Yes if secured with real estate. For unsecured, Citi Financial and Wells Fargo are your best bet for unsecured debt consolidation loans.

Dear Steve
The key is how well you have re-established credit after bankruptcy. If the van loan shows on your credit report that would be a bonus. The best thing is to complete an application so you know where you stand. We can meet at your convenience or I can send you an application to complete. Let me know what works best for you.

You have three options based on what you have told me.

Option 1. I would approach the owners of your home and see if they would be interested in a rent to own deal. Essentially they agree to sell it to you today but you would not close on it until such time as you would qualify for a mortgage. You make additional monthly payments to them so you have your down payment accumulated when you are ready to close.

Option 2. If they are not interested you find an investor to buy the home and they in turn sell it to you in the same arrangement as option 1.

Option 3. You begin to repair your credit immediately and if you do so you should be able to purchase in about two years if you have no further credit blemishes. This needs to occur regardless in order to fulfill the first two options. You will also need to save your minimum 5% down payment over this time.

Dear Peter:
I would look first at banks or other institutional lenders we have at our disposal just for the rate advantage alone. The fact you have many mortgages should not be a deterrent on its own. If you were looking to CHMC insure then 15% down is best case scenario. Likewise with private lenders I would target 15% down but the quality of the property is key. We also have the option of incorporating vender take back financing. Hard to quote rates without a full review of your situation but we would be happy to review.

Dear Sarah:
To buy a duplex rental property you will require 20% down unless it is owner occupied in which case 5% down. You can withdrawal funds from a business to be used as a down payment if you are able to access funds. You could show it as a second mortgage but there are simpler ways to record it from an accounting perspective. If you qualify to carry both your home and the rental property we could look at options for the down payment.

Dear Mike:
Our web site www.casbmanagementgroup.com has some mortgage calculators that will give you an idea of your ability to qualify. If you click on the mortgage link you will see a mortgage calculator link once on my Centum web site. The first mortgage calculator will work best. You can add to your income 50% of any rental income you expect. If you are having any troubles give me a call and I will walk you through it over the phone. This will give you a ballpark idea of what you can do, given your credit is acceptable. The full mortgage application and credit check will confirm your findings.

Dear Andrea:
A Lenders preference is to see three active credit lines with at least a limit of $2500 for two years and no missed payments over that time. There are alternative lenders who have no interest in even looking at a credit report but your down payment would need to be higher and you would be subject to higher rates. Then there is the middle ground. You could also look at the option of a co-signer. If you want to provide more details on your situation i would be happy to review.

Dear Bill:
If you complete, sign and fax or email the attached application back to me I will be able to tell you what is possible on a refinance.

The strength of financing may come from your joint venture partner. Typically you need to bring “something to the table” in terms of assets or experience. If you have the income to qualify for a property perhaps your partner brings the down payment and credit history?

Dear Neil:
Let’s have you complete an application and then we will be able to review your options. Happy to answer any questions.

Dear JP:
I am based in London, Ontario. We have offices across Ontario and service clients throughout North America. We would happy to review your specific situation and determine all your debt consolidation options. Our first choice is typically an institutional lender due to superior rates.

Dear Franz:
My guess is no but the key is how you credit looks post bankruptcy. Lenders like to see three active credit lines with no credit blemishes after the bankruptcy and a two year history although it may be possible after one year. I would suggest you look at a rent to own type arrangement given your down payment. We can assist with that if you wish.

Dutton would be outside our comfort zone as it relates to managing the trades people required for the repairs but we could send a realtor out to give us an opinion on value. If there is enough equity in the home we may still be able to do it.
It will be difficult to qualify for a new mortgage in London without 3 months of current employment but we would be happy to review your situation to see if we can help.

Bridge Financing typically is a bridge between existing financing and future financing. Using a home as an example. Let’s say you are selling a home with a closing of August 30th and are buying a home August 15th. You need the down payment from the sale of your home but of course don’t have it because your house sells 15 days later. Lenders will typically lend you the down payment for the 15 days or “bridge” from one financing to another. There are variations on this and some business applications as well. Pricing depends on how many days between the two deals and the type of deal as well. Let me know if you have any questions or want to review a specific deal.

What lenders look at is how well you have managed your credit after bankruptcy. They generally like to see two years of re-established credit with no blemishes. We recommend 3 active credit lines. If you have accomplished this, 5% down is possible as a down payment. If not then a bigger down payment will be required and this will vary with each deal up to a maximum of 35% down.