What You Should Know About the Government’s New FTHB Incentive

Diane Buchanan • September 11, 2019

Launched on September 2nd 2019, the first time home buyer’s incentive is designed to help qualified first time home buyers reduce their monthly expenses. The goal is to make housing more affordable. The government of Canada has set aside $241M for the program and has estimated it will help 100,000 Canadians over the next 3 years.

Program highlights.

Your mortgage must be default insured, CMHC‌ will provide 5% of the downpayment for an existing home, or 10% downpayment for a new build construction.

Your income must be less than $120,000 per year and you must meet the criteria of being a first time home buyer. The insured mortgage plus incentive cannot be more than four times your household income.

There are no repayments required while you have your mortgage, however, you can pay it back anytime or upon the sale of your property. There will be some risk-sharing with the government.

Consumer Sentiment

According to a recent survey completed titled “Home Buying is Hard Work” by Mortgage Professionals Canada, Canadians are in “moderate agreement” that the new First-Time Home Buyer Incentive will “make it easier for Canadians to afford a home.”

However, among existing homeowners, most say they would not have used the program when they bought their first home, while most respondents also said they would not be willing to give up equity in their home.

Mortgage Professionals Canada Chief Economist Will Dunning expects the program will result in less than 5,000 incremental first-time purchases per year.

The More You Know

If you’re looking to buy your first home, and are considering the first time home buyer’s incentive program, the most important thing you can do is collect all the information and consider all your options.

Unfortunately, understanding mortgages can be difficult. There is a lot of information to consider when simply qualifying for a mortgage, without adding the stress of government programs, and what these programs mean for you, long term.

The good news is that you don’t have to navigate everything alone.

As an independent mortgage professional, my job is to help you qualify for the best mortgage available, using the best programs and incentives available. I’d love to walk you through all your options and explain in detail the ramifications of using a program like the first time home buyers incentive. It might be a fit for you, however, it might not be. Let’s talk!

Please contact me anytime , I’d love to discuss buying your first home!

DIANE BUCHANAN
 Mortgage Broker

LET'S TALK

RRSP As A Downpayment

By Diane Buchanan • July 16, 2025
Did you know there’s a program that allows you to use your RRSP to help come up with your downpayment to buy a home? It’s called the Home Buyer’s Plan (or HBP for short), and it’s made possible by the government of Canada. While the program is pretty straightforward, there are a few things you need to know. Your first home (with some exceptions) To qualify, you need to be buying your first home. However, when you look into the fine print, you find that technically, you must not have owned a home in the last four years or have lived in a house that your spouse owned in the previous four years. Another exception is for those with a disability or those helping someone with a disability. In this case, you can withdraw from an RRSP for a home purchase at any time. You have to pay back the RRSP You have 15 years to pay back the RRSP, and you start the second year after the withdrawal. While you won’t pay any tax on this particular withdrawal, it does come with some conditions. You’ll have to pay back the total amount you withdrew over 15 years. The CRA will send you an HBP Statement of Account every year to advise how much you owe the RRSP that year. Your repayments will not count as contributions as you’ve already received the tax break from those funds. Access to funds The funds you withdraw from the RRSP must have been there for at least 90 days. You can still technically withdraw the money from your RRSP and use it for your down-payment, but it won’t be tax-deductible and won’t be part of the HBP. You can access up to $35,000 individually or $70,00 per couple through the HBP. Please connect anytime if you’d like to know more about the HBP and how it could work for you as you plan your downpayment. It would be a pleasure to work with you.

Selling Your Property? Let's Talk

By Diane Buchanan • July 9, 2025
If you’ve been thinking about selling your existing property, for whatever reason, it would be in your best interest to connect with an independent mortgage professional before calling your real estate agent or listing it yourself. And while talking with your mortgage professional might not sound like the most logical place to start, here are a few scenarios that explain why it makes the most sense. If you’re buying a new property If you’re selling your property, chances are, you’ll have to move somewhere! So, if you plan on buying a new property using the equity from the sale of your existing property, chances are you’ll need a new mortgage. Don’t assume that just because you’ve secured mortgage financing before, that you’ll qualify again. Mortgage rules are constantly changing; make sure you have a pre-approval in place before you list your property. Also, by connecting with a mortgage professional first, you can look into your existing mortgage terms. You might be able to port your mortgage instead of getting a new one, which could save you some money. If you’re not buying a new property Even if you aren’t buying a new property and want to sell your existing property, it’s still a good idea to connect with a mortgage professional first, as we can look at the cost of breaking your mortgage together. Unless you have an open mortgage, or a line of credit, there will be a penalty to break your mortgage. The goal is to work on a plan to minimize your penalty. Because of how mortgage penalties work, sometimes it’s just a matter of waiting a few months to save thousands. You'll never know unless you take a look at the details. Marital breakdown The simple truth is that marriages break down. When that happens, often, people want closure, and unfortunately, they make decisions without really thinking them through or seeing the full picture. So, instead of simply selling the family home because that feels like the only option, please know that special programs exist that allow one party to buy out the former spouse. The key here is to have a legal separation agreement is in place. If you’d like to discuss the sale of your property and your plans for the future, connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work with you!