Surge of deals prior to implementation date

Brokers and lenders were working overtime last weekend to fund last minute deals prior to Monday’s mortgage rule deadline

Brokers and lenders were working overtime last weekend to fund last minute deals prior to Monday’s mortgage rule deadline.

Toronto-based broker Deepak Bansal worked over the weekend to ensure his clients' last minute deals made it in before Monday’s deadline.

And lenders were working just as hard.

“It was great to know we had underwriters working on our applications over the weekend: Saturday, Sunday, underwriting deals before the deadline just to get the timestamp into CMHC and Genworth,” Bansal, a broker with Dominion Lending Centres, told MortgageBrokerNews.ca. “There were a few lenders accepting applications right up to 11:59 Sunday night.”

Bansal commended Merix and CMLS underwriters specifically for working the weekend and night shifts in support of their broker partners.

Monday marked the first day homeowners using low-ratio insured mortgages would need to qualify for the Bank of Canada’s benchmark five-year rate, as opposed to the contracted rate.

For many buyers, that now means qualifying for a less expensive home than they would have prior to October 17.

The date loomed for many buyers fearing they would no longer qualify under the stricter regime. Especially first-time homebuyers.

“There definitely was a bit of a rush. Not with all clients; I found it was primarily with my first-time buyers. I had a client put in an offer on Saturday afternoon,” Bansal said. “The main questions that they had were closing dates and dates that the contracts had to be signed.

“Having an understanding of those dates was important for them; understanding that as long as they had a legally binding contract before October 17 and they would be OK.”

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