Closed in 2023 · Published October 17, 2026
- Residential
- Prime lender
- Purchase
- Investment property
- Rental
- New to Canada
- Purchase price
- about $955,000
- Mortgage
- about $764,000
- Down payment
- about $191,000
- Loan-to-value
- 80%
- Income averaged
- about $353,000 a year
The Situation
A married couple with two young children, in Canada on work permits, had bought their Maple Ridge home earlier in 2023 and had been accepted into the BC Provincial Nominee Program, with permanent residence expected within weeks. They then found a four-bedroom house with a mortgage-helper suite, also in Maple Ridge, priced at about $955,000, to buy as an investment property.
The Challenge
A second purchase, as a rental, while still on a work permit, with one earner, a mortgage of about $1 million on the family home, and income partly paid in US dollars.
The Solution
In 2023 we placed a mortgage of about $764,000 with a major Canadian bank, 80% of the price, on a three-year fixed term at about 6.7% under an earlier rate hold. The bank averaged the earner's Canadian and US employment income, about $353,000 a year, and the down payment of about $191,000 came from savings and investments of about $630,000. The debt-service ratios came in under 39%, with both units expected to rent.
The Outcome
The family added a two-unit rental to their own home before their permanent residence arrived, building a second property rather than waiting.