Alberta Mortgage FAQ

The amount of money in which the home can be bought or sold as seen on a property listing site.

The amount of cash that the buyer can initially invest in the property. The down payment is the difference between the purchase price and the value of the mortgage loan.

The land transfer tax is payable on the closing date of your purchase and is usually based on the purchase price of the property. Each region in Canada has their own unique criteria and in some provinces there is no land transfer fee.

Mortgage rate is the interest that a mortgage borrower will pay for money borrowed against a mortgage.

The length of time the interest rate is fixed. The end of the term is also the time when the borrower must either pay the outstanding mortgage balance, or re-negotiate a new mortgage with the lender. If the borrower pays his or her mortgage before the term is up, prepayment penalties may apply.

This is insurance that is required when homebuyers make a down payment of less than 20% of the purchase price. This protects the lender in the event that a borrower defaults on a mortgage. The three mortgage insurers in Canada are CMHC (Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation), Genworth, and Canada Guarantee.

A mortgage for which the interest rate has been fixed for a certain period of time (generally the length of a mortgage).

A mortgage that has fixed payments, but whose principal portion of the payment fluctuates with interest rate changes. Variable rate mortgages generally fluctuate in respect to the prime lending rate. For example, Prime Rate minus 0.09%.

This refers to the amount of money collected by the owner of the home from tenants that are renting a particular space such as a room or the basement. This amount is subtracted from the total monthly costs.