CMHC Insurance

[AirForceWife]

Hi all, thought I'd post a question here. We are being posted this fall, and want to buy our first home.
When you get posted, and buy your first home, do you get the CMHC insurance back from IRPP, if you can't afford the full 25% downpayment?  And, does anyone know what IRP doesnt reimburse when it comes to buying a home when you relocate? Just want to figure out how much we should have saved before our move.

If anyone knows these answers, that would be great!

 

[Gunner]

AirForceWife,

I don't know.  Recommend you go to the source to find this out (IRP Section at your current base).  They are just a phone call away.  I would be interested to know the answer.

Cheers

 

[Inch]

No, CMHC fees are not reimbursed. You can use your custom folder to pay for part or all of them depending on how much you have avail in your Custom folder, a word of warning though, if you use money from your Custom folder to pay for part or all of the CMHC fees, it's taxable. It's not taxed at the time but you'll get a big surprise come tax time. I decided against using that money, it would have saved me $5 a month over the term of my mortgage but it would have cost me $1000 in income tax for the 2005 tax year. Make the decision based on your own situation, but I don't know of many people that used their Custom folders for that purpose.

IRP will reimburse everything else, ie, land transfer tax (in my case, $6600), legal fees, realty fees, home inspector, hook ups for phone, cable, etc. They also reimburse any other transfers you make like Driver's license and plates for your vehicles.

CMHC fees are a normal part of buying a house, the military didn't make you put less than 25% down, that's your choice. They do make you move though so that's why things like land transfer tax and hook ups are covered.

 

[AirForceWife]

Makes sense. Now, a mortgage question, lol.  Are the CMHC fee's added with your mortgage, or are you expected to have that ready when buying a house? This is our first time buying, so I have no idea.  And we dont deal with IRP for another few months.

 

[Inch]

Yep, they're just added to your mortgage. Believe me, you won't even miss a few thousand amongst the $100,000 or so that you'll be mortgaging.

I put down 5%, though my mortgage was for 98% of the purchase price since the CMHC fees were around 3% and they were just added onto the mortgage. Clear as mud?

I got posted last summer and bought my first home so I should be able to answer most of your questions, so fire away. 

 

[AirForceWife]

LOL Thanks Inch.    That helps a lot actually. We dont have a big downpayment, as my dh will only be on LT pay (1st incentive) and Im a stay at home mom.  But were sick of renting, and we can't stand CFHA.  So were hoping to go for one of those zero down mortgages.  Just hoping that theres no catch to that

 

[Inch]

The problem with a zero down is that if you don't at least cover the CMHC fees, your mortgage will be more than your purchase price. I'm not sure about any catches, but there must be a few. They won't just give you $150,000 without some sort of initiative on your part (ie a down payment), it could mean higher interest rates or something else. If you're really curious, then just go into a bank and ask.