Please read through the information below. It will help you to use the Mortgage Calculator with the most accuracy.

Your mortgage lender will look your credit history, and will also look at the following:

Determine your gross monthly income:
This includes your salary, your spouse's salary, before deductions, and any other reliable sources of monthly income. You should also examine your job security in light of what you know about your company and industry, same with your spouse's job.

Determine what down payment you can come up with:
The amount of down payment determines what type of mortgage you can get. If your down payment is at least 25% of the purchase price, you can get a conventional mortgage. If the downpayment is less than 25% of the purchase price, you can get a high ratio mortgage, which must be insured against default. As with all insurance, there are premiums to paid. Insurance is usually provided by the Canadian Mortgage & Housing Corporation (CMHC). It is generally wise to have the largest down payment you can afford, this will reduce the size of your mortgage, and hence the total interest you will pay over the life of the mortgage.

Determine your Gross Debt Service Ratio:
Add up your monthly mortgage payments, taxes, and heating costs. If applicable, add at least 50% of any condominium / townhouse fees. This sum is called your monthly housing cost. Divide your housing costs by your gross monthly income and multiply by 100. This number is called your Gross Debt Service Ratio, and should not be higher then 32.

Determine your Total Debt Service Ratio:
Take your monthly housing costs calculated above, and add any other monthly debt payments, this includes car loans, credit cards, lines of credit, education loans, other mortgage payments, etc. This sum is your Total Monthly Debt Load. Divide your Monthly Debt Load by your gross monthly income and multiply by 100. This number is called your Total Debt Service Ratio, and should not be higher then 40.