Am I ready to buy a house in Ontario?

Roughly $400,000 to $475,000 for someone with no other debt payments and about $50,000 saved for a down payment. A useful shorthand: your top house price is about 4 to 5 times your yearly salary when you have no other debt. So a 70k salary gets you around $300,000 to $350,000. A 150k salary gets you around $600,000 to $750,000. Every debt payment you have on top reduces this. Run the tool for your exact number.

A bigger down payment helps two ways. First, if you can put 20% or more down, you skip CMHC insurance — which saves thousands and lowers your monthly payment. Second, houses above $1.5 million require 20% down by law, so a big saved amount unlocks the top tier. But past a certain point, more savings stops helping — your salary sets the ceiling. On a 100k salary, savings above about $50,000 don't buy you a bigger house because your income caps you around $440,000 either way. A 150k salary with $50,000 saved gets you around $690,000. A 200k salary with $100,000 saved gets you around $940,000. Run the tool to see whether your salary or your savings is what's limiting you.

No. The Canadian minimum is 5% on the first $500,000 of the house price, and 10% on any amount between $500,000 and $1,500,000. So on a $500,000 house, the minimum down payment is $25,000. On a $700,000 house, the minimum is $45,000 — that's 5% of the first $500,000 plus 10% of the remaining $200,000. If the house is over $1.5 million, you need 20% down. With less than 20% down you'll pay CMHC insurance, which gets added to your mortgage. But you can absolutely buy a house with less than 20% down — most first-time buyers do.

You don't have to. But you probably want to. On a 100k salary, a $500 monthly car payment costs you about $11,000 of house. But $1,000 a month in combined debts (car + credit card + student loan) costs closer to $75,000 of house. The impact grows fast as your debts stack — because Canadian lenders cap your monthly housing plus debts at about 44% of your gross income. If you have savings that could clear one of these loans, that math is often worth running. This is Question 2 above — how well you manage the money you make in a year.

Almost always no. Canadian lenders want your down payment to come from your own savings — not from another loan. There are a few rare programs that allow it, but they cost more and are hard to qualify for. Plan on the down payment being your own money, a gift from immediate family, or a withdrawal from your RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan.

Yes. 90 days. Canadian lenders want to see that your down payment has been in your account for at least three months before you apply for a mortgage. This is called seasoned funds. It's how they make sure the money is really yours and not borrowed. If a big deposit landed less than 90 days ago, you'll need to prove where it came from — a bill of sale for something you sold, a gift letter from a family member, or something similar.

As early as you can. The Big 5 Canadian banks have newcomer mortgage programs that will accept your foreign income and credit history from your home country. But the down payment itself has to be in a Canadian bank account for at least 90 days before you apply — that's the seasoned funds rule above. Move the money as soon as you know you want to buy, even before you know exactly when.

The math is the same, but Canadian lenders want two years of tax returns showing steady income before they'll approve a mortgage on self-employed income. They average your last two years. Less than two years of returns? You have three options: wait until you have two, apply with a T4-employed partner, or use a specialty lender that accepts stated income (usually higher rates). A mortgage broker can walk you through which one fits.