Nova Scotia mortgage questions, answered

Nothing on a standard residential mortgage; the lender pays the brokerage a finder’s fee when it funds. A borrower fee applies only on some private or alternative-lender files; under Section 22 of Nova Scotia’s Standards of Conduct regulations it must be disclosed in writing and cannot be collected until the lender confirms funding in writing and you accept the commitment.

The largest is municipal deed transfer tax, 1.0% to 1.5% of the price. Then legal fees of roughly $850 to $1,000, $100 per document to record the deed and mortgage, a $125 tax certificate in HRM, and title insurance typically under $300 below $500,000; confirm with your lawyer. Closing cost calculator →

Halifax and Cape Breton Regional Municipalities, Truro, Kentville and most of the province charge 1.5%; every municipality in Pictou and Yarmouth counties charges 1.0%, as do Antigonish County, Stewiacke, Clare, Digby district, Guysborough district and Clark’s Harbour — fifteen in all; Berwick, the District of Lunenburg and St. Mary’s charge 1.25%. Your lawyer remits it at closing. Deed transfer tax calculator →

4% of the mortgage at 90.01% to 95% loan-to-value, added to the mortgage, not paid in cash; 3.1% at 85.01% to 90% and 2.8% at 80.01% to 85%. No provincial sales tax on the premium here; Quebec, Ontario and Saskatchewan charge it. Down payment and CMHC premium calculator →

On a variable-rate mortgage, usually three months’ interest. On a closed fixed-rate mortgage, usually the greater of that and the interest rate differential, which is far larger whenever rates have fallen since you signed. In the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada’s published example the two figures are $3,000 and $12,000 on the same mortgage. Your contract decides which comparison rate is used, and that clause is worth reading before the rate is.

Yes, with bridge financing — a short-term loan secured against the home you are selling, advanced on your purchase closing day and repaid from the sale proceeds. Almost every lender requires the sale to be firm first; an accepted offer with conditions still on it is not enough. Often the cheaper fix is moving one closing date rather than borrowing across the gap.

Yes if it is permanently affixed to land you own — that is an ordinary insured mortgage at up to 95% of value under CMHC Prefab Plus, with the same 600 minimum credit score as any other home. If the home is movable or the lot is rented, it is chattel financing instead: fewer lenders, shorter terms, higher rates. The usual obstacle is finding a lender who writes that kind of file, not the down payment.

You must qualify at the greater of the contract rate plus 2% and 5.25%, whichever is higher, though you pay the contract rate; insured mortgages apply the same rate through the insurer. It caps what you can borrow, so a pre-approval is sometimes lower than a bank’s online calculator.

CMHC’s minimum for an insured mortgage is 600; the Nova Scotia First-time Homebuyers Program requires 630 and the Down Payment Assistance Program 650. Lenders set their own thresholds above these; a score just over the line usually means a higher rate or a smaller mortgage, not a decline. Below them, an alternative lender may still work, at a cost.

Insured lenders cap gross debt service (housing costs against gross income) at 39% and total debt service (housing plus all other debt payments) at 44%, both at the stress-test rate. A car or student loan cuts what you qualify for more than most expect. Affordability calculator →

Yes. Lenders use a two-year average of declared income, so you need two years of Notices of Assessment and T1 Generals; CMHC recommends at least 24 months in business and allows a 15% gross-up of net income. If you write off most of your income, an alternative lender’s bank-statement program is the other route.

A provincial pilot launched 3 February 2026: 2% to 4% down with no mortgage insurance premium, the province guaranteeing 90% of any shortfall. Household income under $200,000, credit 630 or better, price under $570,000 in HRM and East Hants or $500,000 elsewhere. Participating credit unions only, rate capped at prime + 2%.

An interest-free provincial loan of up to 5% of the price, repaid over 10 years, for households under $145,000 income with credit 650 or better. Price caps: $570,000 in HRM and East Hants, $375,000 in West Hants, the Annapolis Valley and the South Shore, and $300,000 in Yarmouth County and the Northern and Eastern regions. Insured pre-approval first; processing takes about 3 weeks. DPAP eligibility, calculator and how to apply →

Three. The First Home Savings Account: $8,000 a year to a $40,000 lifetime limit, deductible in and tax-free out for a home. The Home Buyers’ Plan: up to $60,000 from an RRSP, repaid over 15 years. The Home Buyers’ Amount: a $10,000 claim on your return the year you buy.

For the provincial First-time Homebuyers Program, someone who has not owned a home in the last four years, buying a primary residence. The Down Payment Assistance Program also accepts someone who previously owned but has been through a marriage or common-law breakdown. The FHSA and Home Buyers’ Plan use their own four-year lookbacks, so you can qualify for one and not another; if you owned years ago and have rented since, ask. First-time buyer eligibility check →

About four months before the term ends. Most lenders hold a rate for 90 to 120 days, and moving lenders takes longer than signing the letter your current lender mails you; signing that first offer unshopped is the most common way Nova Scotians overpay.

Not on a straight switch. Since 21 November 2024, OSFI exempts an uninsured mortgage moving between federally regulated lenders from the minimum qualifying rate if amortization and balance do not increase; up to $3,000 can be added for penalties or fees. More money or a longer amortization is a refinance, and the stress test applies.

A renewal is a new term with your current lender at the same balance. A switch is the same balance and amortization at a different lender, which usually covers most transfer costs. A refinance changes the amount or amortization, is re-qualified under the stress test, and needs an appraisal and a lawyer.

Yes, on the timeline more than the approval. Rural Nova Scotia lenders typically want a water potability test and often a septic inspection, and the appraiser needs comparable sales, slower outside HRM: build a longer financing condition into a rural offer. A seasonal cottage without year-round access or heat is harder.

Yes. The provincial non-resident deed transfer tax is 10% of the greater of price or assessed value on residential property of three units or fewer, including residential vacant land, on top of the municipal tax. You are exempt if you move here and make it your primary residence; in August 2026 the province extended the proof-of-residency window to one year and the refund window to two.

Yes. One to four units is residential; CMHC insures up to 95% loan-to-value on one and two units and 90% on three and four, with rental income counted. Five units and up is commercial, underwritten on the building’s income, through Indi Mortgage Commercial Division.

Nova Scotia’s Capped Assessment Program limits how much a long-term owner’s assessment can rise each year; the 2026 cap is 2.6%. It comes off the year after a sale to anyone but a family member, so the assessment resets toward market value and the bill jumps. Lenders qualify you on the uncapped estimate; budget on it too.

Up to 80% of the home's value on a refinance, 65% on a stand-alone home equity line of credit, or 80% when a HELOC and a mortgage share the property. Those are the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada's figures and they are firm; a second mortgage is the route past them without breaking the first. HELOC and home equity calculator →

Refinance when you need a lump sum and your current rate is no better than today’s; everything reprices, penalty possible. A HELOC when the need is ongoing or uncertain, since you pay interest only on what you draw. A second mortgage when your first has a rate worth protecting; it leaves the first untouched.

Not on your own home: mortgage interest on the home you live in is never deductible here. The Smith Manoeuvre works toward the same effect by borrowing back paid-down principal on a readvanceable mortgage and investing it, because interest on money borrowed to earn investment income may be deductible. Total debt does not fall, and at a bank nothing above 65% of the home's value readvances. Smith Manoeuvre calculator →

Yes, by refinancing up to 80% of the home's value, which usually cuts the combined monthly payment sharply, moving debt at 8% to 29% onto a mortgage rate. The catch: spreading short-term debt over 25 years can cost more in total interest, so keep paying the old total and direct the saving at the mortgage as a prepayment. Refinance and consolidation calculator →

At least one borrower or guarantor needs a score of 600 for an insured mortgage. Below that, an alternative or private lender, where equity drives approval rather than score; no score makes borrowing impossible, only more expensive.

Yes. Lenders generally want the proposal fully performed or the bankruptcy discharged, plus re-established credit: commonly two active trade lines reporting for 12 to 24 months with no missed payments. Some alternative lenders lend sooner at a higher rate; start rebuilding credit the month after discharge.

At 55 or older, you can borrow up to 55% of your home's value with no regular payments, repayable when you sell, move out permanently, on the death of the last borrower, or on default. Because interest compounds, check a HELOC or refinance first if your income can carry a payment.

Often. An ordinary refinance stops at 80% of value, which is why banks often decline a buyout, but insurer programs treat a purchase from a co-owner as a purchase, not bound by that ceiling. It needs a fully executed separation agreement, and you must qualify for the whole mortgage alone.

Yes. CMHC’s newcomers criteria cover permanent and non-permanent residents; a non-permanent resident must be legally authorised to work in Canada. Where Canadian credit history is thin, an international credit report or a reference letter from your bank at home can stand in.

In our experience, pre-approval takes one to three business days once documents are in, and full approval five to ten business days from accepted offer to firm commitment, the appraisal usually the longest step. Rural well-and-septic and construction files take longer; your lawyer wants the instructions about five to seven business days before closing.

Four groups for a pre-approval: government ID, income proof (recent pay stubs, an employment letter and two years of T4s, or Notices of Assessment and T1 Generals if self-employed), 90 days of bank statements showing the down payment, and your debts and any property you own. With an accepted offer, add the purchase agreement, MLS listing and property tax bill; everything goes by secure upload, not email.

The rate hold is typically 90 to 120 days depending on the lender: if rates rise while you shop you keep the held rate; if they fall, you get the lower one. It holds a rate, not an approval of a specific house; if it lapses, the pre-approval is refreshed with updated documents.

Yes. Riley holds Nova Scotia Associate Mortgage Broker licence 3001134, issued 3 July 2026, with Indi, The Independent Mortgage Company Ltd., Nova Scotia Mortgage Brokerage licence 3000688, verifiable on the provincial public register; every Nova Scotia mortgage licence expires 31 October and is renewed annually.

No. The office is at 30 Damascus Rd, Suite 212, Bedford, but nearly every file runs remotely: a call, a secure upload link and e-signatures. The only in-person step is signing with your lawyer at closing.

Banks, credit unions, monoline lenders that work mainly through brokers, and alternative and private lenders for the rest. The brokerage is tied to no lender’s products, so Riley will say when your own bank is the better route.