[viro]

I have a question regarding buying a home. My wife and I live in Happy Valley - Goose Bay, NL, and the prices of homes here are really high. We moved here to live with our family in order to save money for a down payment on a home. We are planning on moving back to PEI or another maritime province, where the cost of living is relatively cheap, in the next year or so. What I want to know is, will it be possible to get a mortgage on a house in PEI, for example, while we live here in HVGB? Will we have to live in our new city/town for two years or whatever the recommended time is before we can hope to get a mortgage? We plan on having a 20% down payment and are not opposed to buying it as a rental property first while we continue to live in NL for a little longer - if that would help.

We have never owned a home before; she is a school teacher and I work for non-profit community based organizations.

So to state it a little more clearly: can you buy your first home in another town/city?

I feel like I already know the answer but figured I'd throw it out there as it's something that's been bugging me lately and I'm having a hard time finding the answer online.

Thanks for any help in this regard - greatly appreciated!

 

[none]

Of course you can but why would you?

 

[Rusty O'Toole]

They must be planning to move.

If you want a mortgage from a bank be prepared to give them conventional answers to questions like where do you work, what is your salary, how long have you worked there etc. Anything slightly out of the ordinary makes their tiny little heads explode. But moving to town and buying a house is certainly conventional.

For anything slightly out of the ordinary like being self employed you may need a mortgage broker.

 

[RBull]

Yes, you can but don't do it. Why would you want to? You may need to act like you're actually moving there. Being an out of province landlord for your first home is likely to be a big headache and not likely to be financially advantageous.

Save the money you need for a stronger down payment first (if you buy) and also run the numbers to make sure it makes sense vs renting. Wait and take the time to find the right location for future employment and then look at housing when you are ready to buy for yourself. Prices in many places are on their way down (inverse of mortgage rates).

 

[viro]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Greatly appreciate the help.

 

[dougboswell]

When you eventually move you will need jobs to move to. A lender will want proof of your new job and that you are not on probation. If it is in the same field that will help your application. If you are in a new field they will probably want 2 years in the job. You might be better to rent in the new location for a year. It gets you over the probation period and it allows you time to look around at the real estate to get an idea of prices and types of homes available. Buying a property in a different province on the advice of a real estate agent that you do not know is very risky. As others have mentioned being an absentee landlord is trouble also. If you go that route you would be better to get a management company to look after the property. They will look after any problems that arise, screen prospective tenants and collect the rent. You will pay them a management fee but it will be tax deductive against the rent that you are receiving.