Overcoming the Challenges of Entering Home Ownership as a Business Owner

When Amanda and Brad relocated to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, they were just getting started on their own entrepreneurship journey starting Thrive Tours. They experienced first hand some of the challenges of securing a mortgage as new business owners. While they knew they could afford a mortgage, they had limited options to choose from.

Let's say you have a down payment saved up, can afford a mortgage in your ideal home shopping budget, and have a credit score that's above 680. As an employee, as long as you have more than 6 months of work history and are not on probation, there's a high likelihood you'll be able to find a mortgage with a traditional bank. As a business owner, most lenders will require you to have at least 2 years of operating history. To complicate matters, most lenders will usually use your taxable income (line 150 of your T1 tax return) from the past 2 or 3 years to determine the mortgage amount you can qualify for. This could lower the amount you can borrow for a home purchase, since as a small business owner, you are motivated to deduct many expenses from your gross income to minimize taxes payable.

Check out this article for a detailed overview of different lenders’ policy on self-employed mortgage requirements.

Fortunately enough, they found Requity Homes’s rent-to-own program. “It made the most sense for us in our situation and we felt valued as a partner in a win win collaboration. The website was professional and the video was informative on how Requity Homes could help us buy the house we wanted. Communication was always quick and available through online social media platforms, email, phone and text which we found very helpful”.

At the time, they found a private deal and only had three business days to act on it before the home got listed publicly. We worked together and were able to lock in the home to their liking, helping them accelerate their home purchase timeline. "The whole process was very quick and easy. Having Amy taking charge of the emails, phone calls, and paperwork made buying a house with the contributions from Requity Homes such a smooth and easy transition," said Amanda. Their family has recently moved into their home and have started making it their own.