Zero Down Mortgages: How to Buy a House with No Down Payment May 12th

There was a time when you could go to the bank and qualify for a mortgage without a down payment. But is that still a thing, and if so, is a zero down payment mortgage even a good idea? I’ll answer that question in this article and provide some different ways to come up with your down payment, within the rules.
A History of No Down Payment Mortgages in Canada
During the early 2000s, many Canadian banks were heavily promoting zero-down payment mortgages.
In most cases, it worked like this: the borrower waived the usual mortgage interest rate discount and accepted the higher posted rate in exchange for a 5% upfront discount, which covered the 5% minimum down payment requirement. It was similar to a 5% cash-back mortgage, except the cash-back didn’t end up in the borrower’s pocket; it was used for the down payment.
The borrower remained responsible for covering the closing costs (lawyers fees, etc.) of approximately 1.5% of the home’s purchase price.
However, in 2008, in response to the mortgage crisis, the Canadian government banned no-down payment mortgages from federally-regulated financial institutions and began imposing other mortgage restrictions, such as getting rid of 40-year mortgage amortizations…