Owner Occupied vs. Investment Properties

Often times our clients will ask about the kinds of transactions that banks are interested in funding. For the past year banks and lenders have been very competitive to fund mortgages for owner occupied properties over investment properties. An Owner Occupied property refers to real estate that is purchased by the same individual or business that intends on occupying it. Locally, we have many businesses that have leases expiring and have considered changing their monthly lease payment into a mortgage payment. There are many properties to choose from and in a lot of cases a business that purchases a property can save money compared to leasing the same type and size of property. For this reason, banks and lenders are interested in working with these types of transactions as they present opportunities to lend money to solid businesses that have demonstrated cash flow and financial stability. Compared to Investment Properties, which would be real estate that is purchased for investment purposes and not occupancy purposes, banks and lenders are still interested in seeing the transaction but we have experienced slower turn around times and a lower level of interest compared to Owner Occupied properties. If you are considering turning your lease payment into a mortgage payment, send me an email at dylan@bridgecap.ca or visit www.bridgecap.ca/dylan and I would be happy to run some math.