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If you’re considering going to school or need an influx of cash to pay for your child’s educational expenses, you’re probably already well-aware how much it costs to go to college or university.

In Canada, tuition for an undergraduate program for full-time students is, on average, $6,571. The average cost for a graduate program is $6,907. Toss in residence and food, etc., and a four year-university degree can cost as much as $60,000.1 For a child born today, it could cost as much as $140,000 to put them through college or university.2

It’s not just a post-secondary education that is costly. If you’re thinking of sending your kids to a private school, it can cost even more. A lot of private schools have tuition starting at under $4,000 per year for elementary years. Tuition for going to a private high school, generally range from $6,000 to $12,000 per year. If you want your kids to attend Ridley College or Upper Canada College, you’ll need to come up with around $35,000 a year.

Options for Financing an Education. Whether it's through a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) or a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), some people find it easy to set aside that kind of money for a post-secondary education in Toronto.

But not everyone.

A study conducted by the Bank of Montreal found that 45% of parents with kids under the age of 18 expect to foot anywhere from 50% to 100% of their child’s post-secondary education. But not even that will cover all the expenses. To cross the finish line, student loans and scholarships will be needed to make up the difference.3

If you’re a homeowner, you have a secret weapon that can help pay for college tuition. It’s the equity in your home. Not only can a home equity loan give you the flexibility you need to help pay for a post-secondary education in Ontario, it also provides the peace of mind you need to focus on studying.

What Is Home Equity?

Every time you make a mortgage payment, or the value of your property increases, you build up equity in your home. The longer you own your home and pay your mortgage, the higher the equity in your home is.

For example, if you purchased a home for $400,000 and it has been appraised at $500,000 and you still owe $150,000 on the mortgage, you have built up $350,000 in home equity.

If you need to come up with money for tuition costs and you have built up more than 20% equity in your property, a home equity loan may be the best route to take. Not only is the Toronto housing market solid, interest rates remain low, and Ontario’s economy is strong.

Borrowing with a Home Equity Loan

Home equity loans are secured against your property. But banks will not let you borrow against all the equity you’ve built up. The maximum you can borrow with a home equity loan in Toronto is 80% of the appraised value (minus the unpaid balance of the existing mortgage).4

Once approved for a home equity loan, the lender will give you a one-time lump sum payment that gets paid off over a predetermined period, just like your mortgage does.

Just like your mortgage, you get charged on interest on the total amount of the home equity loan as soon as the lender gives it to you. And, just like your first mortgage, with a home equity loan, you are now responsible for two monthly mortgage payments.

Does Everyone with a Home Qualify for a Home Equity Loan?

No. Just because you have a home does not mean you automatically qualify for a home equity loan. Even if you’ve built up considerable equity in your property, Canada’s big banks might think there’s a good chance you’ll default on a home equity loan.

Why would big financial institutions do that? Maybe things have changed since you qualified for your first mortgage. If you’re now self-employed and cannot verify your income, it will be difficult to get a home equity loan.

If your credit has taken a hit or taken on too much additional debt, major lenders might turn down your request for a home equity loan. On top of that, Canada’s new stricter lending rules have made it much more difficult for the average home owner to secure a home equity loan.

If, for some reason, the value of your property has dropped, the equity you’ve built up in your home will have shrunk, further diminishing the chances of getting a home equity loan.

Canadalend.com, Helping Ontarians Access Their Home Equity

Unfortunately, the cost of living and unexpected expenses mean most Canadians have not saved up enough money to pay for a post-secondary education; whether it’s for their kids, grandkids, or themselves. If you’re a property owner, Canadalend.com can help you get a home equity loan with the best terms and conditions.

How can Canadalend.com provide better service and options that Canada’s big banks? Big banks will only try and get you to buy one of their financial products, whether it’s in your best interest or not.

Because the licensed mortgage professionals at Canadalend.com are independent, we have access to literally hundreds of different lenders. Many are non-traditional lenders that are not regulated by federal or provincial regulations.

If you’re a home owner and are looking to take out a home equity loan to help pay for tuition, or any other reason, contact Canadalend.com today. We’ll evaluate your current financial situation and help you find a lender that can provide you with a financial product that suits your needs. Or apply online and a Canadalend.com lending specialist will help you set up an appointment for a free personal consultation at your earliest convenience.

When the time comes to consider a secondary loan, it may be worth considering your home equity position. Equity builds up in your home, or other property, over time, as you pay off a loan secured on it. This equity is the percentage of the property you own through repayments of the first loan.

It has become increasingly popular for borrowers to utilize this equity as a form of guarantee on a second loan. Home Equity Loans can be used for a variety of reasons. Depending on what you want, the loan is for will determine what type of home equity loan you should be considering.

Home Equity Loan

The standard Home Equity Loan (HEL) works much like a regular loan. You and the lender agree on a schedule for repayments along with interest rates, penalties, etc. On the whole, you may find the interest rate on a home equity loan is slightly higher than a standard loan. This is because it is the second loan on the same property. In the event of your bankruptcy, the first lender will be paid first from the sale of your estate. If there's nothing left after that, the second lender doesn't get paid.

To minimize the potential for paying a higher rate, borrowers are best advised to shop around. The major banks are a good place to start, but it’s also worth seeing what an alternative lender might have to offer. They can often equal, if not beat, bank rates and can be more flexible on terms, fees, and penalties.

Home Equity Loans are often used as a way to pay bills. If this is the case for you, keep in mind that most banks will want to see a good credit score and predictable future earnings.

Home Equity Line of Credit

A home Equity Line of credit functions in the same way as a HEL, the equity in your property determines how much you can borrow. However, instead of the loan amount being made available to you as a lump sum at the start of the schedule, it instead forms a pool of money you can draw from.

This form of loan is particularly useful for borrowers that want to undertake a period of repairs to their home. This may be part of ongoing regular maintenance and upgrades, or it might be in the year or so before putting a property up for sale.

Having a pool of money that you can borrow from as and when you need to allows borrowers to plan with confidence without the worry of how they will pay any particular bill for works as and when it comes. They can simply release funds from the line-of-credit pool, and know they're not going to overspend the initial borrowing figure.

Home Equity Lenders

As previously mentioned, Home Equity Lenders can sometimes get the worst part of a bankruptcy situation. When dealing with banks, their inclination is to penalize the lender with higher rates. This is their way of protecting themselves against the worst, even if it doesn't happen.

Many Canadians who take out Home Equity Loans find a better deal through alternative lenders such as credit unions or other financial institutes. The advantage of these lenders is their flexibility, where banks tend to lean towards rigidity. The downside? There are only a few major banks; there are a lot of alternative lenders.

At Canadalend, our independent experts have access to hundreds of different lenders and their financial products. Unlike advisors at a bank, they don't get incentivized to sell you a certain product. Their sole concern is finding the lender and product that meets your needs, whether that's a Home Equity Loan or a Line of Credit.

To find out how you can make your home equity start working for you and your future, contact Canadalend.com today and talk to one of our experts.

With the country still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, it is getting increasingly difficult for Canadians to meet their monthly financial obligations. Working through a job loss or reduction in hours has affected many of us, and government funded programs – like the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) – can only cover so much. Households are finding it tough to keep food on the table, let along pay down their mortgages and other high-interest debt, such as credit cards.

Homeownership at times like these have its benefits. You can use the equity you have built over the years to consolidate some of your high-interest debts into one, easy to manage monthly payment. Even in a risky financial climate, like this one imposed by COVID-19, you can pay down your debts as well as cut down your overall monthly expenses. Interest rates are also currently at a record low, so it has never been a better time to start looking into consolidating outstanding debt. 

What Is Home Equity & How Can You Access It?

The difference between the current value of your home and the unpaid balance of your mortgage make up your Home Equity. Over time, your equity grows as you make more and more of your mortgage payments, and the percentage of ownership rises. Other factors, such as market activity, can also substantially increase the amount of equity that you have access to and can leverage. 

Homeowners looking to access their Home Equity have two options for financing: A Home Equity Loan or Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). A Home Equity Loan, or Second Mortgage as its often referred to as, allows you to withdraw a lump sum of money based on your available equity. You would then make monthly payments at a locked interest rate until the time of renewal. This is great if you are looking for a larger sum of money – anywhere from $20,000 to even a $1,000,000 depending on the home value.

If you choose to refinance, or take out additional equity, can use this extra money for anything from debt consolidation, investments, home renos, education, or other life expenses.

Borrowers looking to access their available home equity also have the option to pursue a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC). This allows you to withdraw cash from the line of credit and repay it as you find necessary, as long as the minimum monthly interest payments are made. You do not need to take out the whole line at once, it can be used more like a credit card, but at much lower interest rates. Like Second and Third mortgages, homeowners with multiple high-interest credit card debts, or high-interest loans find HELOC’s very appealing. This ability to allow the borrower to pay only one interest-only payment, at a much lower interest rate, can make monthly financial obligations much more manageable. 

Advantages Of Consolidating Debt Through A Second Mortgage or Mortgage Refinance:

Increased cash flow: Multiple high-interest debts consolidated into one lower interest rate can increase your available monthly income and help you save money over time.

Customized financial plan: Our Mortgage Professionals can help you create a loan and debt repayment plan, spread over a 2-5-year period, to help reach – and maintain – your financial goals.

Streamlined payments: Multiple larger monthly payments can be combined into one single lower monthly payment with a lower interest rate that can help you pay down your debts faster.

Credit score: Individuals with a poor credit score can qualify for a second mortgage. This can help Borrowers to pay off their high-interest debts and start rebuilding their credit. When applying for a future mortgage or refinance, these factors can make all the difference.

Principal repayment: When individuals are forced to pay off high levels of credit card debt using only their income, they are often not able to pay the whole sum. Instead, they are left paying the minimum payments which often pay solely for the interest itself. This endless loop can leave someone in a great deal of debt, stress, and substantially limit their financial standing. A Second Mortgage, or HELOC, can allow you to pay the total sum of your credit card debt and only worry about making the appropriate monthly payments.

As you can see from the examples above, tapping into your home equity through a Second Mortgage, or Refinance, can be quite advantageous. A Private Mortgage is also a great option for potential borrowers with bad credit that are worried about the often complicated approval process. Since homeowners are using the equity built into their home, they are seen as less of a risk to potential lenders. The application process becomes much quicker and more streamlined. Home Equity Loans can also be very beneficial to self-employed individuals who have a difficult time with reportable income.

If you are interested in accessing your home equity and consolidating your high-interest debts, the trusted Mortgage Brokers at Canadalend can help get you approved quickly and easily. With access to a very large pool of private lenders, banks, and credit unions, Canadalend will work tirelessly to get you the best mortgage rate for your individual needs.

Call Canadalend today at 905-881-0242 or email us at info@canadalend.com to speak with an experienced Mortgage Broker who can help you get out of debt faster.