Income tax is upon us again as 2018 has come to its end. Many people, business owners and self- employed workers mostly, will have to pay income tax. Sorry to remind you! But for others, income tax season mean refunds! And sometimes, big refunds! Specially if they have kids attending daycare. Those refunds can be really useful to pay off accumulated debts, buy new furniture and I've seen it a lot, used to go on a trip.
Once the debts are paid or the trip is ancient memories, many of them will look at buying a house. One of the question that will be ask in the meeting is, ''do you have any money set aside for a down payment or closing costs?'' Many will say no, some will say that they can get it from their parents and a little percentage will have some funds set aside already either in their savings or in a Registered retirement saving plan.
Before planning on what to do with your tax refund, it is a great idea to think about the near future. If you are thinking about buying a house and you know that you will receive a tax refund, you should definitely consider using it to help for a down payment. The minimum down payment required is 5% of the purchase price. You also need to have funds for closing costs. Those closing costs include legal fees, transfer tax and property tax adjustments.
I always tell my clients that the lenders are using excuse available to decline a Mortgage and that If they don't have any excuses, they will lend you the money. After all, they are in the business of lending money. One of their excuse is that the down payment is not coming from own resources. They won't decline an application solely on this excuse but if they have 2 excuses, they could decline the Mortgage and then you would have to wait another year or until you have accumulated the funds to purchase a house.
Think about this before spending your tax refund. Contact your local Mortgage Broker to get more tips on how to purchase a house.
