When looking to qualify for a mortgage, typically a lender will want to review four main areas of your mortgage credit, downpayment/equity, and the property itself.
So if you currently own a home, and are looking to upsize, downsize, take on a renovation challenge, or purchase investment, it’s good to keep in mind that the condition of the property you are looking to finance matters. If to purchase isn’t in good condition, it could be hard to arrange mortgage financing.
The property matters because the property you are looking to purchase is the collateral the lender holds in case mortgage.
You can expect that any lender will make every effort to ensure that any property they finance is without defect. a property is “prime and marketable”. In the rare case that you happen to default on your mortgage, they want repossess, they can liquidate (sell-off) the property quickly and recoup their money.
So to establish value, an appraisal is always required on every purchase. Now, if your mortgage is insured through or Sagen, they will have used an automated system to appraise the property (you might not even have known conventional mortgage applications, a physical appraisal; where an actual appraiser goes to the property, is required.
Now, what happens if you want to purchase a property that might not be in the greatest condition? Well, you a purchase plus improvements can be a great mortgage option.

If you have any questions about financing your next property or potentially using a purchase plus improvements to buy a fixer-upper, please don’t hesitate to contact me anytime!