Buying a home in Ottawa · with Nick Bachusky
Getting a mortgage pre-approval in Ottawa, then buying with confidence. I am a licensed Mortgage Agent who arranges your purchase mortgage from pre-approval through to closing.
The short answer
A purchase mortgage is the home loan you arrange to buy a property, and a mortgage pre-approval in Ottawa (sometimes typed as mortgage pre approval Ottawa) is a lender's written confirmation of how much you can borrow before you shop. As a licensed Mortgage Agent working under Referral Mortgages Inc. (FSRA #13316), I pre-approve you, compare lenders, and get you to closing.
When buying a home in Ottawa, most people start in the same place. Whether you call it buying a house in Ottawa or buying a home in Ottawa Ontario, you want to know what you can afford, what it will cost on closing day, and who you can trust to arrange a mortgage to buy a house without the stress. This page answers all three. It walks through getting pre-approved, the real numbers behind a home purchase mortgage in Ottawa, and the steps from first conversation to keys in hand.
Pre-approval, explained
Buyers ask the same handful of questions here: what is a mortgage pre approval, how does mortgage pre approval work, and pre approval vs pre qualification, which is the same thing as the difference between pre qualification and pre approval. Here is the plain answer. A pre-qualification is a rough estimate. You tell a lender your income and debts, and they give you a ballpark number, no documents checked. A mortgage pre-approval is the real thing. The lender verifies your income, down payment, and credit, then confirms in writing the amount and rate you qualify for. That written confirmation is what makes a seller take your offer seriously.
Here is how pre-approval works with me, step by step. It is how you get pre approved for a mortgage Ottawa buyers can stand behind, well before you tour a single home:
The process
A relaxed first conversation. A short video or phone call about your situation, goal, timing, income, down payment, and budget. Every call ends with a recap email of what you discussed and what happens next.
Documents and application up front. You complete the online application and send documents early, before you shop, so nothing slows you down once you find a home.
Credit pulled early. Pulling credit at the start catches errors or signs someone has used your SIN, long before an accepted offer is on the line.
A screen-share options meeting. I walk you through the application, the lender ratios, your payment scenarios, and give a clear verdict: cleared to shop, or a plan for anything that needs work.
A rate hold if it helps. A hold typically protects a rate for up to 120 days. Think of it as insurance, not necessarily your closing rate.
"No worries about any questions, I am here to answer any and all you have."
Nick Bachusky
What to bring
The documents needed for mortgage pre approval are simpler than most people fear. Lenders verify two things: that your income is real and that your down payment is yours. Have these ready:
Recent pay stubs and a letter of employment (public servants: your official Letter of Offer showing indeterminate or term status).
Two years of T4s, plus notices of assessment if you are self-employed or have variable income.
Ninety days of history on every account your down payment comes from, including the source account if money was moved (anti-money-laundering rules require it).
A gift letter if a family member is gifting part of your down payment.
Government photo ID and your current address history.
How long does a mortgage pre approval last? A mortgage pre-approval in Ottawa typically lasts 90 to 120 days. If your search runs longer, or rates move, the pre-approval can be refreshed before it expires.
From offer to keys
Buying a home in Ottawa follows a clear path, and a mortgage for buying a home in Ottawa fits neatly into it. Whether you are buying a house in Ottawa Ontario for the first time or moving up, the balanced market in 2026 gives buyers room to do this properly, with financing conditions and inspections, rather than blind bidding.
Get pre-approved. Know your number and your rate hold before you tour a single home.
Shop with confidence. Work with your real estate agent inside a budget you actually want to live with, not just the maximum a lender will allow.
Make an offer with a financing condition. In a balanced market (roughly three months of inventory in spring 2026), you can usually include a condition so your deposit is protected while financing is confirmed.
Firm up financing. I present your options, explain the tradeoffs, and tell you what I would do in your position. You decide. I then chase the lender daily through underwriting.
Broker complete about three weeks early. Lawyer instructions and the full package are done roughly three weeks out.
Close. I stay in contact with your real estate agent and lawyer, and check in on closing day.
"Broker complete three weeks before closing so you're focused on the house, not the financing."
Nick Bachusky
Pre-approved before you tour, so the right home does not slip away.
The numbers
Two related questions sit underneath this one, usually typed word for word into a search bar: "how much mortgage can I get approved for Ottawa" and "how much deposit to make an offer Ottawa". Your minimum down payment depends on the price. These are the federal rules as of spring 2026, framed as dated examples, not promises:
5% on the first $500,000 of the purchase price.
10% on the portion from $500,000 to $1,499,999.
20% or more removes the need for mortgage default insurance entirely.
A worked example using the May 2026 Ottawa benchmark: a townhouse around $557,500 sits just above $500,000, so a flat 5% will not do. You need 5% on the first $500,000 ($25,000) plus 10% on the remaining $57,500 ($5,750), roughly $30,750 minimum down on an average suburban townhouse in Kanata or Barrhaven.
Two more things worth knowing about a 5 percent down mortgage Ottawa buyers should plan for. With less than 20% down, you pay a one-time CMHC mortgage default insurance premium that scales with your down payment. And since December 15, 2024, the insured price cap rose to $1.5M, so even a premium detached home in Westboro or Kanata Lakes can be financed with less than 20% down. First-time buyers and buyers of newly built homes can also access a 30-year amortization on insured mortgages.
For the deeper first-time buyer picture, including the first-time buyer programs (FHSA, RRSP Home Buyers' Plan, and the $4,000 rebate), see the dedicated page. To test different prices, work out what you can afford with the mortgage calculator. It works like a home purchase mortgage calculator: punch in a price and a down payment to see the monthly payment on a home purchase mortgage Ottawa buyers would carry.
Budget for closing day
Closing costs catch many buyers off guard, so budget for them early. The biggest one is the Ontario Land Transfer Tax, paid by you, the buyer, on a sliding scale. Ottawa has a quiet advantage here: there is no municipal land transfer tax, unlike Toronto, where a second municipal tax roughly doubles the bill.
The closing costs when buying a home Ottawa buyers should plan for include:
Ontario Land Transfer Tax, on a marginal scale (0.5% to 2.5% across price brackets). On a $750,000 home this works out to about $11,475 as a spring 2026 illustrative figure.
The $4,000 first-time buyer rebate, which removes the tax entirely on homes up to about $368,000 and reduces it above that (covered in full on the first-time buyer page).
Legal fees and disbursements, roughly $1,425 to $1,500 plus HST, plus title search and registration costs.
Title insurance, a one-time premium of roughly $250 to $455.
Property-tax adjustments. The City of Ottawa bills twice a year (interim in February or March, final in May or June). If the seller prepaid past your closing date, you reimburse them, so keep extra cash on hand.
One Ottawa-specific watch item: the Vacant Unit Tax (VUT) can form a lien on a property. Your lawyer should confirm the seller filed the required occupancy declaration so you are not stuck with someone else's tax bill.
No cost to you
No. For a standard residential mortgage, there is no cost to you. You get a licensed Mortgage Agent comparing lenders on your behalf, and your rate is not marked up to pay for it.
That matters because it removes the main reason people hesitate to get help. You are not choosing between doing it yourself for free and paying for guidance. You get the guidance for free, and you get someone who shops banks, credit unions, and mortgage-only lenders rather than selling one shelf. As of 2025 to 2026, my funded deals were spread across thirteen different lenders, with more than 70% placed outside the single biggest bank. That breadth is the point.
The local picture
Ottawa's market is steadier than most. The federal government is the city's largest employer, and that stable, well-paid base makes the local market what lenders call predictable and insulated. Tech around Kanata, often called Silicon Valley North, and major healthcare employers add to that foundation.
If you are a public servant, lenders look closely at whether your job is indeterminate (permanent) or term. Indeterminate income reads as stable. On a term contract, your official Letter of Offer is what proves your status and clears up any confusion over telework or acting assignments. I know exactly how to package this so underwriting does not stall.
Where you buy shapes your numbers, too. The suburbs drive most of Ottawa's sales, single-family detached homes hold value best, and condos in the core have been the softest segment. Whether you are looking in Orléans, Kanata, or Stittsville, or considering buying a condo in Ottawa, the financing approach changes with the property type. Self-employed home buyers have their own path as well, built around your last two years of returns. If the home you like needs work, a purchase plus improvement mortgage Ottawa buyers can use lets you roll renovation costs into the same mortgage, so factor that in before you write the offer. Two other situations come up a lot. The first is buying a home and selling current home Ottawa owners often juggle in the same week. The second is a mortgage for a second home Ottawa families buy as a cottage or a rental. Both change the financing, and a clear buying a home mortgage Ottawa plan keeps them simple. A balanced market with around three months of inventory means you usually have room to include a financing condition rather than waiving it.
Note: serves Ottawa and surrounding Ontario suburbs only (Kanata, Barrhaven, Orleans, Nepean, Stittsville, Gloucester), not Quebec or Gatineau.
Who you're working with
People do not message threads asking for the cheapest broker. They ask for one they can trust to answer the phone and tell them the truth. Here is what you get.
Every client feels like the only client. That is the founding promise, in those words. I am a solo practitioner, so the person you message always knows exactly where your file stands.
Fast replies, by design. No message sits longer than about thirty minutes during business hours. As I put it, "I am one WhatsApp message away."
Honest rate advice. A bigger headline rate is not always the better mortgage. As I say, "a rate is not just a rate, the penalty matters." When two lenders match on rate, I lean toward the one with the smaller penalty, because life happens and you may want to move later.
I recommend what I would do. Not what is easiest to place. The choice stays yours.
No house poor. "I would rather you be able to keep doing the things you enjoy than be approved for the maximum and end up house poor."
For context, customers search for the "best mortgage rates" when buying, and I will show you today's Ottawa mortgage rates and fixed-vs-variable so you can compare honestly. I work as a mortgage agent for home purchase Ottawa buyers across the region, first home or fifth.
From pre-approval to keys in hand, with someone in your corner the whole way.
More ways Nick can help
One agent for the whole picture. Whatever stage you are at, here is where to go next.
4.9 stars from 61 Google reviews left by clients I have worked with across Ottawa.
What moves the total
A few factors move the total you will spend buying a home in Ottawa:
Purchase price, which sets your down payment, land transfer tax, and monthly payment.
Down payment size, which decides whether you pay mortgage default insurance and how much.
The property type and location, since condos, townhouses, and detached homes carry different prices and conditions.
Closing costs, the land transfer tax, legal fees, title insurance, and tax adjustments described above.
The honest way to see your real numbers is a free, no-obligation pre-approval conversation. Tell me your situation, goal, timing, income, down payment, and budget, and you will walk away knowing what you can afford and what closing day will actually cost.
Get in touch
Getting a mortgage does not need to be stressful. Leave your details and I reply within about 30 minutes during business hours.
Still wondering?
A typical suburban townhouse around $557,500 (May 2026 benchmark) sits above $500,000, so a flat 5% will not cover it. You need 5% on the first $500,000 plus 10% on the remaining amount, roughly $30,000 to $35,000 minimum down. I will confirm your exact figure based on the home you choose and your down payment source.
A pre-qualification is a quick estimate with no documents checked, so it is only a rough guide. A pre-approval is verified: the lender confirms your income, down payment, and credit, then puts your borrowing amount and rate in writing. When you make an offer, that written pre-approval is what gives a seller confidence and protects your deposit.
A mortgage pre-approval in Ottawa typically lasts 90 to 120 days. That window is how long a pre-approval stays good for, and it doubles as your rate hold. If your home search runs longer, the pre-approval can be refreshed before it expires, and if rates move in the meantime I will re-check your options. The rate hold inside a pre-approval is best thought of as insurance, not necessarily the rate you close at.
No. For a standard residential mortgage there is no fee for my service, and any rare exception is put in writing before you commit.
Lenders distinguish between indeterminate (permanent) and term or casual employment. Indeterminate income reads as very stable, which Ottawa lenders view favourably. On a term contract, your official Letter of Offer proves your status and clears up confusion around telework or acting assignments. I package government income so underwriting moves smoothly.
Lenders verify your income and your down payment. Bring recent pay stubs and a letter of employment, two years of T4s (plus notices of assessment if self-employed), and ninety days of history on every account your down payment comes from. A gift letter is needed if family is helping, plus government photo ID. I review everything before you shop.
Often, yes, because an agent compares many lenders while a branch offers one shelf. I shop banks, credit unions, and mortgage-only lenders and choose on the total cost of borrowing, including the penalty to break the mortgage later. A bank may still win on the full picture, and when it does, I place you there. The comparison is what protects you.
Message me right away on WhatsApp at 613-294-4475. If your offer is accepted, I move quickly to firm up financing, often the same day. If your pre-approval expired, it can be refreshed and your options re-checked at current rates. Either way, the goal is broker complete about three weeks before closing.
Getting pre-approved is free, fast, and the right first step to buying a home in Ottawa. Send a message, apply online, or book a time that suits you.
Nick Bachusky · Mortgage Agent Level 1 · Referral Mortgages Inc. · FSRA #13316. Serving Ottawa and surrounding Ontario. Rate, price, and tax figures on this page are dated spring 2026 examples, not guarantees.