Earlier this week there was an article published in the Scotsman Guide discussing down payment wedding registries as a tool for couples wanting to register for a financially responsible wedding gift-sorry silver gravy boats.
We received some feedback from mortgage broker Jason Roy of The Mortgage Group Canada Inc. and of Philip Bisset-Covaneiro of Investors Group Financial Services Inc. with some great strategies on what to do with your down payment registry funds once they are all collected.
Jason Roy, the Mortgage Group Canada Inc. - The best part about a down payment registry is that having the gifted funds for your down payment gives you options. If you already have money saved up to purchase your first home, these new funds can help you to perhaps move up from purchasing a condo to being able to afford to purchase a house. If you do not have any money saved for a down payment this just may be the way to collect the minimum you need to get into the housing market. Or perhaps you have some money saved up (if you have not spent it all on the wedding) and you just need a bit more to top you up. Really the options are endless when you factor in possible lender cash back options that can be combined with the funds received through homeforthehoneymoon.com.
Talk to homeforthehoneymoon.com and talk to your local accredited mortgage professional to find out how you can turn the money received from your down payment registry into home ownership.
Home for the Honeymoon clients have raised thousands of dollars towards the purchase of their homes. In some cases, just as Jason mentioned, couples were able to buy a more valuable property than if they hadn’t used the registry. Sometimes however couples aren’t ready to purchase their homes right away and need to take some time to plan. In this case Philip offered some great strategies on what to do with your cash until you are ready to buy.
Philip Bisset-Covaneiro, Investors Group Financial Services Inc. - With respect to what to do with your money and the most strategic place to keep money I offer the following advice: keeping your options open is a must!
The worst possible situation is to plan on purchasing a home in 5 years and then having the perfect place come available in three years. Not having access to your funds because they are tied down by fees and tax regulations would inhibit your ability to proceed with the purchase of this great home. Consider the following brackets when saving for a home: use your TFSA room first followed by the First Time Home Buyer’s Program through your RRSP’s.
Tax Free Savings Accounts, although they are relatively poorly named can hold your money, fee free, and relatively risk free or completely exposed in the stock market, the choice is yours. However the limit is $15,000 as of January 2011 for everyone in Canada over the age of 18. That is also per couple. So your first $30,000 should be placed in your personal TFSA’s and then consider using the First Time Home Buyer’s Program. The limit in RRSP’s has now been increased to $25,000 per person. This now allows you to be relatively tax efficient and flexible on your first $80,000 of savings. There are time sensitive requirements for deposits made into your RRSP and when you need to redeem them during the home buying process so please work closely with your Financial Planner to both save and pick the right investments, but often what is even more importantly is to properly manage the time requirements and initial structure of the tax saving vehicles you chose.
Some great strategies from two highly accredited industry professionals. Click here to contact Jason Roy for a free mortgage consultation or click here to contact Philip Bisset-Covaneiro for more financial planning strategies.
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