What lenders look at for qualification​

1. Down payment (normally 5% minimum down payment)
2. Employment (length of ability and guaranteed income).
3. Property itself (need to be satisfied with the property)
4. Credit
           Character (integrity), Capacity (sufficient cash flow to service the      
           obligation), Capital (net worth), Collateral (ie down payment), and   
           Conditions (overall strength of the borrower)

For self employed applicants lenders normally use a 2 or 3 year average of self employed income as per line 150 on the income notice of assessment as long as the most current year is the highest income.​

Lenders rely on two standard measures of one's "ability to pay" their mortgage: 

1. Beacon <680       Maximum Gds 35% / Maximum Tds 42%
2. Beacon 680+       Maximum Gds 39% / Maximum Tds 44% 

Gross Debt Service (Gds):  The percentage of the borrower’s income that is needed to pay all required monthly housing costs (mortgage payments, property taxes, heat and 50% of condo fees).

Total Debt Service (Tds):  The percentage of the borrower’s income that is needed to cover housing costs (GDS) plus any other monthly obligations that an individual has, such as credit card payments and car payments.