Ben Schmidt of www.benschmidt.tv, video blogs about the new changes taking affect April 19, 2010, in the lending institutions across Canada. When you qualify for a mortgage, you now must be able to meet the expense of the 5 year fixed rate. It use to be that you could go into a bank and say “I want to buy this home at the 3 year variable rate.” They would run the application at that rate, and if you could meet the expense of it, they would give you the mortgage. That will no longer be the case. You must qualify to purchaser the home at the 5 year fixed rate. You can select to have the 3 year variable rate, but you still need to be able to meet the expense of the 5 year fixed rate. It is a preventative measure. We don’t want people purchasing a home that they can’t meet the expense of in two years time, when the rates go back up, from their all time record lows. If you have any questions you can always email me at ben.schmidt@me.com